Achish

For the Book of Mormon figure, see Akish.

Achish 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 is identified by most scholars as Tell es-Safi, are:

In the seventh-century B.C. Ekron inscription the name Achish appears, along with four other names of the local kings of Ekron. A similar name (IKAUSU) appears as a king of Ekron in seventh-century B.C. Assyrian inscriptions. This apparently refers to the same king of Ekron.

This appears to indicate that either the name Achish was a common name for Philistine kings, used both at Gath and Ekron, or, as Naveh has suggested, that the editor of the biblical text used a known name of a Philistine king from the end of the Iron Age (Achish of Ekron) as the name of a king(s) of Gath in narratives relating to earlier periods.

Achish and Suwardata

In his book Pharaohs and Kings, D. Rohl suggests Achish may be an abbreviation of Akishimige, a Hurrian name meaning "Gift of the Sun God," equivalent to the name Suwardata in the Amarna Letters.

Achish in Israeli popular culture

The King of Gath is the subject of a modern Israeli popular riddle: Beveiti ko lo naim, kol male meshuga'im. ("In my house it's so unpleasant, all full of crazy men.") This rhyming couplet refers comically to the king's complaint in I Samuel 21:15 that his palace is overrun with madmen. David was feigning madness to escape from Gath, where his situation was turning precarious.

Achish in film

Achish king of Gath appears in the 1985 film King David, starring Richard Gere. The film differs from the Biblical story, and shows David pretending to be insane in order to gain admittance to the presence of King Achish, rather than to flee from him.

See also

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Easton, Matthew George (1897). "article name needed". Easton's Bible Dictionary (New and revised ed.). T. Nelson and Sons.