Brook Besor

Biblical Text

The Brook Besor appears only in 1 Samuel 30. While David was living in Philistine territory with Ziklag as his base, the Amalekites raided Ziklag, burned it, and carried off the families and possessions of David and his men. David inquired of God by means of the ephod and set out in pursuit with six hundred men.

According to 1 Samuel 30:9-10, when they reached the Brook Besor, two hundred men were too exhausted to cross it and remained there, while David continued the pursuit with the other four hundred. David struck the Amalekites and recovered all the people and goods that had been taken (1 Samuel 30:18-19). On the way back, the wicked and worthless men among those who had fought proposed that the two hundred who had stayed behind be given back only their wives and children and receive no share of the spoil (1 Samuel 30:22). David refused, declaring that the victory had been given by the LORD, and ordered that those who went down to battle and those who stayed with the supplies receive equal shares (1 Samuel 30:23-24). The text records that from that day forward this became a statute and an ordinance for Israel (1 Samuel 30:25).

Background

In Hebrew the name is naḥal habbesor. Naḥal denotes a watercourse in a valley that flows only when it rains and may dry up in the dry season; the New Korean Revised Version renders it as "stream." The Brook Besor was a watercourse somewhere south of Ziklag in the Negev, the arid southern region of Judah. It is widely identified with Wadi Gaza (Israeli name: Nahal Besor), which passes south of Gaza and empties into the Mediterranean Sea, but its exact location cannot be determined with certainty.

Significance in the Wider Bible

The principle that those who fought and those who stayed behind share the spoil is sometimes compared with the regulation in Numbers 31:27, which directed that the plunder be divided in half between those who went to war and the congregation. David also sent some of the recovered goods to the elders of Judah (1 Samuel 30:26-31), an act connected with the process by which he soon became king of Judah. The New Testament does not mention the Brook Besor directly.

Interpretation and Debated Points

• The condition of the two hundred: The text says only that they stayed behind because they were exhausted. Explanations that portray them as cowardly or weak in faith have no basis in the text. The text states that they stayed with the supplies, and some interpreters read this as an assignment to guard the baggage.
• Meaning of the name: Sermons often treat "Besor" as sharing a root with the Hebrew word for "good news" (besorah) and connect it with the gospel. However, this etymology is uncertain, and such use is best regarded as an application at the level of wordplay.
• Grace and fairness: Some sermons read David's ruling as a scene illustrating God's grace or the solidarity of the community, placing it alongside the Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard. This is a theological application arising from the similar themes of the two passages; neither text directly quotes or alludes to the other.

In the Korean Church

In the Korean church, 1 Samuel 30 is frequently used as a sermon text to convey the message that the community should embrace believers who are weary or have fallen behind, as well as those who serve behind the scenes. In this context, "the Brook Besor" is sometimes used as an expression for a place where one is too exhausted to go any farther.