Discovery Box1 Samuel 27:2-7 
Context27:2 So David left and crossed over to King Achish son of Maoch of Gath accompanied by his six hundred men. 27:3 David settled with Achish in Gath, along with his men and their families. 1 David had with him his two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelite and Abigail the Carmelite, Nabal’s widow. 27:4 When Saul learned that David had fled to Gath, he did not mount a new search for him.
27:5 David said to Achish, “If I have found favor with you, let me be given a place in one of the country towns so that I can live there. Why should your servant settle in the royal city with you?” 27:6 So Achish gave him Ziklag on that day. (For that reason Ziklag has belonged to the kings of Judah until this very day.) 27:7 The length of time 2 that David lived in the Philistine countryside was a year 3 and four months.
1 tn Heb “a man and his house.”
2 tn Heb “the number of the days.”
3 tn Heb “days.” The plural of the word “day” is sometimes used idiomatically to refer specifically to a year. In addition to this occurrence in v. 7 see also 1 Sam 1:3, 21; 2:19; 20:6; Lev 25:29; Judg 17:10.
