The Meaning of 1 Samuel 27:7 Explained

1 Samuel 27:7

KJV: And the time that David dwelt in the country of the Philistines was a full year and four months.

YLT: And the number of the days which David hath dwelt in the field of the Philistines is days and four months;

Darby: And the time that David abode in the country of the Philistines was a year and four months.

ASV: And the number of the days that David dwelt in the country of the Philistines was a full year and four months.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And the time  that David  dwelt  in the country  of the Philistines  was a full year  and four  months. 

What does 1 Samuel 27:7 Mean?

Context Summary

1 Samuel 27:1-12 - Substituting Policy For Trust
David had every assurance that he would be king. From Samuel, Jonathan and Saul he had heard predictions of his coming exaltation; yet suddenly he seems to have had a fainting-fit and to have concluded that he would after all perish by the hand of Saul. It was thus with Elijah under the juniper bush, when he asked God to take away his life; and thus with the Baptist, when from prison he sent to ask whether Jesus was the Christ. Let us not sink into despair when the shadow of discouragement falls across our path. Let us believe that God's word shall stand though the heavens fall. Let us especially beware of taking our own measures of self-defense. The caves of Adullam are safer for the child of God than the land of the Philistines. David was driven to ruthless cruelty; he went about under the constant fear of discovery, and lived a perpetual lie. It was a life of deceit that was wholly unworthy of a servant of the Most High, and must have had a fatal effect on David's followers. And, in the end, Ziklag was destroyed, and the exile's heart was well-nigh broken. See 1 Samuel 30:1-4. "The way of the transgressor is hard!" No psalms can be traced to this period. [source]

Chapter Summary: 1 Samuel 27

1  Saul, hearing David to be in Gath, seeks no more for him
5  David begs Ziklag of Achish
8  He, invading other countries, persuades Achish he fought against Judah

What do the individual words in 1 Samuel 27:7 mean?

And was a full the full time that dwelt David in the country of the Philistines one year and four months
וַֽיְהִי֙ מִסְפַּ֣ר הַיָּמִ֔ים אֲשֶׁר־ יָשַׁ֥ב דָּוִ֖ד בִּשְׂדֵ֣ה פְלִשְׁתִּ֑ים יָמִ֖ים וְאַרְבָּעָ֥ה חֳדָשִֽׁים

וַֽיְהִי֙  And  was 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אֶהְיֶה 
Sense: to be, become, come to pass, exist, happen, fall out.
מִסְפַּ֣ר  a  full 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: מִסְפָּר  
Sense: number, tale.
הַיָּמִ֔ים  the  full  time 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine plural
Root: יׄום 
Sense: day, time, year.
אֲשֶׁר־  that 
Parse: Pronoun, relative
Root: אֲשֶׁר 
Sense: (relative part.).
יָשַׁ֥ב  dwelt 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: יָשַׁב 
Sense: to dwell, remain, sit, abide.
דָּוִ֖ד  David 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: דָּוִד  
Sense: youngest son of Jesse and second king of Israel.
בִּשְׂדֵ֣ה  in  the  country 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: שָׂדֶה 
Sense: field, land.
פְלִשְׁתִּ֑ים  of  the  Philistines 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine plural
Root: פְּלִשְׁתִּי  
Sense: an inhabitant of Philistia; descendants of Mizraim who immigrated from Caphtor (Crete?) to the western seacoast of Canaan.
יָמִ֖ים  one  year 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: יׄום 
Sense: day, time, year.
וְאַרְבָּעָ֥ה  and  four 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Number, masculine singular
Root: אַרְבַּע  
Sense: four.
חֳדָשִֽׁים  months 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: חֹדֶשׁ  
Sense: the new moon, month, monthly.

What are the major concepts related to 1 Samuel 27:7?

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