Hebrew word · H397

אָכִישׁ

'akhish

Achish

A personal name borne by Philistine kings of Gath. It is probably not Semitic. Many scholars link it to the 'Ikausu' king of Ekron named in a 7th-century BC dedicatory inscription found at Ekron (Tel Miqne), and possibly to a word meaning 'the Achaean (Greek)'.

Appears 21 times in 20 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

A man living at the time of United Monarchy, first mentioned at 1Sa.21.10;

son of: Maoch (H4582); also called Abimelech (NIV: Abimelek) at Psa.34.1;

Also named: a.vi.me.lekh (אֲבִימֶ֫לֶךְ "Abimelech" H0040I)

§ Achish = "I will blacken (or terrify)" or "only a man"

Philistine king of Gath

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of 1 Kings 2:39

Range of meaning

A personal name borne by Philistine kings of Gath. It is probably not Semitic. Many scholars link it to the 'Ikausu' king of Ekron named in a 7th-century BC dedicatory inscription found at Ekron (Tel Miqne), and possibly to a word meaning 'the Achaean (Greek)'. That would fit the Philistines' Aegean origins.

Against the English

All English versions transliterate it as 'Achish.' The name itself is not a translation issue. The question is identity: is this David's old patron?

Used elsewhere in the period

1 Sam 21:10–15 (David feigns madness before Achish); 1 Sam 27–29 (David as Achish's vassal at Ziklag, 'Achish son of Maoch,' 27:2). The Ekron Royal Dedicatory Inscription (published 1997) names 'Ikausu son of Padi, ruler of Ekron'. The Assyrian records of Esarhaddon and Ashurbanipal also mention Ikausu of Ekron.

Where it appears

1 Samuel · 19
  1. 1 Samuel 21:10 אָכִ֖ישׁ Achish

    That day David fled from Saul and went to Achish king of Gath.

  2. 1 Samuel 21:11 אָכִישׁ֙ Achish

    But the servants of Achish said to him, “Is this not David, the king of the land? Did they not sing about him in their dances, saying: ‘Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands’?”

  3. 1 Samuel 21:12 אָכִ֥ישׁ Achish

    Now David took these words to heart and was very much afraid of Achish the king of Gath.

  4. 1 Samuel 21:14 אָכִ֖ישׁ Achish

    Then Achish said to his servants, “Look, you can see that the man is insane! Why have you brought him to me?

  5. 1 Samuel 27:2 אָכִ֥ישׁ Achish

    So David set out with his six hundred men and went to Achish son of Maoch, the king of Gath.

  6. 1 Samuel 27:3 אָכִ֥ישׁ Achish

    David and his men settled in Gath with Achish. Each man had his family with him, and David had his two wives: Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail of Carmel, the widow of Nabal.

  7. 1 Samuel 27:5 אָכִ֗ישׁ Achish

    Then David said to Achish, “If I have found favor in your eyes, let me be assigned a place in one of the outlying towns, so I can live there. For why should your servant live in the royal city with you?”

  8. 1 Samuel 27:6 אָכִ֛ישׁ Achish

    That day Achish gave him Ziklag, and to this day it still belongs to the kings of Judah.

  9. 1 Samuel 27:9 אָכִֽישׁ׃ Achish

    Whenever David attacked a territory, he did not leave a man or woman alive, but he took the flocks and herds, the donkeys, camels, and clothing. Then he would return to Achish,

  10. 1 Samuel 27:10 אָכִ֔ישׁ Achish

    who would ask him, “What have you raided today?” And David would reply, “The Negev of Judah,” or “The Negev of Jerahmeel,” or “The Negev of the Kenites.”

  11. 1 Samuel 27:12 אָכִ֖ישׁ Achish

    So Achish trusted David, thinking, “Since he has made himself an utter stench to his people Israel, he will be my servant forever.”

  12. 1 Samuel 28:1 אָכִישׁ֙ Achish

    Now in those days the Philistines gathered their forces for warfare against Israel. So Achish said to David, “You must understand that you and your men are to go out to battle with me.”

  13. 1 Samuel 28:2 אָכִ֔ישׁ אָכִישׁ֙ Achish

    David replied, “Then you will come to know what your servant can do.” “Very well,” said Achish. “I will make you my bodyguard for life.”

  14. 1 Samuel 29:2 אָכִֽישׁ׃ Achish

    As the Philistine leaders marched out with their units of hundreds and thousands, David and his men marched behind them with Achish.

  15. 1 Samuel 29:3 אָכִ֜ישׁ Achish

    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.”

  16. 1 Samuel 29:6 אָכִ֜ישׁ Achish

    So Achish summoned David and told him, “As surely as the LORD lives, you have been upright, and it seems right in my sight that you should march in and out with me in the army, because I have found no fault in you from the day you came to me until this day. But you are not good in the sight of the leaders.

  17. 1 Samuel 29:8 אָכִ֗ישׁ Achish

    “But what have I done?” David replied. “What have you found against your servant, from the day I came to you until today, to keep me from going along to fight against the enemies of my lord the king?”

  18. 1 Samuel 29:9 אָכִישׁ֮ Achish

    Achish replied, “I know that you are as pleasing in my sight as an angel of God. But the commanders of the Philistines have said, ‘He must not go into battle with us.’

1 Kings · 2
  1. 1 Kings 2:39 אָכִ֥ישׁ Achish

    After three years, however, two of Shimei’s slaves ran away to Achish son of Maacah, king of Gath. And Shimei was told, “Look, your slaves are in Gath.”

    Here: A Philistine royal name. A king of this name had sheltered David decades earlier (1 Sam 21; 27). The name turns up again in a 7th-century BC royal inscription from Ekron, where it is spelled 'Ikausu'.

  2. 1 Kings 2:40 אָכִ֔ישׁ Achish

    So Shimei saddled his donkey and set out to Achish at Gath in search of his slaves, and he brought them back from Gath.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.