1 Samuel 27:6

Then Achish gave him Ziklag that day: wherefore Ziklag pertaineth unto the kings of Judah unto this day.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(6) Ziklag.—In the days of Joshua this place fell to the lot of Simeon (Joshua 19:5). It was afterwards captured by the Philistines, not long before the time of David, and Keil thinks was left without inhabitants in consequence of this conquest. Its exact situation has never been clearly ascertained; it certainly lay far south, near the Amalekite borders.

Wherefore Ziklag pertaineth unto the kings of Judah unto this day.—These words supply us with a double note of time in the question of the date of this First Book of Samuel. They tell us that it was cast in its present shape after the revolt of Jeroboam, and certainly before the days of the carrying away of Israel to Babylon.

Benson Commentary

1 Samuel 27:6. Achish gave him Ziklag — Not only that he might inhabit it for the present, but possess it as his own in future. This Achish did, either out of his royal bounty, or on condition of some service which David was to perform. Or perhaps he thought hereby to lay the greater obligations on David, whom he knew to be so able to serve him. In the division of the country it was first given to the tribe of Judah, Joshua 15:31; and afterward to that of Simeon, who had a portion out of the land given to Judah, Joshua 19:5. But the Philistines kept possession of it, so that neither of them enjoyed it, till now, by the gift of Achish, it became the peculiar inheritance of David and his successors. Ziklag pertaineth unto the kings of Judah unto this day — This and such clauses were evidently added after the substance of the books in which they are contained was written.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

27:1-7 Unbelief is a sin that easily besets even good men, when without are fightings, and within are fears; and it is a hard matter to get over them. Lord, increase our faith! We may blush to think that the word of a Philistine should go further than the word of an Israelite, and that the city of Gath should be a place of refuge for a good man, when the cities of Israel refuse him a safe abode. David gained a comfortable settlement, not only at a distance from Gath, but bordering upon Israel, where he might keep up a correspondence with his own countrymen.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Ziklag - This was properly one of the cities of Simeon within the tribe of Judah (marginal references), but it had been taken possession of by the Philistines. The exact situation of it is uncertain.

Unto this day - This phrase, coupled with the title the kings of Judah, implies that this was written after the revolt of Jeroboam, and before the Babylonian captivity.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

6. Ziklag—Though originally assigned to Judah (Jos 15:31), and subsequently to Simeon (Jos 19:5), this town had never been possessed by the Israelites. It belonged to the Philistines, who gave it to David.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

Gave him Ziklag; not only to inhabit, but to possess it as his own; which he did, to lay the greater obligations upon David, whom he knew so able to serve him.

Pertaineth unto the kings of Judah: it was given to the tribe of Judah before, Joshua 15:31, and afterwards to the tribe of Simeon, Joshua 19:5, whose inheritance was given them within the inheritance of the children of Judah, Jos 19.

1. But the Philistines kept the possession of it till this time, and were hitherto permitted to do so. And being now given by them to David, it now belonged not to the people of the tribe of Judah, to whom it was allotted before; but to the king of Judah, David and his heirs for ever.

Unto this day: this and some such clauses seem to have been added by some sacred writers after the main substance of the several books was written.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

Then Achish gave him Ziklag that day,.... A city which in the division of the land was given to the tribe of Judah, and after that to the tribe of Simeon, Joshua 15:31; though it seems not to have been possessed by either of them, at least not long, but soon came into the hands of the Philistines, who kept it till this time, and now it returned to its right owners; according to Bunting (g) it was twelve miles from Gath:

wherefore Ziklag pertaineth unto the kings of Judah unto this day; not to the tribe of Judah, though it originally belonged to it, but to the kings of it, it, being granted to David, who quickly after this became king of Judah; and this was annexed to the crown lands, and ever after enjoyed by the kings, of the house of Judah; for this was not given for a temporary habitation, but for perpetual possession. This clause seems to be added by the continuator of this history, after the death of Samuel; who might be Gad or Nathan; some say Ezra, and Abarbinel that Jeremiah was the writer of it.

(g) Travels, &c. p. 136.

Geneva Study Bible

Then Achish gave him Ziklag that day: wherefore Ziklag pertaineth unto the kings of Judah unto this day.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

6. Ziklag] One of the cities In the Negeb or “South Country,” originally assigned to Judah (Joshua 15:31), but transferred to Simeon (Joshua 19:5), and either never occupied by them or reconquered by the Philistines. Its site has not been identified, but was probably somewhere W. or N. W. of Beersheba, next to which it is mentioned in Nehemiah 11:28.

Ziklag pertaineth unto the kings of Judah unto this day] This note from the hand of the compiler indicates that the book was composed after the separation of the kingdom of Judah from the kingdom of Israel, and before the Captivity. Ziklag was, so to speak, one of the crown estates of the royal house.

1 Samuel 27:6

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

In the capital of the kingdom, however, David felt cramped, and therefore entreated Achish to assign him one of the land (or provincial) towns to dwell in; whereupon he gave him Ziklag for that purpose. This town was given to the Simeonites in the time of Joshua (Joshua 19:5), but was afterwards taken by the Philistines, probably not long before the time of David, and appears to have been left without inhabitants in consequence of this conquest. The exact situation, in the western part of the Negeb, has not been clearly ascertained (see at Joshua 15:31). Achish appears to have given it to David. This is implied in the remark, "Therefore Ziklag came to the kings of Judah (i.e., became their property) unto this day."