1 Samuel 29:4

4 But the commanders of the Philistines were angry with him, and the commanders of the Philistines said to him, "Make the man go back, that he may return ¹to his place where * you have assigned him, and do not let him go down to battle with us, ²or in the battle he may become an adversary to us. For with what could this man make himself acceptable to his lord? Would it not be with the heads of these men?

1 Samuel 29:4 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 29:4

And the princes of the Philistines were wroth with him
With Achish, for giving such a character of David, and taking his part, in order to detain him, if possible:

and the princes of the Philistines said unto him, make this fellow
return;
they speak of him with contempt, and insist on it that Achish order him to turn back, and go no further with them:

that he may go again to his place which thou hast appointed him;
to Ziklag, the place that Achish had given him for his residence, ( 1 Samuel 27:6 ) ; they did not desire to have him sent to his own country, and to Saul, since should a reconciliation be made between them, he would be of great service to Saul against them:

and let him not go down with us to battle;
into the valley of Jezreel, where the Israelites had pitched:

lest in the battle he be an adversary to us:
and fall upon them behind, being in the rear, while they were engaging in the front with Israel:

for wherewith should he reconcile himself unto his master?
to Saul he had offended, and fled from:

[should it] not [be] with the heads of these men?
the Philistines; or unless by the heads of these men ^F13; he had no other way of making his peace with his master but by cutting off the heads of the Philistines; and therefore he was a dangerous man to take with them into the battle.

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FOOTNOTES:

F13 (yvarb alh) "nisi per capita", Noldius, p. 257. No. 1147.

1 Samuel 29:4 In-Context

2 And the lords of the Philistines were proceeding on by hundreds and by thousands, and David and his men were proceeding on in the rear with Achish.

3 Then the commanders of the Philistines said, "What are these Hebrews doing here?" And Achish said to the commanders of the Philistines, "Is this not David, the servant of Saul the king of Israel, who has been with me these days, or rather these years, and I have found no fault in him from the day he deserted to me to this day?"

4 But the commanders of the Philistines were angry with him, and the commanders of the Philistines said to him, "Make the man go back, that he may return to his place where you have assigned him, and do not let him go down to battle with us, or in the battle he may become an adversary to us. For with what could this man make himself acceptable to his lord ? Would it not be with the heads of these men?

5 "Is this not David, of whom they sing in the dances, saying, 'Saul has slain his thousands, And David his ten thousands '?"

6 Then Achish called David and said to him, "As the LORD lives, you have been upright, and your going out and your coming in with me in the army are pleasing in my sight; for I have not found evil in you from the day of your coming to me to this day. Nevertheless, you are not pleasing in the sight of the lords.

Cross References

• 1. 1 Samuel 27:6
• 2. 1 Samuel 14:21

Footnotes

• [a]. Lit "those"