Chapter 29 is a short chapter, yet it resolves one of the greatest predicaments in which David found himself. At the end of the previous chapter we saw that Achish, king of Gat, attaches David and his men to the Philistine camp going out to war against Shaul, and appoints him as the guardian of his head. The screaming question is: how can David go out to battle shoulder to shoulder with the Philistines against his own people? In the chapter before us, through a delicate diplomatic negotiation between Achish, the officers, the lords, and David, the problem resolves itself, and David is freed from the war, he and his men. The Malbim leads us through the dialogues and shows how every word here is precise.
וַיִּקְבְּצוּ פְלִשְׁתִּים אֶת־כָּל־מַחֲנֵיהֶם אֲפֵקָה וְיִשְׂרָאֵל חֹנִים בַּעַיִן אֲשֶׁר בְּיִזְרְעֶאל׃ - And the Philistines gathered all their camps to Afek, and Israel was encamped by the spring that is in Yizreel.
At first glance there are two difficulties: we already learned above that the Philistines gathered their camps, so why does the verse repeat it? And furthermore, there it said that they encamped in Shunem, while here it says they gathered at Afek. The Malbim resolves this: both statements are true. On the first day they gathered in Shunem, and on the second day their boldness grew and they advanced and reached Afek, closer to Shaul's camp.
וְסַרְנֵי פְלִשְׁתִּים עֹבְרִים לְמֵאוֹת וְלַאֲלָפִים וְדָוִד וַאֲנָשָׁיו עֹבְרִים בָּאַחֲרֹנָה עִם־אָכִישׁ׃ - And the lords of the Philistines were passing by in hundreds and in thousands, and David and his men were passing by at the rear with Achish.
Here the Malbim gives us a key worth remembering, for the understanding of the entire chapter depends on it: the Philistines have officers and they have lords, and these are two different things. The lords are only five, the five lords of the Philistines who appear throughout, and they are like the heads of the cities: Gat, Ekron, Ashkelon, Aza, five cities and their five heads. If so, one cannot explain that the lords themselves numbered hundreds and thousands, for there were only five. Rather the meaning is: the lords pass by, and beneath them hundreds and thousands of soldiers. And over those hundreds and thousands many officers were appointed, for beneath each lord are many officers, and the officers together with their soldiers are the great multitude, the hundreds and the thousands.
And David and his men, after Achish appointed him as the guardian of his head and promised him that he would witness feats of valor in battle, now accompany him and pass by at the rear, going out to the battle.
וַיֹּאמְרוּ שָׂרֵי פְלִשְׁתִּים מָה הָעִבְרִים הָאֵלֶּה וַיֹּאמֶר אָכִישׁ אֶל־שָׂרֵי פְלִשְׁתִּים הֲלוֹא־זֶה דָוִד עֶבֶד שָׁאוּל מֶלֶךְ־יִשְׂרָאֵל אֲשֶׁר הָיָה אִתִּי זֶה יָמִים אוֹ־זֶה שָׁנִים וְלֹא־מָצָאתִי בוֹ מְאוּמָה מִיּוֹם נָפְלוֹ עַד־הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה׃ - And the officers of the Philistines said: What are these Hebrews? And Achish said to the officers of the Philistines: Is this not David, the servant of Shaul king of Israel, who has been with me these days, or these years, and I have found nothing in him from the day he deserted until this day?
The officers come with a grievance: who are these Hebrew men? After all, we are going out to battle against the Hebrews, so how are there Hebrews within our camp? A kind of fifth column. And the Malbim emphasizes: the main point of their complaint was that they did not want David to come with them to war at all. And who complains? The officers.
Here it is important to notice the distinction: the officers had one complaint, and the lords another. The officers argued: why did you attach David to us for the battle at all? He has no place here, and how could you bring Hebrews into a war against the Hebrews? But another complaint, why did you appoint David as your bodyguard? Are we not honorable enough that you must bring in an outsider? Such a complaint would come specifically from the lords, who were the most prominent in the camp. The lords did not mind David fighting as an ordinary soldier in the infantry; what bothered them was the very appointment as the king's bodyguard.
Achish understood that the officers did not want David at all, so he set out to persuade them that he trusted David and had no doubts. He said: "Is this not David, the servant of Shaul," that is, a servant who rebelled against his master, and a servant who rebelled against his master seeks a way to take revenge on him, so he will fight against Shaul with all his strength. And further: "who has been with me these days, or these years." "These days," for he had been dwelling in the fields of the Philistines about four months and a few days. "Or these years," for already once before David had come to Achish, except that then he came alone, and when he heard people say "Shaul has slain his thousands and David his tens of thousands," he feigned madness and scribbled on the doors and got rid of him. Now, the second time, he came with an army of six hundred men and therefore was not afraid and stayed. In other words: you have nothing to worry about, this is no new man, I have known him a long time and have found no fault in him.
וַיִּקְצְפוּ עָלָיו שָׂרֵי פְלִשְׁתִּים וַיֹּאמְרוּ לוֹ שָׂרֵי פְלִשְׁתִּים הָשֵׁב אֶת־הָאִישׁ וְיָשֹׁב אֶל־מְקוֹמוֹ אֲשֶׁר הִפְקַדְתּוֹ שָׁם וְלֹא־יֵרֵד עִמָּנוּ בַּמִּלְחָמָה וְלֹא־יִהְיֶה־לָּנוּ לְשָׂטָן בַּמִּלְחָמָה וּבַמֶּה יִתְרַצֶּה זֶה אֶל־אֲדֹנָיו הֲלוֹא בְּרָאשֵׁי הָאֲנָשִׁים הָהֵם׃ - And the officers of the Philistines were angry with him, and the officers of the Philistines said to him: Send the man back, that he may return to his place where you have appointed him, and let him not go down with us into battle, lest he become an adversary to us in the battle. For with what could this one make himself acceptable to his master? Would it not be with the heads of these men?
The Malbim examines their precise wording: "Send the man back" - they were insisting only on David alone, not on his men. For their practice was to take into the army people from the opposing nation, ordinary men for the infantry, and even the slaves in their possession were forced to fight for them. But David himself, whether as bodyguard or as a fighter, could not be trusted. And their argument was on either possibility: if David was fleeing from Shaul because Shaul had driven him out and suspected that he did not serve him faithfully, then "with what could this one make himself acceptable to his master?" How could he restore Shaul's heart toward himself? By going out, so to speak, to battle against him, and in the middle turning to attack us, and then coming to Shaul as a hero and saying: See, you did not believe in my loyalty, look how loyal I am to you. This is a perfect opportunity to clear himself.
And this is a pattern of thinking familiar to us to this very day. Among the Palestinians, a man who is in the crosshairs on suspicion of collaboration, how does he clear himself? He goes and murders his Jewish handler, and thereby receives a certificate of approval to return to society. And if not, he finds himself hanging from an electricity pole in some square in Gaza, he and even his family members. We see that this was so already from back then.
הֲלוֹא־זֶה דָוִד אֲשֶׁר יַעֲנוּ־לוֹ בַּמְּחֹלוֹת לֵאמֹר הִכָּה שָׁאוּל בַּאֲלָפָיו וְדָוִד בְּרִבְבֹתָו׃ - Is this not David, of whom they will sing in the dances, saying: Shaul has slain his thousands and David his tens of thousands?
Here the officers respond to a second possibility: and if you say that they did not drive him out at all, and he is not trying to find favor in Shaul's eyes, but rather he himself fled in order to rebel against Shaul and seize the kingship, then even so there is no remedy for you. Note the wording: it should have said "of whom they sang in the dances," in the past tense. Yet they say "will sing," in the future tense, meaning: do you not understand that he will fight against us so that they will sing of him in the dances in the future "Shaul has slain his thousands and David his tens of thousands"? For his ultimate goal is to rule over the people of Israel, to topple Shaul and take the kingship, and he will seek every way to bring the people to sing of him like this again, so that it will serve as grounds to seize the kingship. And you are now giving him an opportunity to kill us in order to win the crown.
וַיִּקְרָא אָכִישׁ אֶל־דָּוִד וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלָיו חַי־יְהֹוָה כִּי־יָשָׁר אַתָּה וְטוֹב בְּעֵינַי צֵאתְךָ וּבֹאֲךָ אִתִּי בַּמַּחֲנֶה כִּי לֹא־מָצָאתִי בְךָ רָעָה מִיּוֹם בֹּאֲךָ אֵלַי עַד־הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה וּבְעֵינֵי הַסְּרָנִים לֹא־טוֹב אָתָּה׃ - And Achish called to David and said to him: As the Lord lives, you are upright, and your going out and coming in with me in the camp is good in my eyes, for I have found no evil in you from the day you came to me until this day; but in the eyes of the lords you are not good.
Here the Malbim raises several enormous questions about the plain meaning of the verses. First, in whose eyes did David fail to find favor? In the eyes of the officers, as it is explicit "and the officers of the Philistines said, what are these Hebrews?" So why does Achish tell him "but in the eyes of the lords you are not good"? Second, we will immediately see that David insists on going out to the battle, and what is there to insist upon after he was told that he is not good in their eyes? And if you say that David answered him, do not listen to the lords and do as you understand best, then in the following verse Achish repeats and tells him "but the officers of the Philistines said, he shall not go up with us into battle," and again this is no answer to that argument. And further: at first Achish sends David alone, "and now return and go in peace," and afterward he sends his men as well, "rise early in the morning, you and your master's servants who came with you."
And the greatest difficulty of all: how could it enter one's mind that David prepared to go out and fight shoulder to shoulder with the Pelishtim against his own people? The Ralbag resolved this by saying that David did not prepare at all to fight his own people, but rather planned that in the middle of the battle he would turn about and fight against the Pelishtim. But the Malbim rejects this: such a thing cannot be entertained, and it does not befit a man like him to repay evil for good. The Pelishtim were the ones who protected him and guarded him from Shaul, they were the ones who gave him a place and enabled him to survive these months without constant pursuit, and now he would rise up and kill them? That is utter ingratitude. And not only that: his wives and children were placed in Tziklag, which is part of the territory of the Pelishtim and which Achish had given him, and if he fought the Pelishtim they would murder all the women and children.
And if you were to say, perhaps he did indeed want to go out to battle but only to kill Shaul, since Shaul had the status of a pursuer and it was permitted for him to kill him, and by this means he would seize the kingship as he had been promised from the mouth of Hashem? This too cannot be entertained, for he had already had two opportunities to kill Shaul and did not kill him; and if he did not kill him then, why should we think that he would now come with the Pelishtim in order to kill him?
Rather, this is how the Malbim explains it. Achish did not want to reveal to David that the officers suspected him and were saying that he was not trustworthy for anything, neither as a guard nor as a fighter. He preferred to tell him: the lords are jealous of you because you merited to be the king's bodyguard. They have no suspicion at all regarding your loyalty, you are entirely honorable, but they are asking why you brought an outsider as bodyguard and did not appoint us. And according to this, of course, they had no objection to your very coming to the battle, and it would have been possible to send David as a simple soldier. Only that Achish did not want to propose this to him, since it would damage his honor: he had given him the great distinction of being bodyguard, and now he would lower him to the rank of an ordinary man? Therefore he preferred to propose that he return home.
וְעַתָּה שׁוּב וְלֵךְ בְּשָׁלוֹם וְלֹא־תַעֲשֶׂה רָע בְּעֵינֵי סַרְנֵי פְלִשְׁתִּים׃ - And now, return and go in peace, and do not do evil in the eyes of the lords of the Pelishtim.
And from here it is understood why at the outset it says "return and go in peace" in the singular: because according to the presentation that Achish put forward, there is no problem at all with the rest of the soldiers. What bothers the lords is only that David is the king's bodyguard, and therefore David alone shall return, while his men may go out to battle. And he concluded: "and do not do evil in the eyes of the lords of the Pelishtim," I do not want them to provoke you.
וַיֹּאמֶר דָּוִד אֶל־אָכִישׁ כִּי מֶה עָשִׂיתִי וּמַה־מָּצָאתָ בְעַבְדְּךָ מִיּוֹם אֲשֶׁר הָיִיתִי לְפָנֶיךָ עַד הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה כִּי לֹא אָבוֹא וְנִלְחַמְתִּי בְּאֹיְבֵי אֲדֹנִי הַמֶּלֶךְ׃ - And David said to Achish: But what have I done, and what have you found in your servant from the day that I have been before you until this day, that I should not come and fight against the enemies of my lord the king?
David understood the truth. He grasped that they suspected him and did not want him, neither as a bodyguard nor even as a simple soldier. But one thing troubled him: I am exempt and going home, but my men will go to fight against Israel? How can I do such a thing? I must save them too from this whole affair. Therefore he argues: what have you found in your servant, that I cannot come and fight against the enemies of my lord the king? That is to say: behold, I am ready to come as one of the people. If the lords do not want a bodyguard named David, I will come as a private, as an infantryman, and what do you care. And in truth he had no intention whatsoever of coming, but he proposed this in order to compel the king to let the statement out of his mouth: I cannot accept you even as a soldier, nor your men either. For this statement he was waiting.
וַיַּעַן אָכִישׁ וַיֹּאמֶר אֶל־דָּוִד יָדַעְתִּי כִּי טוֹב אַתָּה בְּעֵינַי כְּמַלְאַךְ אֱלֹהִים אַךְ שָׂרֵי פְלִשְׁתִּים אָמְרוּ לֹא־יַעֲלֶה עִמָּנוּ בַּמִּלְחָמָה׃ - And Achish answered and said to David: I know that you are good in my eyes like an angel of God, but the officers of the Pelishtim have said, He shall not go up with us into the battle.
Now Achish is forced to tell the truth. Had the objection come only from the seranim (the Philistine lords), he really could have taken David along as an ordinary soldier. But the truth is that the objection comes from the ministers, and the ministers do not care who serves as the king's bodyguard; they simply do not want David coming to fight alongside them at all. So he admits: "But the ministers of the Philistines said he shall not go up with us into battle." What can I do, they suspect you.
וְעַתָּה הַשְׁכֵּם בַּבֹּקֶר וְעַבְדֵי אֲדֹנֶיךָ אֲשֶׁר־בָּאוּ אִתָּךְ וְהִשְׁכַּמְתֶּם בַּבֹּקֶר וְאוֹר לָכֶם וָלֵכוּ׃ - And now rise up early in the morning, you and your master's servants who came with you; and when you have risen early in the morning and have light, depart.
Since he has admitted that those who oppose are the ministers, he has no choice but to admit that he can accept neither David nor his men. If the ministers object, they want none of them in the battle, neither as a bodyguard nor as an ordinary fighter. But here a concern of disgrace arises: David and his men would pack their belongings and leave the camp before everyone's eyes. So Achish tells him: "When you have risen early in the morning and have light, depart." Having been forced to reveal to him that his loyalty is suspected, he does not want to hurt him further, so he advises him to set out early in the morning, even before one man can recognize his fellow, with the first light, so that no one will see them leaving and the disgrace will be minimized.
וַיַּשְׁכֵּם דָּוִד הוּא וַאֲנָשָׁיו לָלֶכֶת בַּבֹּקֶר לָשׁוּב אֶל־אֶרֶץ פְּלִשְׁתִּים וּפְלִשְׁתִּים עָלוּ יִזְרְעֶאל׃ - So David and his men rose up early to depart in the morning, to return to the land of the Philistines; and the Philistines went up to Yizreel.
David achieved exactly what he wanted: a full release for himself and his men, and he does not need to go out and fight against the people of Israel. They rise early in the morning and return to the land of the Philistines, to Tziklag, where their place was. And the Philistines go up to Yizreel to fight against Shaul and the people of Israel.
Chapter 29 is a chapter of a rescue accomplished through diplomatic dialogues. The Malbim opens the chapter for us with a single key: the distinction between the ministers and the seranim, and between their two different complaints. The ministers do not want David in the battle at all, because he cannot be trusted; the seranim are jealous only of his appointment as bodyguard. Achish, who does not want to hurt David's honor, presents him with the seranim's version and suggests that he return alone. David, who understood the truth but was concerned to save his men, insists on coming as an ordinary soldier, and thereby forces Achish to admit that the ministers want neither him nor his men. And so David fulfills his obligation: he does not repay evil for good to the Philistines who protected him, he does not endanger his wives and children in Tziklag, and he does not raise a hand against his own people. Everything is done with wisdom, with honor, and with Divine Providence, and David and his men return safely to Tziklag while the Philistines go up to Yizreel.