The Meaning of 1 Samuel 27:12 Explained

1 Samuel 27:12

KJV: And Achish believed David, saying, He hath made his people Israel utterly to abhor him; therefore he shall be my servant for ever.

YLT: And Achish believeth in David, saying, 'He hath made himself utterly abhorred among his people, in Israel, and hath been to me for a servant age-during.'

Darby: And Achish trusted David, saying, He has made himself utterly odious among his people Israel; and he shall be my servant for ever.

ASV: And Achish believed David, saying, He hath made his people Israel utterly to abhor him; therefore he shall be my servant for ever.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And Achish  believed  David,  saying,  He hath made his people  Israel  utterly  to abhor  him; therefore he shall be my servant  for ever. 

What does 1 Samuel 27:12 Mean?

Context Summary

1 Samuel 27:1-12 - Substituting Policy For Trust
David had every assurance that he would be king. From Samuel, Jonathan and Saul he had heard predictions of his coming exaltation; yet suddenly he seems to have had a fainting-fit and to have concluded that he would after all perish by the hand of Saul. It was thus with Elijah under the juniper bush, when he asked God to take away his life; and thus with the Baptist, when from prison he sent to ask whether Jesus was the Christ. Let us not sink into despair when the shadow of discouragement falls across our path. Let us believe that God's word shall stand though the heavens fall. Let us especially beware of taking our own measures of self-defense. The caves of Adullam are safer for the child of God than the land of the Philistines. David was driven to ruthless cruelty; he went about under the constant fear of discovery, and lived a perpetual lie. It was a life of deceit that was wholly unworthy of a servant of the Most High, and must have had a fatal effect on David's followers. And, in the end, Ziklag was destroyed, and the exile's heart was well-nigh broken. See 1 Samuel 30:1-4. "The way of the transgressor is hard!" No psalms can be traced to this period. [source]

Chapter Summary: 1 Samuel 27

1  Saul, hearing David to be in Gath, seeks no more for him
5  David begs Ziklag of Achish
8  He, invading other countries, persuades Achish he fought against Judah

What do the individual words in 1 Samuel 27:12 mean?

So believed Achish David saying utterly He has made abhor him his people Israel therefore he will be my servant forever -
וַיַּאֲמֵ֥ן אָכִ֖ישׁ בְּדָוִ֣ד לֵאמֹ֑ר הַבְאֵ֤שׁ הִבְאִישׁ֙ בְּעַמּ֣וֹ בְיִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל וְהָ֥יָה לִ֖י לְעֶ֥בֶד עוֹלָֽם פ

וַיַּאֲמֵ֥ן  So  believed 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Hifil, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אָמַן 
Sense: to support, confirm, be faithful.
אָכִ֖ישׁ  Achish 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: אָכִישׁ  
Sense: Philistine king of Gath.
בְּדָוִ֣ד  David 
Parse: Preposition-b, Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: דָּוִד  
Sense: youngest son of Jesse and second king of Israel.
לֵאמֹ֑ר  saying 
Parse: Preposition-l, Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
הַבְאֵ֤שׁ  utterly 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Infinitive absolute
Root: בָּאַשׁ  
Sense: to have a bad smell, stink, smell bad.
הִבְאִישׁ֙  He  has  made  abhor  him 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: בָּאַשׁ  
Sense: to have a bad smell, stink, smell bad.
בְּעַמּ֣וֹ  his  people 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: עַם 
Sense: nation, people.
בְיִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל  Israel 
Parse: Preposition-b, Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יִשְׂרָאֵל  
Sense: the second name for Jacob given to him by God after his wrestling with the angel at Peniel.
וְהָ֥יָה  therefore  he  will  be 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אֶהְיֶה 
Sense: to be, become, come to pass, exist, happen, fall out.
לִ֖י  my 
Parse: Preposition, first person common singular
לְעֶ֥בֶד  servant 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: עֶבֶד  
Sense: slave, servant.
עוֹלָֽם  forever 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: עֹולָם  
Sense: long duration, antiquity, futurity, for ever, ever, everlasting, evermore, perpetual, old, ancient, world.
פ  - 
Parse: Punctuation

What are the major concepts related to 1 Samuel 27:12?

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