1 Samuel 21:10

1 Samuel 21:10 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And David arose, and fled that day for fear of Saul, and went to Achish the king of Gath.
• New International Version (NIV)That day David fled from Saul and went to Achish king of Gath.
• English Standard Version (ESV)And David rose and fled that day from Saul and went to Achish the king of Gath.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Then David arose and fled that day from before Saul, and went to Achish the king of Gath.

Context of 1 Samuel 21:10

8David asked the priest, Ahimelech, ‘Is there any sword or spear here that I could take? The king sent me quickly to do an important job. So I left home without my sword or any other weapon.’ 9Ahimelech answered, ‘The sword of Goliath the Philistine is here. After you killed him in the valley of Elah, we kept the sword here. We covered it with a cloth and we put it behind the ephod. If you want it, you can take it. We do not have any other weapon except that one.’ David said, ‘Give it to me. There is no sword as good as that one.’ So on that day, David escaped from Saul. He went to Gath and he visited King Achish there. 11The servants of King Achish said to him, ‘This man is David, the king of his country! The people sing this song about him when they dance: “Saul has killed thousands of his enemies. But David has killed tens of thousands of his enemies.” ’ 12David thought carefully about what King Achish's servants were saying. It caused him to be very afraid of Achish, king of Gath.

1 Samuel 21:10 word by word

וַיָּ֣קָם דָּוִ֔ד וַיִּבְרַ֥ח בַּיּוֹם־הַה֖וּא מִפְּנֵ֣י שָׁא֑וּל וַיָּבֹ֕א אֶל־אָכִ֖ישׁ מֶ֥לֶךְ גַּֽת׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And Davidדָּוִדdâvid dâvîyd · DavidH1732
• aroseקוּםqûm · to arise: riseH6965
• and fledבָּרַחbârach · to fleeH1272
• that dayיוֹםyôm · dayH3117
• for fearפָּנֶהpânîym · face: beforeH6440
• of Saulשָׁאוּלshâ'ûl · SaulH7586
• and wentבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
• to Achishאָכִישׁ'âkîysh · AchishH397
• the kingמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4428
• of Gathגַּתgath · GathH1661

Cross-references for 1 Samuel 21:10

• 1 Samuel 27:1Then David thought, ‘I am sure that Saul will catch me one day. Then he will kill me. I must go to the country of the Philistines so that I will be safe from Saul. That is the best thing that I can do. When I am no longer in the land of Israel, Saul will stop looking for me here. I will escape from him.’
• 1 Kings 19:3Elijah became very afraid. He ran away to save his life. He arrived at Beersheba in Judah. He left his servant there.
• Jeremiah 26:21When King Jehoiakim, his personal guards and all his officers heard what Uriah was saying, the king wanted to kill him. But Uriah heard about it and he was afraid. So he ran away to Egypt.
• 1 Samuel 27:2So David and his 600 men went across the border of Israel to Gath town. Maoch's son Achish was the king there.
• Psalms 34:1I will always praise the Lord. All the time I will sing to praise him.
• 1 Samuel 7:14The Israelites took back the towns and the land that the Philistines had taken from them. These towns were between Ekron and Gath. Also, the Israelites and the Amorites did not fight against each other.
• 1 Samuel 17:52When the soldiers from Israel and Judah saw what had happened, they chased after the Philistines. They shouted their war song as they ran. They chased the Philistines all the way to Gath, and then to the gates of Ekron town. The dead bodies of the Philistine soldiers were lying everywhere on the road to Shaaraim, as far as Gath and Ekron.
• 2 Chronicles 11:8Gath, Mareshah, Ziph,
• 2 Chronicles 1:14Solomon brought together many chariots and horses for his soldiers to ride. He had 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horses. He kept some of them in Jerusalem where he lived as king. He kept the others in cities that he had chosen for this.

Commentaries on 1 Samuel 21:10

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 10Went to Achish the king of Gath - This was the worst place to which he could have gone: it was the very city of Goliath, whom he had slain, and whose sword he now wore; and he soon found, from the conversation of the servants of Achish, that his life was in the most imminent danger in this place.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 10Achish king of Gath - It appears from the title that Psalm 34 was composed on this occasion. (See the note there.) Nothing can give a more lively impression of the straits to which David was reduced than the fact of his going to the country of the Philistines.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 10-15Verses 10-15 God's persecuted people have often found better usage from Philistines than from Israelites. David had reason to put confidence in Achish, yet he began to be afraid. His conduct was degrading, and discovered wavering in his faith and courage. The more simply we depend on God, and obey him, the more comfortably and surely we shall walk through this troublesome world.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 10-15Gath, a major Philistine city and the hometown of Goliath, was a clever but dangerous place for David to seek refuge from Saul.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1010. David ... fled ... to Achish the king of Gath--which was one of the five principalities of the Philistines. In this place his person must have been known, and to venture into that country, he their greatest enemy, and with the sword of Goliath in his hand, would seem to have been a perilous experiment; but, doubtless, the protection he received implies that he had been directed by the divine oracle. Achish was generous (1Sa 27:6). He might wish to…Read the comment

Topics related to 1 Samuel 21:10

• Achish
• Betrayal
• David
• Deception
• Fugitives
• Gath
• Philistines

In the dictionaries

• David
• Gath
• Saul
• Gath, Gittite
• Paul, Saul
• That Day
• Abimelech
• Achish
• Judges, Book of
• Lord

Commentaries on 1 Samuel 21

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary