David Decides To Move To Gath And Is Welcomed By Achish (1 Samuel 27:1-4).
It is easy to understand the reason why David moved to Gath. He had at last realised that there was no hope of any further reconciliation with Saul, and had no doubt also recognised that a broody and constantly changing Saul would never finally leave him and his men to get on with their lives. Furthermore he was once again a married man, and his wives were with him, and it would appear that many of his men also had their families (‘households' - 1 Samuel 27:3) with them, possibly sheltering them from the vengeance of Saul. Life in the harsh wilderness was no life for such as them. Thus the idea of being mercenaries to the Philistines and living a ‘normal' life must have appealed to them. While David had previously been rejected at Gath as an individual who had fairly recently slain Goliath, it was very unlikely that a strong band of Habiru mercenaries would be rejected by the Philistines, as previous references have suggested (1 Samuel 14:21).
Analysis.
a And David said in his heart, “I shall now perish one day by the hand of Saul. There is nothing better for me than that I should escape into the land of the Philistines, and Saul will despair of me, to seek me any more in all the borders of Israel. So shall I escape out of his hand” (1 Samuel 27:1).
b And David arose, and passed over, he and the six hundred men who were with him, to Achish the son of Maoch, king of Gath (1 Samuel 27:2).
b And David dwelt with Achish at Gath, he and his men, every man with his household, even David with his two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the Carmelitess, Nabal's wife (1 Samuel 27:3).
a And it was told Saul that David was fled to Gath, and he sought no more again for him (1 Samuel 27:4).
Note than in ‘a' David hoped by going to Gath to cause Saul to give up pursuing him, and in the parallel that is what happened. Centrally in ‘b' David and his six hundred left Israel and took service under the King of Gath as an independent mercenary force, and in the parallel dwelt in Gath, along with their wives and children. (their ‘households'; compare 1 Samuel 30:6).
‘ And David said in his heart, “I shall now perish one day by the hand of Saul. There is nothing better for me than that I should escape into the land of the Philistines, and Saul will despair of me, to seek me any more in all the borders of Israel. So shall I escape out of his hand.” '
Musing in his heart over the whole situation that they faced David came to the conclusion that the time had at last arrived when he and his men must leave Israel. It had become quite clear to him that Saul was not to be trusted whatever he might say (which was, of course, partly due to his dreadful psychiatric illness which no one would have been able to understand), and that those of his men's families who were with them could not be expected to go on living in wilderness conditions in constant fear of pursuit. Better then to take his now experienced military force and put them at the disposal of someone who would appreciate them. The employment of such mercenary forces was a feature of those times. It was something that was true over many centuries, for in a world where nations were continually seeking to grow rich at the expense of those around them (2 Samuel 11:1), kings were always looking to augment their own armies with experienced foreign mercenaries so as to make themselves more effective.
It was quite clear to him that once they had moved out of Israel the news would reach Saul so that he would cease to pursue them. They would no longer be his concern. Thus they would be able to relax and live without the constant fear of Saul being on their tails. Of course they would be required to earn their keep. They would be expected to take part in border raids and seize booty, and to take part in any major engagements that their employer required of them. But it would be better than living in the wilderness, surviving on minimal provisions.
There is much that we are not told. We are not told whether David consulted God, although in the light of what we know from elsewhere it seems very likely. Nor are we told why David seems always to have favoured Gath over the other main Philistine cities. Perhaps it was because Achish was famed as a warrior king, or because Gath was well known for welcoming migrants. Or it may have been because he knew that the king of Gath and Saul were sworn enemies so that there was no likelihood that Achish would hand him over to Saul. Or possibly it was simply because it was the nearest and had territories extending down to the Negeb. It was probably only a few miles/kilometres from Lachish, but its site has not yet been certainly identified.
‘ And David arose, and passed over, he and the six hundred men who were with him, to Achish the son of Maoch, king of Gath.'
Having come to his decision David made overtures to the king of Gath and clearly came to an understanding with him, for he and his ‘six hundred' (six small but effective military units) passed over the border and went to Gath.
We do not know whether this Achish was the same as the Achish in 1 Samuel 21:10-15. ‘Son of Maoch' might be intended to make a distinction. Achish may have been a throne name (compare Abimelech in Genesis 1Sa 20:2; 1 Samuel 26:1; Psalms 34 heading). On the other hand there is no reason why they should not be the same person. An Achish, king of Gath, is also mentioned in 1 Kings 2:39-40, but there is no reason for thinking that Achish could not have had a long reign. It may be asked why Achish should accept David now when he had rejected him years before, but we should recognise that then it had been as a single suppliant seeking refuge and feigning madness, now it was as leader of an effective military force. The situation was totally different. How much the Philistines knew of his exploits we do not know, but they were certainly aware of his past fame (1 Samuel 29:5).
‘ And David dwelt with Achish at Gath, he and his men, every man with his household, even David with his two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the Carmelitess, Nabal's wife.'
So David and his men, with their households of women and children, settled down in Gath, David having with him his two wives Ahinoam and Abigail.
‘ And it was told Saul that David was fled to Gath, and he sought no more again for him.'
The news that David had left Israel and was living in Gath reached Saul, and the result was that he stopped looking for him. It is clear that he did not expect the king of Gath to hand David over. The Philistines and the Israelites were at constant enmity and saw themselves as independent of each other. Thus David's anticipated purpose (1 Samuel 27:1) had been fulfilled.