Achish

Biblical Account

Achish was king of Gath, one of the five cities of the Philistines. He appears twice in 1 Samuel in the narrative of David's flight from Saul.

• First refuge (1 Samuel 21:10–15): David fled alone to Achish. Achish's servants, recalling the song "Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands," grew wary of him. Afraid, David feigned madness: he "scrabbled on the doors of the gate, and let his spittle fall down upon his beard." Achish asked why they had brought a madman to him and sent David away.
• Second refuge (1 Samuel 27): To escape Saul, David went to Achish again, this time with six hundred men and their households. Achish gave him Ziklag, and David lived in Philistine territory for a year and four months. During this period David raided the Geshurites, the Gezrites, and the Amalekites, but he reported to Achish that he had raided the south of Judah. Achish believed that David had made himself odious to Israel and would therefore be his servant forever.
• Mustering for war and David's return (1 Samuel 28:1–2; 29): When the Philistines went out to fight Israel, Achish intended to take David with him and make him "keeper of mine head." When the Philistine lords objected, Achish declared that he had found no fault in David and that David was "good in my sight, as an angel of God." Nevertheless, he ultimately sent David back.

1 Kings 2:39–40 also mentions "Achish son of Maachah king of Gath." In the time of Solomon, Shimei's servants fled to him; Shimei left Jerusalem to retrieve them and was subsequently executed.

Significance in Scripture

Achish is a central figure in the account of David's sojourn in the land of the Gentiles while he was being pursued by Saul. In particular, in 1 Samuel 29 the objection of the Philistine lords spared David from having to fight against Saul and Israel. The superscriptions of Psalms 34 and 56 identify these psalms as connected with David's experiences in Gath. Achish is not mentioned in the New Testament.

Interpretations and Issues

• Is he the same person as the Achish of 1 Kings? 1 Samuel names his father as "Maoch," while 1 Kings gives "Maachah." Several decades also separate the two accounts. Accordingly, some regard them as the same long-reigning king, while others regard them as different individuals, the later Achish being, for example, a grandson of the earlier one.
• "Abimelech" in the superscription of Psalm 34: The superscription of Psalm 34 states that David feigned madness before "Abimelech." Proposed explanations include that Abimelech was a title of Philistine kings, that it was another name for Achish, and that the difference arose in the course of transmission.
• Evaluation of David's conduct: The text does not directly evaluate David's feigned madness or his deception of Achish. Some interpreters read this as a period when David's faith wavered. Others read the objection of the Philistine lords as God's providence protecting David.
• The name: Among archaeological finds, an inscription from the Philistine city of Ekron is known to name a later king with a related name ("Ikausu"). He is, however, a different person from the biblical Achish.

In Korean Churches

Achish is rarely treated as a subject in his own right. He is mentioned mainly in sermons and Sunday school lessons on David's life as a fugitive, alongside the scene of David feigning madness and the period he spent at Ziklag. He is also sometimes introduced as background in sermons on Psalm 34.