Principle
While David was hiding from Saul in Gath of the Philistines, he faked insanity before Achish, king of Gath.
Explanation
We previously observed that David fled to Gath in Philistia to escape from King Saul’s pursuit.
David was afraid of Achish, king of Gath, so he pretended to be insane before him.
11 And he gave it to him. Then David arose and fled that day from before Saul. And David went to Achish the king of Gath. 12 And the servants of Achish said to him, “Is this not David, the king of the land? Is this not the one to whom the dancing women say:
‘Saul slew his thousands,
And David his ten thousands’?”13 Now David took these words in his heart, and was very much afraid of Achish the king of Gath. 14 So he changed his appearance before him and pretended to be mad on that day. He pounded on the doors of the city and acted like a madman with his hands, falling down upon the door of the gate and letting his saliva drip down on his beard. 15 Then Achish said to his servants, “Look, you see the man is insane. Why did you bring him to me? 16 Do I need madmen? Did you bring this fellow to be mad in my presence? This man will not come into the house!”
1 Kingdoms [1 Samuel] 21:11-16 OSB
Thus, David’s time in Gath was brief but useful, as he escaped Saul’s pursuits in their territory.
Leave a Reply