1 Samuel 29:8-11

David Departs from Achish. 1 Samuel 29:8-11

8 And David said unto Achish, But what have I done? and what hast thou found in thy servant so long as I have been with thee unto this day, that I may not go fight against the enemies of my lord the king?
9 And Achish answered and said to David, I know that thou art good in my sight, as an angel of God; notwithstanding the princes of the Philistines have said, He shall not go up with us to the battle.

10 Wherefore now rise up early in the morning with thy master's servants that are come with thee: and as soon as ye be up early in the morning, and have light, depart.
11 So David and his men rose up early to depart in the morning, to return into the land of the Philistines. And the Philistines went up to Jezreel.

5.

Why did David protest? 1 Samuel 29:8

David was playing the part to the hilt. His words are ambiguous, and he does not expect that Achish will be able to make any charge against him. As he said that he would go and fight against the enemies of his lord the king, he does not make the reference personal. He could have been saying that he would fight against the Philistines, since he was really still loyal to Saul. Achish in his gullibility, took the statement of David to be a declaration of allegiance to him and assured David still more earnestly that he was firmly convinced of his honesty and integrity.

6.

Why did Achish compare David to an angel of God? 1 Samuel 29:9

This idiom is used quite often by people who want to show their deep respect for others. The comparison of the king to an angel of God was made by the woman of Tekoah, who came up to see David at the invitation of Joab (2 Samuel 14:17; 2 Samuel 14:20). In the case of the Israelites they would look to their monarch as God's vice-regent; but in the case of Achish, the idiom is probably no more than a way for him to say that he had the strongest conviction that David had behaved himself well. He was as faultless as an angel in the sight of Achish.