271 Then David said to himself , "Now I will perish one day by the hand of Saul . There is nothing better for me than to escape into the land of the Philistines . Saul then will despair of searching for me anymore in all the territory of Israel , and I will escape from his hand ." 2 So David arose and crossed over , he and the six hundred men who were with him, to Achish the son of Maoch , king of Gath . 3 And David lived with Achish at Gath , he and his men , each with his household , even David with his two wives , Ahinoam the Jezreelitess , and Abigail the Carmelitess , Nabal's widow . 4 Now it was told Saul that David had fled to Gath , so he no longer e searched for him. 5 Then David said to Achish , "If now I have found favor in your sight , let them give me a place in one of the cities in the country , that I may live there ; for why should your servant live in the royal city with you?" 6 So Achish gave him Ziklag that day ; therefore Ziklag has belonged to the kings of Judah to this day . 7 The number of days that David lived in the country of the Philistines was a year and four months .
Matthew Henry's Commentary on 1 Samuel 27:1-7
Commentary on 1 Samuel 27:1-7
(Read 1 Samuel 27:1-7)
Unbelief is a sin that easily besets even good men, when without are fightings, and within are fears; and it is a hard matter to get over them. Lord, increase our faith! We may blush to think that the word of a Philistine should go further than the word of an Israelite, and that the city of Gath should be a place of refuge for a good man, when the cities of Israel refuse him a safe abode. David gained a comfortable settlement, not only at a distance from Gath, but bordering upon Israel, where he might keep up a correspondence with his own countrymen.