Tyndale Open Study Notes1 Samuel 29

God's help saved David from having to fight his own people.

• Aphek was the site of an earlier confrontation between Israel and the Philistines (1 Samuel 4:1).

• Jezreel was about 64.4 kilometers (40 miles) northeast of Aphek.

• the servant of King Saul of Israel: To Achish, David appeared to be a valuable defector (someone who had left his former king). The other Philistine rulers were suspicious. They feared that David was a spy who planned to attack them from inside their defenses.

• found no fault in him: This was the first of three times Achish defended David (see also 1 Samuel 29:6, 9). However, David had been deceiving Achish the entire time (see 1 Samuel 27:1–12).

with the heads of our men: The commanders' fears were justified (compare 1 Samuel 17:51; 18:27).

This song referred to Philistines whom David had killed (1 Samuel 18:7). Because of this, it is surprising that David was able to find safety among them.

• as the LORD: Achish used the unique name of Israel’s God to prove his own sincerity.

• no fault in you: This statement was not completely true, but Achish did not realize this (1 Samuel 27:8–12).