The lords or commanders of the Philistine city-states mustered their troops and marched north to the town of Aphek.280Aphek stood near Philistia's northern border with Israel. The Philistine lords were on their way to the Jezreel Valley to battle King Saul. Jezreel was a town on the northwestern slope of Mt. Gilboa about three miles south of Shunem (cf. 28:4). David and his 600 mercenaries were bringing up the rear in the Philistine procession. The Philistine lords noticed David and his men and asked each other why Hebrew soldiers were accompanying them since they were going to war against the Israelites.281Achish, whom David had deceived into thinking that he was no longer loyal to Saul, came to his defense. David had lived in Philistia now for almost one year and four months (cf. 27:7). The other Philistine kings could hardly believe how naive Achish was being. They saw that David would probably turn against them in the upcoming battle to regain acceptance with his lord, Saul. They proceeded to use the same phrase Achish had used to defend David, "Is this not David?"to impress on their gullible comrade what a danger David posed to them. David had not only slain many of Israel's enemies, including many Philistines, but he also enjoyed solidarity with Saul in the minds of all the people, which the song they quoted implied.282
