And David saved alive neither man nor woman, to bring tidings to Gath, saying, 'Lest they should tell on us, saying, "So did David, and so has been his manner all the days he has dwelt in the country of the Philistines"' — David's ruthlessness in eliminating witnesses ('vᵉʾām yiš'ar lezakkēr leqôl ʿal-gat'), while practical, reveals the moral cost of his exile. The prevention of witness to his deception ('pen-yiggidû ʿal-wēnû') shows his consciousness of the falsehood underlying Achish's trust.

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