The Philistines Send David Away

The Philistines gathered all their armies at Aphek, while the Israelites camped by the spring at Jezreel. As the Philistine rulers marched past with their troops in groups of hundreds and thousands, David and his men were at the rear with Achish.

When the Philistine princes saw David, they asked, “What about these Hebrews?” Achish answered that this was David, Saul’s servant, who had been with him for a long time. Achish said he had found no fault in David since the day David joined him.

But the Philistine princes were angry with Achish. They told him to send David back to the place appointed for him. They did not want David going into battle with them, because they feared he might turn against them there. They remembered the song that said Saul had killed thousands, and David tens of thousands.

So Achish called David and said that, in his sight, David had been upright. Still, the Philistine rulers did not approve of him. Achish told David to return in peace so that he would not displease the Philistine lords.

David asked what he had done wrong and why he could not go and fight against the enemies of his lord the king. Achish answered that he thought well of David, but the princes had decided he must not go to battle. He told David to leave early in the morning. So David rose early with his men and returned to the land of the Philistines, while the Philistines went up to Jezreel.