1 Samuel 29:1

1 The Philistines gathered all their soldiers at Aphek. Israel camped by the spring at Jezreel.

1 Samuel 29:1 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 29:1

Now the Philistines gathered together all their armies to
Aphek
Not the city in the tribe of Judah of that name, ( Joshua 15:53 ) ; where the Philistines had a camp in the time of Samuel, ( 1 Samuel 4:1 ) ; but rather that in the tribe of Asher, ( Joshua 19:30 ) ; unless there was one of this name in the tribe of Issachar, not mentioned, since it seems to have been near Jezreel and Shunem, which were both in that tribe, ( Joshua 19:18 ) ;

and the Israelites pitched by a fountain which is in Jezreel;
in the valley of Jezreel; of which (See Gill on Joshua 19:18) and (See Gill on Hosea 1:5).

1 Samuel 29:1 In-Context

1 The Philistines gathered all their soldiers at Aphek. Israel camped by the spring at Jezreel.

2 The Philistine kings were marching with their groups of a hundred and a thousand men. David and his men were marching behind Achish.

3 The Philistine commanders asked, "What are these Hebrews doing here?" Achish told them, "This is David. He served Saul king of Israel, but he has been with me for over a year now. I have found nothing wrong in David since the time he left Saul."

4 But the Philistine commanders were angry with Achish and said, "Send David back to the city you gave him. He cannot go with us into battle. If he does, we'll have an enemy in our own camp. He could please his king by killing our own men.

5 David is the one the Israelites dance and sing about, saying: 'Saul has killed thousands of his enemies, but David has killed tens of thousands.'"