Bible Verses About Achish

The same day, David took flight from Sha'ul and went to Akhish king of

The servants of Akhish said to him, "Isn't this David, king of the land? Weren't they dancing and singing to each other, 'Sha'ul has killed his thousands, but David his tens of thousands'?"

These remarks were not lost on David, and he became very much afraid of Akhish king of Gat.

So, as they were watching, he changed his behavior and acted like a madman when they had hold of him, scratching marks on the doors of the city gate and drooling down his beard.

Akhish said to his servants, "Here, you see that the man is meshugga; why bring him to me?

Am I short of meshugga'im? Is that why you've brought this one to go crazy on me? Must I have this one in my house?"

But David said to himself, "One day Sha'ul will sweep me away. The best thing for me to do is to escape into the territory of the P'lishtim. Then Sha'ul will give up trying to find me here or there in Isra'el's territory, and at last I'll be free of him."

So David set out with his six hundred men and passed on to Akhish the son of Ma'okh, king of Gat.

David lived with Akhish, he and his men, each man with his household - including David with his two wives Achino'am from Yizre'el and Avigayil from Karmel, Naval's widow.

Sha'ul was told that David had escaped to Gat, whereupon he stopped searching for him.

David said to Akhish, "If you are now favorably disposed toward me, let me have a place to live in one of the cities in the countryside. Why should your servant live in the royal city with you?"

That very day Akhish gave him Ziklag, and that's why to this day Ziklag belongs to the kings of Y'hudah.

After David had been living in the country of the P'lishtim for a year and four months,

he and his men began going up and raiding the G'shuri, the Gizri and the 'Amaleki (from ancient times these people had lived in the land in the direction of Shur, all the way to Egypt).

David would attack the land, leaving alive neither men nor women, but taking the sheep, cattle, donkeys, camels and clothing. Then he would return and go to Akhish.

Akhish would ask, "Where were you raiding today?" and David would answer, "Against the Negev of Y'hudah," or "Against the Negev of the Yerachme'eli," or "Against the Negev of the Keni."

The reason David spared neither men nor women to be brought to Gat is that he thought, "We don't want them telling on us, saying, 'David did so-and-so.'" That's how he conducted his raids for as long as he lived in the country of the P'lishtim.

And Akhish believed him; he said, "David has caused his own people Isra'el to despise him utterly; he will be my servant forever."

In due time the P'lishtim assembled their armies for war against Isra'el. Akhish told David, "You know, of course, that you and your men will join me and the army in battle."

David answered Akhish, "I see that you already know what your servant will do."Akhish said to David, "For that answer, I am making you my personal bodyguard for life."

The P'lishtim gathered all their army together at Afek, while Isra'el's army pitched camp by the spring in Yizre'el.

The leaders of the P'lishtim were passing by with their hundreds and thousands; David and his men were bringing up the rear with Akhish.

The chiefs of the P'lishtim asked, "What are these Hebrews doing here?"Akhish answered the chiefs of the P'lishtim, "This is David, who was a servant of Sha'ul, king of Isra'el. He's been with me now for well over a year, and I haven't found anything wrong with him between the time he deserted to me and now."

But the chiefs of the P'lishtim became angry and said to him, "Have the man return and go back to the place you set aside for him. Don't let him go into battle with us, because on the battlefield he might become our enemy. What better way could there be for him to get reconciled with his lord than by [cutting off] the heads of our men?

This is David! They used to dance and sing about him, 'Sha'ul has killed his thousands, but David his tens of thousands'!"