1 Samuel 27

1 David, however, said to himself, “One of these days [at this very moment] now I will be swept away [consumed, destroyed] by the hand [power, authority] of Saul. There is nothing [no hope, no alternative] better for me than to escape [flee, slip away] to the land [territory, region] of the Philistines [enemies of Israel]. Then Saul will stop searching [give up hope, despair] for me all over Israel [the entire nation, every border], and I will slip out of his hand [escape, be delivered].” word study 2 So David [the youngest son of Jesse, a king of Israel] set out with his six hundred men [warriors, fighters] and went to Achish [a Philistine king] son of Maoch [a Philistine, father of King Achish], the king [a ruler, monarch] of Gath [a major city of the Philistines, meaning winepress]. word study 3 David [the youngest son of Jesse, a king of Israel] and his men settled in Gath [a major city of the Philistines] with Achish [a Philistine king]. Each man [every individual, male person] had his family [household, dwelling place] with him, and David had his two [a pair, dual] wives: Ahinoam [a Jezreelitess, from Jezreel] of Jezreel and Abigail [known for her wisdom and kindness] of Carmel, the widow [a woman whose husband has died] of Nabal [an Israelite who lived during King David’s time]. word study 4 And when Saul [the king, Shaul] learned [was told, informed] that David [the future king] had fled [run away, escaped] to Gath [a major Philistine city, a winepress], he no longer [not anymore, ceased to] searched [sought, looked for] for him [David, the one he was pursuing]. word study 5 Then David said to Achish, “If [I have now found] I have found favor [grace, kindness] in your eyes [sight, gaze], let me be assigned a place [location, settlement] in one of the outlying towns [cities of the field, countryside], so I can live [dwell, reside] there. For why [what reason, purpose] should your servant [slave, attendant] live [dwell, remain] in the royal city [king’s town, kingdom] with you [together, in your presence]?” word study 6 That day [at that very time, in the same moment] Achish [a Philistine king, ruler of Gath] gave [to give, put, or set something] him Ziklag [a town in southern Judah, a place of refuge], and to this day [until now, as far as this point in time] it still belongs [pertaineth, is the property of] to the kings [rulers, monarchs] of Judah [the tribe descended from Judah, a region in Israel]. word study 7 And the time [period of existence, duration] that David [the youngest son of Jesse, a king of Israel] lived [to dwell, reside] in Philistine [in the land of the Philistines, a region inhabited by immigrants] territory [field, land, country] amounted to [was equal to, totaled] a year [a cycle of twelve months, a period of 365 days] and four [a specific number, a quantity of] months [lunar cycles, periods of new moon]. word study 8 Now David [the youngest son of Jesse, a king of Israel] and his men went up [to ascend, to rise] and raided [made a raid upon, pillaged] the Geshurites [inhabitants of the land of Geshur], the Girzites [a native tribe in Palestine], and the Amalekites [descendants of Amalek, a grandson of Esau]. (From ancient times [forever, always] these people had inhabited [dwelled, lived] the land [the soil, ground, or country] extending [as far as, till] to Shur [a desert region near Egypt] and Egypt [a country in northeastern Africa].) word study 9 Whenever David [the youngest son of Jesse, a king of Israel] attacked [struck, smote] a territory [land, region], he did not leave [spared, saved] a man [male person, individual] or woman [female person, wife] alive [living, breathing], but he took [captured, seized] the flocks [sheep, goats] and herds [cattle, oxen], the donkeys [asses], camels [riding animals], and clothing [apparel, garments]. Then he would return [turn back, come back] to Achish [a Philistine king], word study 10 who would ask him, “What have you raided [made a road to, gone against] today [in this present time]?” And David would reply, “The Negev [south country, desert region] of Judah [the tribe descended from Judah],” or “The Negev [southern district] of Jerahmeel [a descendant of Judah],” or “The Negev [south land] of the Kenites [a group of people living between southern Palestine and the Sinai].” word study 11 David did not leave [leave any survivors] a man [or male person] or woman [female person] alive to be brought to Gath [a major Philistine city], for he said, “Otherwise [lest] they will report us, saying, ‘This is what David [the youngest son of Jesse, a king of Judah] did [performed].’” And this was David’s custom [manner] the whole time [all the days] he lived [dwelt] in Philistine [in the land of the Philistines] territory [in the fields]. word study 12 So Achish [a Philistine king] trusted David, thinking, “Since he has made himself [utterly abhorred, morally offensive] an utter stench [to smell bad, be hated] to his people [nation, descendants] Israel [the symbolic name of Jacob], he will be my servant [slave, bondservant] forever [always, for eternity].” word study