Bible Strands
1 Samuel 27:7
And the time that David lived in Philistine territory amounted to a year and four months.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator records David’s residence in Philistine territory immediately after King Achish grants him Ziklag and just before David’s military raids against neighboring peoples begin.
The words — The phrase מִסְפַּר הַיָּמִים (mispar hayyamim) literally means “the number of the days,” serving as a chronological marker for David’s stay.
The thread — This measured timeframe connects to 1 Samuel 29:3, where Philistine commanders question David’s prolonged presence among them before he is sent away.
Why it lands — The text states David’s stay lasted exactly a year and four months, which establishes a finite period of political refuge and frames his survival as a calculated interval rather than an indefinite exile.
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
And the time that David dwelt in the country of the Philistines was a full year and four months.
Cross-references
- 1 Samuel 29:3 Then the commanders of the Philistines asked, “What about these Hebrews?” Achish replied, “Is this not David, the servant of King Saul of Israel? He has been with me all these days, even years, and from the day he defected until today I have found no fault in him.”