1 Samuel 27:10

“And Achish said, whither have ye made a road today? etc.] Or whither had they rushed in, or poured in and spread themselves? or where had they made their excursion to fetch in the prey and booty they now brought? and David said, against the south of Judah; he meant against some people that lay to the south of the land of Judah, without it; but expressed himself so, that Achish might think he meant the southern parts of Judah within the country; which, though not a downright lie, was an equivocation, and made with a design to deceive; and was by no means agreeably to the character of David, nor to be defended nor imitated: and against the south of the Jerahmeelites; these were the descendants…”

“Achish said, Whither have ye made a road to-day?--that is, raid, a hostile excursion for seizing cattle and other booty. David said, Against the south of Judah, and against the south of the Jerahmeelites--Jerahmeel was the great-grandson of Judah, and his posterity occupied the southern portion of that tribal domain. the south of the Kenites--the posterity of Jethro, who occupied the south of Judah (Jdg 1:16; Num 24:21). The deceit practised upon his royal host and the indiscriminate slaughter committed, lest any one should escape to tell the tale, exhibit an unfavorable view of this part of David's history. Next: 1 Samuel Chapter 28”

“The Jerahmeelites - i. e. the descendants of Jerahmeel, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah (marginal references). They were therefore a portion of the “south of Judah.” The Kenites - See Numbers 24:21 note; Numbers 4:11; and for their near neighborhood to Amalek, see 1 Samuel 15:6. return to 'Top of Page'”

“David - These and the following words are ambiguous, and contrary to that simplicity which became David, both as a prince, and as an eminent professor of the true religion. The fidelity of Achish to him, and the confidence he put in him, aggravates his sin in thus deceiving him, which David seems penitently to reflect on, when he prays, Remove from me the way of lying. Next: 1 Kings (1 Samuel) Chapter 28”

“27:10 David misled Achish by claiming his attacks were against his own people of Judah and two other related groups. The text does not commend David for lying to the foreign king, but neither does it condemn him. • The Jerahmeelites were a Semitic tribe in southern Judah (1 Chr 2:9, 25-27, 33, 42). • Kenites: Moses’ father-in-law was a Kenite (Judg 1:16; 4:11; see also study note on 1 Sam 15:6).”

“Whither: etc. or, Did you not make a road And David: Sa1 21:2; Gen 27:19, Gen 27:20, Gen 27:24; Jos 2:4-6; Sa2 17:20; Psa 119:29, Psa 119:163; Pro 29:25; Gal 2:11-13; Eph 4:25 Against: David here meant the Geshurites, and Gezrites, and Amalekites, which people occupied that part of the country which lies to the south of Judah. But Achish, as was intended, understood him in a different sense, and believed that he had attacked his own countrymen. David's answer, therefore, though not an absolute falsehood, was certainly an equivocation intended to deceive, and therefore incompatible with that sense of truth and honour which became him as a prince, and a professor of true religion. From these,…”

“Achish said, "Ye have not made an invasion to-day, have ye?" אל, like μὴ, is an interrogative sense; the ה has dropped out: vid., Ewald, 324, b. David replied, "Against the south of Judah, and the south of the Jerahmeelites, and into the south of the Kenites," sc., we have made an incursion. This reply shows that the Geshurites, Gerzites, and Amalekites dwelt close to the southern boundary of Judah, so that David was able to represent the march against these tribes to Achish as a march against the south of Judah, to make him believe that he had been making an attack upon the southern territory of Judah and its dependencies. The Negeb of Judah is the land between the mountains of Judah and…”