1 Samuel 27

Chapter 27 marks a decisive turn in David's strategy. After the second sparing of Saul, David arrives at a cold assessment: the pursuit will not stop. His solution is to remove himself from Israelite territory entirely, which would also remove the justification for the search. He goes to Achish of Gath with his six hundred men and their families. Saul hears and abandons the pursuit. Achish gives David Ziklag as a residence — the city becomes associated with David's house for a later note, and its location in the Negeb will matter in chapter 29.

David spends sixteen months at Ziklag and uses the time to wage war on the traditional enemies of the south — the Geshurites, Girzites, and Amalekites. These are peoples of the ancient territory from Shur to Egypt, long-standing threats and rivals of the southern Israelite tribes. He kills everyone in each town he raids and takes their livestock and goods. He tells Achish that he has been raiding Israelite territory — the Negeb of Judah, the Negeb of the Jerahmeelites, the Negeb of the Kenites — and Achish believes him. He kills all the survivors in each raided settlement so that no one can go to Gath and report what he has actually been attacking. The deception is complete and the raiding may even benefit the tribes he will later rule. The chapter presents David's situation without editorial comment: he is surviving, and survival in his circumstances requires a sustained lie. Achish concludes that David has made himself permanently odious to Israel and will serve him forever.