BibleTools.info

2. Achish, the son of Maoch. The name “Achish” is of uncertain derivation. Some scholars think this Achish the same as that mentioned in 1 Kings 2:39 as the son of Maachah. But Maoch is the masculine form of the word, whereas Maachah is the feminine (see 1 Kings 15:2; 1 Chron. 2:48; 3:2; 7:15; etc.). If both passages refer to the same person, the Achish of 1 Kings 2:39 would have been very aged, for the incident there recorded occurred nearly 50 years after David first fled to Achish (1 Sam. 21:10). But if Achish, son of Maoch, married a woman by the name of Maachah, the son could be referred to as the “son of Maachah,” and therefore the grandson of Maoch. It is probable, however, that the Achish before whom David feigned madness (1 Sam. 21:12, 13) is the same king to whom David now fled. At most the two incidents were not many years apart. In the first instance David was alone; now he was accompanied by hundreds of followers with their families. For a time, at least, the refugees remained in Gath. According to the Targums “Gittih” in the titles of Ps. 8, 81, and 84 designates a musical instrument invented, or a type of music first composed, by David during his sojourn at Gath, thinking gittith to be from Gath. It was on one of his visits to Gath that David composed the 56th psalm, according to its title, which reads, “When the Philistines took him in Gath.” See on 1 Sam. 21:13.