Bible Strands
1 Samuel 21:14
Then Achish said to his servants, “Look, you can see that the man is insane! Why have you brought him to me?
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Achish addresses his servants at the Philistine gate, immediately after David feigns madness by scratching the doors and letting saliva run down his beard.
The words — The Hebrew מִשְׁתַּגֵּעַ (mish.ta.ge.a) means behaving like a madman, and הִנֵּה (hi.neh) functions as a direct call to look. Achish deploys these terms to publicly identify the man's condition and question the servants' judgment.
The thread — The passage runs parallel to Ecclesiastes 7:7, where external pressure and manipulation distort wisdom and force a wise man into a fool's role.
Why it lands — The text records how survival can require performing insanity, leaving the reader to weigh the gap between perceived madness and calculated deception.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Then said Achish unto his servants, Lo, ye see the man is mad: wherefore then have ye brought him to me?
Cross-references
- Ecclesiastes 7:7 Surely extortion turns a wise man into a fool, and a bribe corrupts the heart.