Achish

About Achish

Achish, also known as Abimelech, was the Philistine king of Gath during the time of King Saul and King David. When David fled from Saul, he sought refuge in Gath, pretending to be insane to avoid being perceived as a threat (1Sa.21.10-15). Achish's servants recognized David as the celebrated Israelite warrior, but David's act of insanity convinced Achish to dismiss him (1Sa.21.11-15).

Later, when David was again fleeing from Saul, he returned to Achish in Gath, this time with a group of 600 men (1Sa.27.1-4). Achish granted David and his men the town of Ziklag as a base (1Sa.27.5-6). David and his men raided the Geshurites, Girzites, and Amalekites, but deceived Achish into believing that they were raiding the Israelites and their allies (1Sa.27.8-12).

When the Philistines gathered their forces to fight against Israel, Achish brought David and his men with him (1Sa.28.1-2). However, the Philistine commanders objected to David's presence, fearing that he might turn against them in battle (1Sa.29.1-5). Achish, trusting in David's loyalty, defended him, but ultimately sent him back to Ziklag (1Sa.29.6-11).

After David became king, some of his servants fled to Achish in Gath (1Ki.2.39-40), indicating that David maintained a relationship with Achish even after becoming king.

Psalm 34 is attributed to David when he pretended to be insane before Abimelech (Achish), who drove him away (Psalm 1Ki.34.1). The psalm expresses David's trust in God and his deliverance from fear and trouble.

Description from STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House, Cambridge), CC BY 4.0, lightly reformatted. This is background reference material, not Scripture and not a FaithGraph editorial claim.