1 Samuel 27:9-10

David smote the land. These expeditions were made partly to occupy his men, but chiefly to obtain the means of subsistence. They also seem to have brought David great renown, for in 1 Chronicles 12:1-22 we read of warriors from far distant tribes coming to him to swell his forces, and the enthusiasm for him was even such that a band of men swam across the Jordan to join him ( ibid. 1 Chronicles 12:15 ); while others from Manasseh deserted to him from Saul's army before the battle of Mount Gilboa, so that at last he had with him "a great host, like the host of God" ( ibid. verses 19-21). He came to Achish. To give him a portion of the spoil. And Achish said. Like the verb went up in verse 8, the word indicates repeated action. David made many expeditions against these wild tribes, and on each occasion, when presenting himself at Gath, Achish would inquire, Whither have ye made a road — i.e. an inroad, or a raid— today ? As it stands the Hebrew means, "Do not make an inroad today;" but the cor. rection of the text given in the A.V. has considerable authority from the versions. The Jerahmeelites, mentioned again in ch. 30:29, were the descendants of Hezron, the firstborn of Pharez, the son of Judah ( 1 Chronicles 2:9 ), and so were one of the great families into which the tribe of Judah was divided. Apparently they occupied the most southerly position of its territory. The Kenites (see on ch. 15:6) are here described as being in close alliance with the men of Judah. Probably they lived under their protection, and paid them tribute. The south is literally "the Negeb," the dry land, so called from the absence of streams (comp. Psalms 126:4 ), which formed not only the southernmost part of the territory of Judah, but extended far into the Arabian desert. Achish naturally understood it as the proper name for that part of the Negeb which belonged to Judah, whereas David meant it as it is translated in the A.V where there is no obscurity as to its meaning.