“Whither have ye made a road to day?”
The full verse · 1 Samuel 27:10 · KJV
And , have ye made a to ? And , Against the of , and against the of the , and against the of the .
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The Scene
David and his men have raided "the Geshurites, and the Gezrites, and the Amalekites," taken their flocks, herds, camels, and apparel, and "returned, and came to Achish" (1 Samuel 27:8-9).
Why It Was Asked
The purpose behind the questionAchish wanted to know where his new vassal had been raiding. The Hebrew word, pashat, means to make a dash or raid; the KJV renders it "made a road." David came back with sheep, oxen, asses, camels, and apparel (1 Samuel 27:9), so the king naturally asked where it had come from. Gill paraphrases the question as "where had they made their excursion to fetch in the prey and booty they now brought?"
Keil & Delitzsch read the Hebrew a little differently: "Ye have not made an invasion to-day, have ye?" Either way, nothing in the text suggests Achish was suspicious. He had his own reasons to trust David. Keil & Delitzsch think he took David in "possibly with the hope" of gaining from his friendship in a fresh war with Saul, and the end of the chapter shows him counting on David to be "my servant for ever" (1 Samuel 27:12).
The Response
What Scripture recordsDavid answered, "Against the south of Judah, and against the south of the Jerahmeelites, and against the south of the Kenites" (1 Samuel 27:10). The tribes he had really attacked (1 Samuel 27:8) lived, as Gill and Keil & Delitzsch explain, to the south of Judah, so his words let Achish think he had raided his own people. To keep the truth from coming out, "David saved neither man nor woman alive, to bring tidings to Gath, saying, Lest they should tell on us, saying, So did David" (1 Samuel 27:11). "And Achish believed David, saying, He hath made his people Israel utterly to abhor him; therefore he shall be my servant for ever" (1 Samuel 27:12).
The Bigger Picture
Where this fits in God's storyScripture tells this story without covering David's fault. Gill calls David's reply "not a downright lie" but "an equivocation, and made with a design to deceive," and says it is "nor to be defended nor imitated." Matthew Henry opens the chapter by saying David "had his faults, which are recorded, not for our imitation, but for our admonition."
The next scene shows where the deception led. Achish trusted David so fully that he called him to fight against Israel: "thou shalt go out with me to battle, thou and thy men" (1 Samuel 28:1). Keil & Delitzsch say the danger David had brought on himself "through the artifice with which he had deceived king Achish" was "very soon made apparent to him." Yet they also see God's faithfulness: "The faithful covenant God helped him therefore out of this trouble," which the following chapter describes (1 Samuel 29:3-11).
The Commentaries
Voices from across the centuriesGenerations of believers have studied this verse. See what they noticed.
Look Closer
Whom had David and his men actually attacked?
Carry the question into prayer and conversation.
Lord, where am I tempted to give answers that are technically true but meant to mislead, and how would You have me speak instead?
A prayer to carry into the day.
- David shaded the truth with a king who held power over him. What pressures make it easier for people to bend the truth with those who control their safety or living?
- Talk about a time when telling the plain truth cost something, and what came of it.
For you, a small group, a friend, or the dinner table.
Words can be accurate on the surface and still be meant to deceive. David's answer named real places, but he chose them so that Achish would believe something false (1 Samuel 27:10-12). Gill's judgment is plain: it is "nor to be defended nor imitated." The New Testament tells believers, "putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour" (Ephesians 4:25).
This story also shows that one deception tends to need another. David had to leave no one alive "to bring tidings to Gath" (1 Samuel 27:11), and soon Achish was counting on him to fight against Israel (1 Samuel 28:1-2). This doesn't mean God gave up on David. Keil & Delitzsch see God's hand in bringing him out of the trap (1 Samuel 29:6-11). But God's rescue is no reason to excuse the lie; it is a reason to stop needing one.
Built from the biblical text and checked against trusted commentaries and lexicons. References & Sources
Keep questioning
“For why should thy servant dwell in the royal city with thee?”
“What do these Hebrews here? 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?”
“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?”
“Wherefore then have ye brought him to me?”