Achish
Biblical character (First Book of Samuel)
Achish (Hebrew: אָכִישׁ ʾāḵīš, Philistine: 𐤀𐤊𐤉𐤔 *ʾākayūš, Akkadian: 𒄿𒅗𒌑𒋢 i-ka-ú-su) is a name used in the Hebrew Bible for two Philistine rulers of Gath. It is perhaps only a general title of royalty, applicable to the Philistine kings. The two kings of Gath, which most scholars identify as Tell es-Safi, are:
The monarch, described as "Achish the king of Gath", with whom David sought refuge when he fled from Saul. He is called Abimelech, meaning "father of the king", in the superscription of Psalm 34. It was probably this same king, or his son with the same name, described as "Achish, the son of Maoch", to whom David reappeared a second time at the head of a band of 600 warriors. The king assigned David to Ziklag, whence he carried on war against the surrounding tribes while lying to Achish that he was waging war against Israel to garner his support. Achish had great confidence in the valour and fidelity of David, but, at the objection of the other Philistine rulers, did not permit him to go to battle along with the Philistine hosts. David remained with Achish a year and four months. According to the Bible, in 1 Samuel 21:11–13, David was greatly afraid of Achish because the servants of Achish recognized him. This led him to feign insanity to avoid harm from the King of Gath.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Achish” as biblical character (First Book of Samuel). Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the arts & letters register because the source frames it as biblical character (First Book of Samuel). Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Attribution, date and provenance are strongest when supported by the original work, a catalogue record and documented transmission. The source revision retrieved here is dated May 17, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q167185. VIAF identifies the subject as 2728154137636115370000. None of the 2 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
Later fame can flatten the distinction between original context, subsequent adaptation and institutional collecting history. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
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The original object or edition, catalogue raisonné, performance record, rights file and holding institution.
Three-step research path
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Questions for further research
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This entry incorporates text from “Achish” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.