Achish

Achish is a king living at the time of the united monarchy. He is named in 20 verses of the Bible, first in 1 Samuel 21:10.

Family

Verses

1 Samuel

• 1 Samuel 21:10
  And David arose, and fled that day for fear of Saul, and went to Achish the king of Gath.That day David fled from Saul and went to Achish king of Gath.
• 1 Samuel 21:11
  And the servants of Achish said unto him, Is not this David the king of the land? did they not sing one to another of him in dances, saying, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands?But the servants of Achish said to him, “Is this not David, the king of the land? Did they not sing about him in their dances, saying: ‘Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands’?”
• 1 Samuel 21:12
  And David laid up these words in his heart, and was sore afraid of Achish the king of Gath.Now David took these words to heart and was very much afraid of Achish the king of Gath.
• 1 Samuel 21:14
  Then said Achish unto his servants, Lo, ye see the man is mad: wherefore then have ye brought him to me?Then Achish said to his servants, “Look, you can see that the man is insane! Why have you brought him to me?
• 1 Samuel 27:2
  And David arose, and he passed over with the six hundred men that were with him unto Achish, the son of Maoch, king of Gath.So David set out with his six hundred men and went to Achish son of Maoch, the king of Gath.
• 1 Samuel 27:3
  And David dwelt with Achish at Gath, he and his men, every man with his household, even David with his two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the Carmelitess, Nabal’s wife.David and his men settled in Gath with Achish. Each man had his family with him, and David had his two wives: Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail of Carmel, the widow of Nabal.
• 1 Samuel 27:5
  And David said unto Achish, If I have now found grace in thine eyes, let them give me a place in some town in the country, that I may dwell there: for why should thy servant dwell in the royal city with thee?Then David said to Achish, “If I have found favor in your eyes, let me be assigned a place in one of the outlying towns, so I can live there. For why should your servant live in the royal city with you?”
• 1 Samuel 27:6
  Then Achish gave him Ziklag that day: wherefore Ziklag pertaineth unto the kings of Judah unto this day.That day Achish gave him Ziklag, and to this day it still belongs to the kings of Judah.
• 1 Samuel 27:9
  And David smote the land, and left neither man nor woman alive, and took away the sheep, and the oxen, and the asses, and the camels, and the apparel, and returned, and came to Achish.Whenever David attacked a territory, he did not leave a man or woman alive, but he took the flocks and herds, the donkeys, camels, and clothing. Then he would return to Achish,
• 1 Samuel 27:10
  And Achish said, Whither have ye made a road to day? And David said, Against the south of Judah, and against the south of the Jerahmeelites, and against the south of the Kenites.who would ask him, “What have you raided today?” And David would reply, “The Negev of Judah,” or “The Negev of Jerahmeel,” or “The Negev of the Kenites.”
• 1 Samuel 27:12
  And Achish believed David, saying, He hath made his people Israel utterly to abhor him; therefore he shall be my servant for ever.So Achish trusted David, thinking, “Since he has made himself an utter stench to his people Israel, he will be my servant forever.”
• 1 Samuel 28:1
  And it came to pass in those days, that the Philistines gathered their armies together for warfare, to fight with Israel. And Achish said unto David, Know thou assuredly, that thou shalt go out with me to battle, thou and thy men.Now in those days the Philistines gathered their forces for warfare against Israel. So Achish said to David, “You must understand that you and your men are to go out to battle with me.”
• 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 for ever.David replied, “Then you will come to know what your servant can do.” “Very well,” said Achish. “I will make you my bodyguard for life.”
• 1 Samuel 29:2
  And the lords of the Philistines passed on by hundreds, and by thousands: but David and his men passed on in the rereward with Achish.As the Philistine leaders marched out their units of hundreds and thousands, David and his men marched behind them with Achish.
• 1 Samuel 29:3
  Then said the princes of the Philistines, What do these Hebrews here? And Achish said unto the princes of the Philistines, Is not this David, the servant of Saul the king of Israel, which hath been with me these days, or these years, and I have found no fault in him since he fell unto me unto this day?Then the commanders of the Philistines asked, “What about these Hebrews?” Achish replied, “Is this not David, the servant of King Saul of Israel? He has been with me all these days, even years, and from the day he defected until today I have found no fault in him.”
• 1 Samuel 29:6
  Then Achish called David, and said unto him, Surely, as the Lord liveth, thou hast been upright, and thy going out and thy coming in with me in the host is good in my sight: for I have not found evil in thee since the day of thy coming unto me unto this day: nevertheless the lords favour thee not.So Achish summoned David and told him, “As surely as the LORD lives, you have been upright in my sight, and it seems right that you should march in and out with me in the army, because I have found no fault in you from the day you came to me until this day. But you have no favor in the sight of the leaders.
• 1 Samuel 29:8
  And David said unto Achish, But what have I done? and what hast thou found in thy servant so long as I have been with thee unto this day, that I may not go fight against the enemies of my lord the king?“But what have I done?” David replied. “What have you found against your servant, from the day I came to you until today, to keep me from going along to fight against the enemies of my lord the king?”
• 1 Samuel 29:9
  And Achish answered and said to David, I know that thou art good in my sight, as an angel of God: notwithstanding the princes of the Philistines have said, He shall not go up with us to the battle.Achish replied, “I know that you are as pleasing in my sight as an angel of God. But the commanders of the Philistines have said, ‘He must not go into battle with us.’

1 Kings

• 1 Kings 2:39
  And it came to pass at the end of three years, that two of the servants of Shimei ran away unto Achish son of Maachah king of Gath. And they told Shimei, saying, Behold, thy servants be in Gath.After three years, however, two of Shimei’s slaves ran away to Achish son of Maacah, king of Gath. And Shimei was told, “Look, your slaves are in Gath.”
• 1 Kings 2:40
  And Shimei arose, and saddled his ass, and went to Gath to Achish to seek his servants: and Shimei went, and brought his servants from Gath.So Shimei saddled his donkey and set out to Achish at Gath in search of his slaves, and he brought them back from Gath.

Notes

1. Names, family links and verses from STEPBible's Translators Individualised Proper Names (TIPNR), STEPBible.org (Tyndale House, Cambridge), CC BY 4.0.
2. Where several people share a name, which verses belong to which person, and the family links, follow STEPBible's identifications; some are uncertain and are marked so.