NOTES for Sa1 27:1-12
Driven from his land by Saul, David finds refuge among the Philistines, Israel’s longtime enemies. Let us note that David displays no indiscriminate “anti-Philistinism”: he does not treat Achish as an enemy merely because he is a Philistine. He places relationships with particular people above national prejudice. While living among the Philistines, he does what benefits both them and the Israelites: he subdues the warlike nomadic tribes inhabiting the wilderness. Is his degree of guile justified when he portrays this to Achish as a campaign against the Israelites under Saul’s rule, thereby strengthening Achish’s trust in him?