Charles Ellicott Commentary 1 Samuel 21:12

"And David laid up these words in his heart, and was sore afraid of Achish the king of Gath." — 1 Samuel 21:12 (ASV)

And David laid up these words. — Now, for the first time, David saw how widely his renown had traveled, a renown of which he, in his humility, had thought so little. A deadly fear immediately took possession of him. Strange to say, in his deep degradation and poverty, the life he had held so cheaply when in battle with the enemies of his country now became of real value to him. He adopted the pitiful and humiliating tactic of feigning madness, hoping in this way to change the wondering admiration of Achish's servants into pitying scorn.

What David hoped for occurred, and he was driven out of Gath with ignominy. However, there is no reason to suppose that any harm would have come to him if he had maintained a quiet dignity of behavior. The Philistines, for those wild times, seem to have been a cultured people and by no means devoid of generous instincts.

Strangely enough, not one word is reported to have been spoken about the great injury he had done to the Philistine nation when he killed Goliath. It has been suggested with considerable ingenuity that the great name of the dead champion, the hero of so many battlefields, was not mentioned here, perhaps out of a natural reluctance to recall a grievous calamity, but more likely out of regard for Goliath’s family and friends.

Remarkably little is told to us, in fact, about this renowned hero, whom tradition suggests was the great warrior in the decisive battle when the Ark was captured and the sons of Eli were killed. The Talmud has a curious comment on this strange silence—“Not half the praises of Goliath are related in Scripture; hence it follows that it is wrong to tell the praises of the wicked.”—Treatise Soteh, fol. 42,Colossians 2:0.