Read 1 Samuel 27 here (text coming …) or at Bible Gateway.
The Hebrew paragraphs:
27:1-4 {s} David dwelt with Achish the king of Gath, and Saul sought him no more
27:5-6 {p} Achish gave David Ziklag to dwell in
27:7-12 {p} David’s raids on the Canaanites while he dwelt with the Philistines
The Strong themes:
27:1-6 {s+p} David went to Achish, king of Gath so that Saul ceased hunting him; and Achish gave Ziklag to David
1 Samuel 27:1-12 Chiastic Structure:
David told Achish that he was raiding in Judah, among others, but he did not raid Judah’s towns. He raided the inhabitants of the land from of old, that is, the Canaanites and Amalekites, the two nations that YHVH had decreed Israel displace and eradicate for their extreme depravity (Deu 7:1-2, 1 Sam 15:2-3). Canaanites were left in the land despite Joshua’s long wars against them, and Amalekites were left in the land despite Saul’s initial war against them. While leaving no man or woman alive seems barbaric to modern sensibilities, the fact is we do not have a concept of the depth of wickedness entrenched within the Canaanite society, even to human sacrifice. Out of all the pagan nations in the world, these were the only two which earned a command of total eradication from YHVH God.
As such, David used his time in exile to vanquish Israel’s, and YHVH’s enemies from of old.
If there are questions, these are good resources:
Canaanites – International Standad Bible Encyclopedia
Amalekites – Internations Standard Bible Encyclopedia
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