1 Samuel 21:11

1Sa 21:11 And the servants of Achish said unto him, [Is] not this David the king of the land? did they not sing one to another of him in dances, saying, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands?

Ver. 11. And the servants of Achish.] Who had some way discovered and apprehended David, and then his sword - got by a lie - could not but be prejudicial to him. It was a great mercy that the Philistines had not slain him with it; like as it was to Peter, that the rude soldiers had not cut him in pieces when he cut off Malchus’s ear; but David prayed hard when he was in their hands, {Psa 34:6} and so escaped.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1Sa_21:11

And he changed his behaviour before them.

David scrabbling at the gate

Taking the behaviour of David as a suggestion, I wish to tell you how many of the wise, and the brave, and the regal sometimes play the fool.

I. I remark that those men as badly play the fool as this man of the text, who in any crisis of life take their case out of the hand of God. David, in this case, acted as though there were no God to lift him out of the predicament. The life of the most insignificant man is too vast for any human management.

II. I remark that all those persons play the fool, as certainly as did this man of the text, who allow the technicalities of religion to stop their salvation.

III. I go still further, and say to you that those men play the fool who undertake to pay out eternity for time.

IV. I say to you that those men play the fool who, while they admit the righteousness of religion, set it down for future attendance. (T. De Witt Talmage.)

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The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1Sa 21:11. King of the land — Of Canaan. They call him king, either more generally for the governor, the most eminent captain and commander, or, as the king elect, the person designed to be king: for, by this time, the fame of Saul’s rejection, and David’s destination to the kingdom, was got abroad among the Israelites, and from them, probably, to the Philistines. Did they not sing, &c. — And therefore consider what to do; and now our great enemy is in thy hand, be sure thou never let him go alive.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

21:11 the king of the land: David’s reputation as a mighty warrior even greater than King Saul (see 18:7) had grown to the point where foreigners began referring to him as Israel’s king.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

(11) Is not this David?—Some expositors have supposed, but quite needlessly, that it was the sword of Goliath which betrayed the identity of the hero; but although David in his humility did not suspect how widely spread was his fame, he was evidently as well known in Philistia as in his own land. That popular lilt, the folk-song of the Israelitish maidens, which sang of the prowess of David, the son of Jesse, was no doubt current in frontier towns like Gath, and at once the fugitive was recognised. We hear of no attempt made upon his life, or even against his liberty. The feeling among his generous foes was rather pitiful admiration mingled with wonder at seeing the doer of such splendid achievements in poverty and in exile.

David the king.—Here, again, the title king is vaguely used. Neither the people of Gath nor his own countrymen—save, perhaps, a few chosen spirits—knew of the sacred anointing by Samuel at Bethlehem. The appellation simply means: Is not this the renowned warrior, the greatest man in Israel of whom the people sing? Saul, our sovereign, has been a valiant captain over us, and has slain his thousands; but this one is greater still, he has slain his ten thousands.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

11. the king of the land] The natural exaggeration of popular rumour. David had appeared as chief leader in the Philistine wars.

did they not sing, &c.] Do they not sing. It had become a popular song. See on 1Sa_18:7.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And the servants of Achish said unto him,.... Who knew who David was, and perceiving that he was respected by Achish:

is not this David the king of the land? of the land of the Philistines; so some render the words, "the king of this land" (q); which belongs unto him for his conquest of Goliath; for this was what was proposed by him, that whoever was the conqueror should possess the kingdom; and seeing it belongs to him, O Achish, why dost thou admit him to court? thou wilt be driven from the throne, and we shall be his servants, and not thine (r): but rather they mean the king of the land of Israel, having heard that he was anointed king by Samuel, and was to succeed Saul; or rather, they called him so because he led out the armies of Israel as their general, and being victorious was more respected than even Saul was; for they had heard what the women sung in their songs as follows:

did they not sing one to another of him in dances, saying, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands? which are the burden of their song, Sa1 18:7; and from whence the servants of Achish concluded, that he was in greater authority or honour, and in greater esteem than Saul their king was.

(q) "rex hujus regionis", Vatablus. (r) Vid. Jarchium & Jesaiam in loc.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

The king of the land - The Philistines gave him the title which their own lords bore.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Land, equal to a king in glory. (Menochius) --- Perhaps they had heard of the rejection of Saul, and reflected that their own country belonged to him, according to the terms proposed by Goliath. (Calmet)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

The king of the land, or, of this land, i.e. of the land of Canaan. They call him king, either more generally for the governor, as that word is used Deu 33:5, for the most eminent captain and commander, and, as it were, the king of the Israelitish armies; or rather, more specially, the king, to wit, the king elect, the person designed to be king; for by this time the fame of Saul’s rejection, and David’s destination to the kingdom, was got abroad among the Israelites, and from them probably to the Philistines’ ears.

Did they not sing one to another of him in dances, saying, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands? and therefore consider what to do; and now thine and our great enemy is in thy hand, be sure thou never let him go alive.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

11. The servants of Achish — Who brought David into the royal presence. Where and in what manner these servants met with David we are not told; but the supposition, based on the title of Psalm lvi, is exceedingly plausible: that they had taken him captive while he was wandering in the land of Philistia.

King of the land — “Thus they call David, not because his anointing and Divine election were known to them, but on account of his victorious deeds, which had thrown Saul entirely into the shade.” — Keil.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

David the king of the land. The servants of Achish use the title of king in a very general way. Thus Achish, though really a seren, (see 1Sa_5:11) is called king of Gath; and they meant nothing more as regards David than that he was Israel"s great man, though in accepting Goliath"s challenge he had undertaken what in old time was regarded as the king"s especial duty. Did they not sing one to another of him in dances? The Hebrew method of singing was by choruses, who sang and danced in turns to the music of their tambours. (see on 1Sa_18:7) David evidently had hoped not to be recognised, but to be admitted to serve as a soldier, or in some other capacity, without many questions being asked. As we find an Edomite in Saul"s service, Cushites, Maachathites, and other foreigners in the employment of David, there was probably much of this desertion of one service for another, especially as kings in those days had absolute authority and their displeasure was death.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

King of the land - Of Canaan. They call him king, either more generally for the governor, the most eminent captain and commander, or, as the king elect, the person designed to be king: for, by this time, the fame of Saul's rejection, and David's destination to the kingdom, was got abroad among the Israelites, and from them, probably to the Philistines. Did they not sing, &c. - And therefore consider what to do; and now our great enemy is in thy hand, be sure thou never let him go alive.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.