Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 1 Samuel 28:2
And David said to Achish, Surely thou shalt know what thy servant can do. And Achish said to David, Therefore will I make thee keeper of mine head forever.
2. Surely thou shalt know ] Better, Therefore now shalt thou know: reading now for thou with the Sept. and Vulg. David’s answer is designedly ambiguous. He is placed in a perplexing dilemma. It seems as though he must either fight against his own nation, or appear false to his liege lord Achish. The difficulty was providentially solved by the suspicion of the Philistine princes (1Sa 29:3 ff.).
keeper of mine head ] Captain of his body-guard. Achish accepts David’s answer as a profession of loyalty.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Thou shalt know … – David dissembled (compare also 1Sa 29:8), hoping, no doubt, that something would happen to prevent his fighting against his king and country.
Keeper of mine head – Captain of his bodyguard.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 2. Surely thou shalt know what thy servant can do] This was another equivocal answer; and could only be understood by his succeeding conduct. It might imply what he could do in favour of the Philistines against Israel; or in favour of Israel against the Philistines. Achish understood it in the former sense; and therefore he said to David, I will make thee keeper of my head for ever; i.e., Thou shalt be captain of my life-guards.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
David speaks ambitiously, as he did before, that Achish might understand him, as he did, of his acting for him against the Israelites; whereas he meant it of his acting for the Israelites against the Philistines, to which he was obliged both by Gods express command, and by his indelible and manifold obligations to God, and to Gods people, and by his own manifest interest. Though it is likely he would have managed his affairs with all possible regard and care of Achishs person, to whom alone, upon the matter, David stood obliged, and not to the rest of the Philistines, who had an ill opinion of him, as we shall see.
Therefore; for that valour which I doubt not thou wilt show on my behalf.
Of mine head, i.e. of my body and life, the captain of my life-guard.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
2. Surely thou shalt know what thyservant can doThis answer, while it seemed to express anapparent cheerfulness in agreeing to the proposal, contained astudied ambiguitya wary and politic generality.
Therefore will I make theekeeper of mine head for everor, “my life”; that is,”captain of my bodyguard,” an office of great trust andhigh honor.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And David said to Achish, surely thou shalt know what thy servant can do,…. By which he would have Achish understand, and so he did, that he would exert himself in favour of the Philistines, and against Israel, and do great and brave things, of which Achish would be, made sensible, through his heroic courage and valour; though he meant rather what he could and should do for Israel against the Philistines, if he had an opportunity: but it seems best of all to consider David as quite undetermined, and at a loss what to do, hoping that God in his providence would extricate him out of this difficulty, and direct him what he should do, which then Achish would know; and accordingly he was delivered out of it:
and Achish said to David: putting confidence in him on account of his answer, and believing he was hearty in engaging in the war with the Philistines against Israel:
therefore will I make thee keeper of mine head for ever; the captain of his bodyguard, which post he should hold for life; or he proposed to put him into this post, that he might be with him, near his person, and under his eye, that he might observe how he behaved himself; which may show some suspicion of him.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(2) And David said to Achish.Sorely perplexed, David temporises. He dares not refuse; and yet, the idea of commanding a Philistine division in a war with Israel was to him a terrible alternative.
And Achish said to David, Therefore will I make thee keeper of mine head for ever.The King of Gath, like so many others with whom the winning son of Jesse came in contact in his career, seems to have been completely won by his loveable, generous character, and would not see any ambiguity in Davids reply, but at once offers him in the coming campaign a most distinguished appointment in the army of Gaththe command of the body-guard: for this is what Ewald understands the offer of King Achish to signify.
But, as we shall see, the blind confidence of the king was not fully shared in by the Philistine chieftains; jealousy of the distinguished stranger captain opened their eyes to Davids real feelings. (See 1Sa. 29:3; 1Sa. 29:11.) It is also quite conceivable, too, that whispers respecting David s expeditions during the past year were current in some Philistine quarters. The eyes of the king, thought these more far-seeing nobles, were blinded by his partiality for his military vassal. (See Note on 1Sa. 29:3.)
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
2. Surely thou shalt know what thy servant can do This was an ambiguous reply, and capable of being construed for or against Achish. The king, however, understood it in a favourable sense.
Keeper of mine head Guard of my person; chief of my life-guards. How David was providentially delivered from his difficult position we learn in chap. 29.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
(2) And David said to Achish, Surely thou shalt know what thy servant can do. And Achish said to David, Therefore will I make thee keeper of mine head forever.
The situation of David was critical. How could he fight against his own people? And on the other hand, how could he continue in safety with Achish?
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
1Sa 28:2 And David said to Achish, Surely thou shalt know what thy servant can do. And Achish said to David, Therefore will I make thee keeper of mine head for ever.
Ver. 2. Surely thou shalt know what thy servant can do. ] But whether for Achish or against him, he saith not. Indeed, he could do neither with any honesty, and therefore he maketh a double answer; equivocating, as he had done before. 1Sa 27:9 Josephus is out when he saith that David did readily promise Achish his help; for what show soever he made, he meant nothing less, but prayed and hoped that God would extricate him out of this labyrinth, as also he did, 1Sa 29:3-7 so that he neither fought against Israel, nor was false to Achish.
Thee keeper of mine head.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Surely = Therefore; which Achish repeats in his reply.
keeper of mine head: i.e. captain of my body-guard.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Surely: 1Sa 27:10, 2Sa 16:16-19, Rom 12:9
Reciprocal: Exo 21:6 – for ever 1Sa 29:1 – the Philistines 1Sa 29:2 – but David 1Sa 29:8 – that I may not 2Sa 16:19 – should I not serve Psa 60:7 – strength Son 3:7 – threescore
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
1Sa 28:2. David said, Surely thou shalt know what thy servant can do He answered ambiguously, as he did before. Achish said, Therefore will I make thee keeper of my head That is, he promised to make him captain of his life-guard, which, we find by the sequel, he accordingly did. Achish evidently understood David as promising that he would do his best to serve him. Delaney thinks that David gave Achish a doubtful answer, because he would not resolve upon so extraordinary a step without consulting God, either by his priest or his prophet. And that, as he proceeded so far as to attend Achish to Aphek, the place appointed for the assembling of the Philistine forces, there is no reason to doubt that he went thither with honest intentions toward his protector, and that he did it by the divine permission.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
1Sa 28:2 is continued by 1Sa 29:1; the connexion is broken by the insertion of
1Sa 28:3-25. Saul and the Witch of Endor.This section interrupts the connexion; moreover, it would come naturally immediately before the battle of Gilboa. Saul is at Gilboa (p. 29) in 284. Opinions are divided; some hold that this section is from another source (E) than the bulk of 1 Samuel 25-31, and some that it is from the same source (J), that originally it stood in that document immediately before ch. 31, and that it has got into the wrong place, because it was omitted from an edition of Samuel, and reinserted in a later edition (see p. 273). 1Sa 28:3 is probably an editorial note.
1Sa 28:4. Shunem: 2Ki 4:8*.
1Sa 28:3-14. The two armies are encamped opposite each other in the E. of the plain of Esdraelon; Sauls heart fails him when he sees the superior numbers of the enemy. He seeks guidance from Yahweh, but can obtain no oracle by the regular, legitimate methods. He goes by night, in disguise, to Endor (p. 30), some distance to the N. in the rear of the Philistine camp, to consult a woman with an obh, or familiar spirit, some kind of witch, often regarded as a necromancer, which would suit this narrative. He induced her with some difficulty to work her magic, and bade her call up Samuel. So far the disguised king had not been recognised, but at this point she looked more closely at him, and saw that it was Saul, who had done his best to rid the land of witches. She was alarmed, but Saul reassured her, and the magic went on.
1Sa 28:15-25. The king himself saw nothing, and only heard what the witch told him as to what she saw; he heard, or thought he heard, Samuel speaking; but this too has been explained by supposing that in reality the witch spoke after the fashion of a ventriloquist or a spiritualist medium. Samuel announces the doom of Saul.
1Sa 28:19. be with me: Driver and others read with LXX, with thee be fallen.