Tanach
Shmuel I 27 שמואל א כ״ז
Part of: Petuchah, I Samuel 27:1Petuchah, I Samuel 27:7Setumah, I Samuel 27:5
Reading: Hebrew · Simple EnglishHebrew · Faithful translationHebrew onlyHebrew · Simple EnglishHebrew · Faithful translationHebrew onlySimple English onlyFaithful translation onlySide by sideRashi
וַיֹּאמֶר דָּוִד אֶל־לִבּוֹ עַתָּה אֶסָּפֶה יוֹם־אֶחָד בְּיַד־שָׁאוּל אֵֽין־לִי טוֹב כִּי הִמָּלֵט אִמָּלֵט ׀ אֶל־אֶרֶץ פְּלִשְׁתִּים וְנוֹאַשׁ מִמֶּנִּי שָׁאוּל לְבַקְשֵׁנִי עוֹד בְּכׇל־גְּבוּל יִשְׂרָאֵל וְנִמְלַטְתִּי מִיָּדֽוֹ׃
Dovid said to himself, "Now I might perish one day at the hand of Shaul. There is nothing better for me [to do] than to escape to the land of the Philistines; for then Shaul will give up pursuing me anymore throughout Yisroel's borders, and I will have escaped from his hand."
Dovid said to himself, "Now I might perish one day at the hand of Shaul. There is nothing better for me [to do] than to escape to the land of the Philistines; for then Shaul will give up pursuing me anymore throughout Yisroel's borders, and I will have escaped from his hand."
Rashi
וַיָּקׇם דָּוִד וַיַּעֲבֹר הוּא וְשֵׁשׁ־מֵאוֹת אִישׁ אֲשֶׁר עִמּוֹ אֶל־אָכִישׁ בֶּן־מָעוֹךְ מֶלֶךְ גַּֽת׃
Dovid rose and crossed over, with the six hundred men who were with him, to Achish son of Ma'och, king of Gas.
Dovid rose and crossed over, with the six hundred men who were with him, to Achish son of Ma'och, king of Gas.
וַיֵּשֶׁב דָּוִד עִם־אָכִישׁ בְּגַת הוּא וַאֲנָשָׁיו אִישׁ וּבֵיתוֹ דָּוִד וּשְׁתֵּי נָשָׁיו אֲחִינֹעַם הַיִּזְרְעֵאלִת וַֽאֲבִיגַיִל אֵֽשֶׁת־נָבָל הַֽכַּרְמְלִֽית׃
Dovid stayed with Achish in Gas, he and his men, each man with his household, Dovid with his two wives, Achinoam, the Yizre'elite and Avigayil, the Carmelite, the [former] wife of Novol.
Dovid stayed with Achish in Gas, he and his men, each man with his household, Dovid with his two wives, Achinoam, the Yizre'elite and Avigayil, the Carmelite, the [former] wife of Novol.
וַיֻּגַּד לְשָׁאוּל כִּֽי־בָרַח דָּוִד גַּת וְלֹא־[יָסַף] (יוסף) עוֹד לְבַקְשֽׁוֹ׃ {ס}
It was told to Shaul that Dovid had fled to Gas, and he did not continue to search for him.
It was told to Shaul that Dovid had fled to Gas, and he did not continue to search for him.
וַיֹּאמֶר דָּוִד אֶל־אָכִישׁ אִם־נָא מָצָאתִי חֵן בְּעֵינֶיךָ יִתְּנוּ־לִי מָקוֹם בְּאַחַת עָרֵי הַשָּׂדֶה וְאֵשְׁבָה שָּׁם וְלָמָּה יֵשֵׁב עַבְדְּךָ בְּעִיר הַמַּמְלָכָה עִמָּֽךְ׃
Dovid said to Achish, "If I have found favor in your eyes, let them give me a place in one of the countryside towns that I may settle there. Why should your servant remain in the royal city with you?"
Dovid said to Achish, "If I have found favor in your eyes, let them give me a place in one of the countryside towns that I may settle there. Why should your servant remain in the royal city with you?"
Rashi
ולמה ישב עבדך וגו'. ואהיה לך למשא:
Why should your servant remain… And be a burden to you.2Probably, Dovid did not want to live with idolaters and therefore asked in a diplomatic fashion, e.g., ‘Why should your servant be a burden to you,’ to settle in a separate city.
וַיִּתֶּן־לוֹ אָכִישׁ בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא אֶת־צִֽקְלָג לָכֵן הָיְתָה צִֽקְלַג לְמַלְכֵי יְהוּדָה עַד הַיּוֹם הַזֶּֽה׃ {פ}
So Achish gave him Tziklag on that day; therefore Tziklag belongs to the kings of Yehudah to this day.
So Achish gave him Tziklag on that day; therefore Tziklag belongs to the kings of Yehudah to this day.
וַֽיְהִי מִסְפַּר הַיָּמִים אֲשֶׁר־יָשַׁב דָּוִד בִּשְׂדֵה פְלִשְׁתִּים יָמִים וְאַרְבָּעָה חֳדָשִֽׁים׃
The time that Dovid stayed in the Philistine countryside was days and four months.
The time that Dovid stayed in the Philistine countryside was days and four months.
Rashi
ימים וארבעה חדשים. מיעוט ימים שנים, ואי אפשר לפרש ימים זה שנה, שהרי לא הלך דוד אצל אכיש עד שמת שמואל, ושאול לא מלך אחר מיתת שמואל אלא ארבעה חדשים, כמו ששנינו בסדר עולם וגם ממנין שנותיו של עלי, ועשרים שנה שהיה הארון בקרית יערים, הרי ששים שנה, צא מהם חמשים ושתים של שמואל, ושנה אחת לעיבורו עם ארבעה חדשים הללו, ושבע שנים שמלך דוד בחברון קודם שהביא את הארון מקרית יערים, נמצא שלא מלך שאול אחר מיתת שמואל, יותר מארבעה חדשים:
Days and four months. The minimum [number] of days is two. It is impossible to explain this word, 'יָמִים' as a year3As we find יָמִים to mean ‘year’ in Bereishis 41:1. because Dovid did not go to Achish until Shmuel had died, and Shaul only reigned after Shmuel's death4Therefore יָמִים is to be taken literally, i.e., days. four months, as we learned in Seder Olam. Also [this can be deduced from the following:] the number of Eili's years [forty years which he judged Yisroel],5Above 4:18. and the twenty years that the Ark was in Kiryas Ye'arim6Above 7:2. total sixty years. Subtract from that Shmuel's fifty-two years, plus one year from his conception, with these four months, plus the seven years which Dovid reigned in Chevron7II Shmuel 2:5. before he brought the Ark from Kiryas Ye'arim. This [calculation] discloses that Shaul reigned after Shmuel's death but four months.
וַיַּעַל דָּוִד וַאֲנָשָׁיו וַֽיִּפְשְׁטוּ אֶל־הַגְּשׁוּרִי (והגרזי) [וְהַגִּזְרִי] וְהָעֲמָלֵקִי כִּי הֵנָּה יֹשְׁבוֹת הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר מֵעוֹלָם בּוֹאֲךָ שׁוּרָה וְעַד־אֶרֶץ מִצְרָֽיִם׃
Dovid and his men went up and raided the Geshurites, the Gizrites and the Amaleikites, for they had always dwelt in the land, in the direction of Shur to the land of Egypt.
Dovid and his men went up and raided the Geshurites, the Gizrites and the Amaleikites, for they had always dwelt in the land, in the direction of Shur to the land of Egypt.
Rashi
ויעל דוד. לשון הוה, הוא תמיד היה רגיל בכך:
Dovid…would go up. This is the present tense, i.e., he was always accustomed doing this.
בואך שורה. (תרגום:) מן מעלנא דחגרא:
In the direction of Shur. From the entrance of Shur.
וְהִכָּה דָוִד אֶת־הָאָרֶץ וְלֹא יְחַיֶּה אִישׁ וְאִשָּׁה וְלָקַח צֹאן וּבָקָר וַחֲמֹרִים וּגְמַלִּים וּבְגָדִים וַיָּשׇׁב וַיָּבֹא אֶל־אָכִֽישׁ׃
Dovid would smite the [inhabitants of the] land, and he left no man or woman alive. He took sheep, cattle, donkeys, camels and clothing, and would return and come to Achish.
Dovid would smite the [inhabitants of the] land, and he left no man or woman alive. He took sheep, cattle, donkeys, camels and clothing, and would return and come to Achish.
וַיֹּאמֶר אָכִישׁ אַל־פְּשַׁטְתֶּם הַיּוֹם וַיֹּאמֶר דָּוִד עַל־נֶגֶב יְהוּדָה וְעַל־נֶגֶב הַיְּרַחְמְאֵלִי וְאֶל־נֶגֶב הַקֵּינִֽי׃
Achish would ask, "Where did you raid today?" And Dovid would say, "Against the south of Yehudah," or "against the south of the Yerachme'elites," or "to the south of the Kenites."
Achish would ask, "Where did you raid today?" And Dovid would say, "Against the south of Yehudah," or "against the south of the Yerachme'elites," or "to the south of the Kenites."
Rashi
אל פשטתם. למ"ד מתחלפת בנו"ן, כמו ויעש לו נשכה בספר עזרא (נחמיה יג ז), כמו לשכה:
Where did you raid. The 'ל' is interchangeable with a 'נ' [so the word אֶל=אָן which means 'where'], as in "he prepared a large chamber [נִשְׁכָּה],"8Nechemyoh 13:7. in the Book of Ezra, meaning the equivalent of לִשְׁכָּה [=chamber].
וְאִישׁ וְאִשָּׁה לֹא־יְחַיֶּה דָוִד לְהָבִיא גַת לֵאמֹר פֶּן־יַגִּדוּ עָלֵינוּ לֵאמֹר כֹּֽה־עָשָׂה דָוִד וְכֹה מִשְׁפָּטוֹ כׇּל־הַיָּמִים אֲשֶׁר יָשַׁב בִּשְׂדֵה פְלִשְׁתִּֽים׃
Dovid left neither man nor woman alive to bring back [as a captive] to Gas, saying [to himself], "They might inform on us, saying, 'This is what Dovid has done and this was his custom as long as he stayed in the Philistine countryside.'"
Dovid left neither man nor woman alive to bring back [as a captive] to Gas, saying [to himself], "They might inform on us, saying, 'This is what Dovid has done and this was his custom as long as he stayed in the Philistine countryside.'"
וַיַּאֲמֵן אָכִישׁ בְּדָוִד לֵאמֹר הַבְאֵשׁ הִבְאִישׁ בְּעַמּוֹ בְיִשְׂרָאֵל וְהָיָה לִי לְעֶבֶד עוֹלָֽם׃ {פ}
So Achish believed Dovid, saying [to himself], "He thoroughly detests his people Yisroel, and he will remain my servant always."
So Achish believed Dovid, saying [to himself], "He thoroughly detests his people Yisroel, and he will remain my servant always."
עתה אספה יום אחד. שמא יארוב ויבא עלי פתאום:
Now I might perish one day. Perhaps he will ambush me and suddenly attack me.1Dovid did not trust Shaul and was convinced that he was laying a trap for him by asking him to remain.—Metzudas Dovid