And David said in his heart, I shall now perish one day by the hand of Saul: there is nothing better for me than that I should speedily escape into the land of the Philistines; and Saul shall despair of me, to seek me any more in any coast of Israel: so shall I escape out of his hand.

1 SAMUEL 27:1KJV
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1 Samuel 27:1 (KJV)

What does 1 Samuel 27:1 mean?

1 Samuel 27:1 describes David’s private decision to leave Israel for Philistine territory. David believes Saul will eventually kill him if he stays. He reasons that Saul will stop searching for him once he is beyond Israel’s borders.

David “said in his heart”: the verse lets the reader hear his thoughts rather than a conversation with someone else. “By the hand of Saul” pictures Saul as the person responsible for the death David fears. The decision follows Saul’s parting words to David in chapter 26.

The Hebrew behind 1 Samuel 27:1

  • “heart” — לֵב (lev): This word can refer to a person’s inner thoughts as well as feelings. Here it helps show that David is reasoning privately.
  • “coast” — גְּבוּל (gevul): This word often means a boundary or territory. The KJV’s “coast” here refers to Israel’s territory, not simply its seashore.

Why 1 Samuel 27:1 matters

  • David’s fear persists despite Saul’s words in the previous chapter. In 1 Samuel 26:21, Saul admitted that he had acted wrongly; in 27:1, David still expects to die by Saul’s hand.
  • David’s plan depends on a change of location. He expects Saul to give up searching “in any coast of Israel” when David goes to Philistine land.
  • The verse gives David’s reason for the move that follows. In 1 Samuel 27:2–3, David and the men with him go to Achish, a Philistine ruler in Gath.

Where else these words appear

“despair” Hebrew H2976 · used in 6 verses

  • Job 6:26 Do ye imagine to reprove words, and the speeches of one that is desperate, which are as wind?
  • Ecclesiastes 2:20 Therefore I went about to cause my heart to despair of all the labour which I took under the sun.
  • Jeremiah 2:25 Withhold thy foot from being unshod, and thy throat from thirst: but thou saidst, There is no hope: no; for I have loved strangers, and after them will I go.

“perish” Hebrew H5595 · used in 20 verses

  • Genesis 18:23 And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked?
  • Deuteronomy 29:19 And it come to pass, when he heareth the words of this curse, that he bless himself in his heart, saying, I shall have peace, though I walk in the imagination of mine heart, to add drunkenness to thirst:
  • Proverbs 13:23 Much food is in the tillage of the poor: but there is that is destroyed for want of judgment.

“that” Hebrew H3588 · used in 43 verses

  • Genesis 1:4 And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.
  • Exodus 13:17 And it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God led them not through the way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near; for God said, Lest peradventure the people repent when they see war, and they return to Egypt:
  • Joshua 2:12 Now therefore, I pray you, swear unto me by the LORD, since I have shewed you kindness, that ye will also shew kindness unto my father's house, and give me a true token:

“speedily” Hebrew H4422 · used in 85 verses

  • Genesis 19:17 And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad, that he said, Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed.
  • Esther 4:13 Then Mordecai commanded to answer Esther, Think not with thyself that thou shalt escape in the king's house, more than all the Jews.
  • Isaiah 46:2 They stoop, they bow down together; they could not deliver the burden, but themselves are gone into captivity.