1 Samuel 30:21

21 Then David went back to the two hundred men who had been too weak to go with him and had stayed behind at Besor Brook. They came forward to meet David and his men, and David went up to them and greeted them warmly.

1 Samuel 30:21 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 30:21

And David came to the two hundred men
Left at the brook Besor:

who were so faint that they could not follow David;
or, as the Targum, were restrained from going over after him; either through faintness of spirits, and weakness of body, or through the order of David that they should not follow him; and which seems to receive some countenance from what follows:

whom they had made also to abide at the brook Besor;
to guard the passage there, and to tarry by and keep the stuff:

and they went forth to meet David, and to meet the people that [were]
with him;
to congratulate them upon the victory they had obtained, and to see and receive their wives and children, and what portion of the spoil might be divided to them:

and when David came near to the people, he saluted them;
asked them of their welfare, whether they were in better health, and recovered of their faintness and weakness, as it should seem they were, by their coming forth to meet him.

1 Samuel 30:21 In-Context

19 nothing at all was missing. David got back all his men's sons and daughters, and all the loot the Amalekites had taken.

20 He also recovered all the flocks and herds; his men drove all the livestock in front of them and said, "This belongs to David!"

21 Then David went back to the two hundred men who had been too weak to go with him and had stayed behind at Besor Brook. They came forward to meet David and his men, and David went up to them and greeted them warmly.

22 But some mean and worthless men who had gone with David said, "They didn't go with us, and so we won't give them any of the loot. They can take their wives and children and go away."

23 But David answered, "My brothers, you can't do this with what the Lord has given us! He kept us safe and gave us victory over the raiders.