Bible Strands
1 Samuel 27:6
That day Achish gave him Ziklag, and to this day it still belongs to the kings of Judah.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The narrator records Achish granting David the town of Ziklag in direct response to David’s request for an outlying residence away from the royal city. This transfer follows David’s arrival in Philistine territory to escape Saul.
The words — The Hebrew verb וַיִּתֵּן (va.yitten) translates literally as "and he gave," while הָיְתָה (hayetah) means "it has been," establishing Ziklag as a lasting possession.
The thread — Ziklag appears in Joshua 15:31 and Joshua 19:5 as part of Judah’s and Simeon’s tribal allotments, and is listed again in Nehemiah 11:28 among the towns repopulated after the exile.
Why it lands — The text requires the reader to note the administrative continuity of a Philistine-granted settlement becoming a permanent Judahite holding, without explaining the political mechanism behind the transfer.
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 Achish gave him Ziklag that day: wherefore Ziklag pertaineth unto the kings of Judah unto this day.
Cross-references
- Nehemiah 11:28 in Ziklag; in Meconah and its villages;
- Joshua 15:31 Ziklag, Madmannah, Sansannah,
- Joshua 19:5 Ziklag, Beth-marcaboth, Hazar-susah,
- 1 Samuel 19:5 He took his life in his hands when he struck down the Philistine, and the LORD worked a great salvation for all Israel. You saw it and rejoiced, so why would you sin against innocent blood by killing David for no reason?”
- 1 Samuel 30:1 On the third day David and his men arrived in Ziklag, and the Amalekites had raided the Negev, attacked Ziklag, and burned it down.
- 1 Samuel 30:14 We raided the Negev of the Cherethites, the territory of Judah, and the Negev of Caleb, and we burned down Ziklag.”
- 2 Samuel 1:1 After the death of Saul, David returned from the slaughter of the Amalekites and stayed in Ziklag two days.
- 1 Chronicles 4:30 Bethuel, Hormah, Ziklag,
- 1 Chronicles 12:1 Now these were the men who came to David at Ziklag, while he was still banished from the presence of Saul son of Kish (they were among the mighty men who helped him in battle;
- 1 Chronicles 12:20 When David went to Ziklag, these men of Manasseh defected to him: Adnah, Jozabad, Jediael, Michael, Jozabad, Elihu, and Zillethai, chiefs of thousands in Manasseh.