^27:1David thought to himself,¹ “One of these days I’m going to be swept away by the hand of Saul! There is nothing better for me than to escape to the land of the Philistines. Then Saul will despair of searching for me through all the territory of Israel and I will escape from his hand.”

^27:2So David left and crossed over to King Achish son of Maoch of Gath accompanied by his six hundred men. ^27:3David settled with Achish in Gath, along with his men and their families.² David had with him his two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelite and Abigail the Carmelite, Nabal’s widow. ^27:4When Saul learned that David had fled to Gath, he did not mount a new search for him.

^27:5David said to Achish, “If I have found favor with you, let me be given a place in one of the country towns so that I can live there. Why should your servant settle in the royal city with you?” ^27:6So Achish gave him Ziklag on that day. (For that reason Ziklag has belonged to the kings of Judah until this very day.) ^27:7The length of time³ that David lived in the Philistine countryside was a year⁴ and four months.

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Footnotes

1 Heb “said to his heart.”
2 Heb “a man and his house.”
3 Heb “the number of the days.”
4 Heb “days.” The plural of the word “day” is sometimes used idiomatically to refer specifically to a year. In addition to this occurrence in v. 7 see also 1 Sam 1:3, 21; 2:19; 20:6; Lev 25:29; Judg 17:10.