Achish (Gat)

Achish ( Hebrew אָכִישׁ), Son of Ma'och (for the meaning of the name and origin, see Achisch ) is, according to the stories in the Bible, King of Gath in the time of David .

On the run from Saul ( 1 Sam 21  EU ) David comes to the court of Achisch in Gat. Out of fear of the king and his advisors, who recognize him as the conqueror of the Philistines , he pretends to be mad. Achisch does not see through this ruse. After 1 Sam 27  EU David goes over to Achisch with his 600 and receives from this Ziklag as a fief, from where he undertakes raids to the Geschuritern or Amalekitern and devastates the country. Since he reports to Achish that he was going to war against the south of Judah, the latter continues to trust him and ultimately even takes him with him as a bodyguard in the fight against the Israelites ( 1 Sam 28.1f  EU ). Before the battle starts, however, the Colonels of the Philistines oppose this decision, so that Achish sends David back and David does not have to fight the Israelites.

Also a king Achish of Gat, son of Ma'acha, is mentioned as a contemporary of Solomon in 1 Kings 2,39f  EU . It remains uncertain whether this refers to the same person.

Web links

• Matthias Ederer:  Achisch. In: Michaela Bauks, Klaus Koenen, Stefan Alkier (eds.): The scientific Bibellexikon on the Internet (WiBiLex), Stuttgart 2006 ff., Accessed on October 25, 2009.