1 Samuel 29:4

1Sa 29:4 And the princes of the Philistines were wroth with him; and the princes of the Philistines said unto him, Make this fellow return, that he may go again to his place which thou hast appointed him, and let him not go down with us to battle, lest in the battle he be an adversary to us: for wherewith should he reconcile himself unto his master? [should it] not [be] with the heads of these men?

Ver. 4. And the princes of the Philistines were wroth.] Therefore it appeareth they were his fellow princes, of the four other Satrapies, since they thus roughly ruffle with him: as also did Achilles in Homer with Agamemnon, -

“οινοβαρες, κυνος ομματ εχων, κραδιην δ ελαφοιο”

- Iliad., lib. i.

Make this fellow return.] A happy word for David, who was now in a great perplexity and peril, either of betraying his trust or fighting against his own people: neither of which he could have done with a good conscience. Here, therefore, God cut asunder this gordian knot, which David knew not how to untie. It would be ill with us sometimes, were it not for God’s good providence, and others’ malice.

Lest in the battle he be an adversary to us.] As some others have been. {1Sa 14:21} He is but a reconciled enemy at best: and Reconciliationes sunt vulpinae amicitiae: he is not to be trusted. This was military prudence in these princes, though Achish had endeavoured to justify David against their jealousies.

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 29:4. Make this fellow return to his place — To Ziklag, which they were content he should possess. For wherewith should he reconcile, &c. Should it not be with the heads of these men? — That is, of the Philistines. They reasoned wisely, according to the common maxims of prudence and true policy; for by such a course great enemies have sometimes been reconciled together. But the Divine Providence was no doubt concerned in suggesting these prudential considerations to their minds; for by this means David was delivered from that great strait and difficulty into which he had brought himself, and from which no human wisdom could have extricated him; either of being an enemy to, and fighting against his country, (as before observed,) or being false to his friend and to his trust. And, by the same providential incident, he was sent back time enough to recover his wives, and the wives and children of his men, and his all, from the Amalekites, which would have been irrecoverably lost if he had gone to this battle. And the kindness of God to David was the greater, because it would have been most just for God to have left him in those distresses into which his own sinful counsel had brought him.

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

29:4 handing our heads over: The commanders’ fears were justified (cp. 17:51; 18:27).

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

Would not Saul receive him to favor, if he would betray us?

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

the princes of the Philistines were wroth with him--It must be considered a happy circumstance in the overruling providence of God to rescue David out of the dangerous dilemma in which he was now placed. But David is not free from censure in his professions to Achish (Sa1 29:8), to do what he probably had not the smallest purpose of doing--of fighting with Achish against his enemies. It is just an instance of the unhappy consequences into which a false step--a departure from the straight course of duty--will betray everyone who commits it.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 4. The princes of the Philistines were wroth] It is strange that they had not yet heard of David's destruction of a village of the Geshurites, Gezrites, and Amalekites, 1Sa 27:8-9. Had they heard of this, they would have seen much more cause for suspicion.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(4) Go down.—This is a technical military expression, used constantly, on account of the necessity of the troops descending from the hill country in which they were encamped to the plain in order to fight.

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

4. this fellow] Simply, “the man:” but below, “wherewith should this fellow make himself acceptable unto his master? should it not be with the heads of those men?” Pointing to the troops marching past.

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 princes of the Philistines were wroth with him,.... With Achish, for giving such a character of David, and taking his part, in order to detain him, if possible:

and the princes of the Philistines said unto him, make this fellow return; they speak of him with contempt, and insist on it that Achish order him to turn back, and go no further with them:

that he may go again to his place which thou hast appointed him; to Ziklag, the place that Achish had given him for his residence, Sa1 27:6; they did not desire to have him sent to his own country, and to Saul, since should a reconciliation be made between them, he would be of great service to Saul against them:

and let him not go down with us to battle; into the valley of Jezreel, where the Israelites had pitched:

lest in the battle he be an adversary to us: and fall upon them behind, being in the rear, while they were engaging in the front with Israel:

for wherewith should he reconcile himself unto his master? to Saul he had offended, and fled from:

should it not be with the heads of these men? the Philistines; or unless by the heads of these men (m); he had no other way of making his peace with his master but by cutting off the heads of the Philistines; and therefore he was a dangerous man to take with them into the battle.

(m) "nisi per capita", Noldius, p. 257. No. 1147.

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

Adversary. Hebrew Satan, "a calumniator, enemy," &c. (Calmet) --- Tacitus (Hist. iv.) speaking of the Batavian corps, says, "which, being bribed, pretended to be faithful, that it might flee, and become more acceptable after it had betrayed the Romans in the heat of the engagement."

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).

Were wroth with him; were unsatisfied and offended with Achish for this intention and declaration.

Make this fellow return: herein the wise and gracious providence of God appeared, both in helping him out of those snares and difficulties, out of which no human wit could have extricated him, but he must either have been, or have been thought, to be a traitor, and an ungrateful, unworthy person either to the one or to the other side; and moreover in giving him the happy opportunity of recovering his own and his all from the Amalekites, which had been irrecoverably lost if he had gone into this battle. And the kindness of God to David was the greater, because it had been most just for God to have left David in all those distresses into which his own sinful counsel and course had brought him.

Of these men, i.e. of these our soldiers: they speak according to the rules of reason and true policy, for by this very course great enemies have sometimes been reconciled together.

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

4. With the heads of these men — When the princes uttered these words they meant, and probably pointed towards, the Philistine soldiers that stood around them.

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

Vers. 4-6. Angrily rejecting the testimony of Achish in David"s favour, they say, Make this fellow (Hebrew, "the man") return, that he may go again to his place, i.e. to Ziklag. He shall not go down with us to battle. Though the Philistines marched up into the Israelite territory, yet they speak naturally of going down into battle, because while armies usually encamped on opposite ranges of hills, they descended into the plain between for the encounter. An adversary. Hebrew, "a satan," without the article, and so in 1Ch_21:1. As a proper name it has the article, as in the books of Job and Zechariah. Should he reconcile himself. The verb means, "to make himself pleasing," "to commend himself." The heads of these men, pointing to the Philistine ranks. David of whom they sang, etc. The song of the Jewish maidens seems to have been as well known in Philistia as in the land of Israel On the former occasion it had made the Philistines drive him away from the court of Achish; (1Sa_21:11-15) here, too, it made them drive him from their army, but he was thereby saved from the painful necessity of making war on his own country, and returned just in time to rescue his wives and property.

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

Make this fellow - Herein the wise and gracious providence of God appeared, both in helping him out of these difficulties, out of which no human wit could have extricated him, but he must have been, an ungrateful person either to the one or the other side, and moreover in giving him the happy opportunity of recovering his own, and his all from the Amalekites, which had been irrecoverably lost, if he had gone into this battle. And the kindness of God to David was the greater, because it had been most just for God to have left David in those distresses into which his own sinful counsel had brought him. These men - That is, of these our soldiers, they speak according to the rules of true policy; for by this very course, great enemies have sometimes been reconciled together.

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

reconcile Or, make himself pleasing. (See Scofield "Dan 9:24").

The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

He will not go down with us into battle

The person here is a synecdoche for the army he commands. AT: "Do not let his army join with our army against our enemies"

For how else could he make himself acceptable to his master than by taking the heads of our own men?

This rhetorical question can be translated as a statement. Here "taking the heads" is a metonym for killing. AT: "The best way for David to make peace with his master would be by killing our soldiers!"

translationWords

prince

Philistines

anger

adversary

peace

lord

head

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.