1 Samuel 30:9

9 David and the 600 men with him went as far as the Wadi Besor, where where 200 men who were to remain behind would stop.

1 Samuel 30:9 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 30:9

So David went, he and the six hundred men that [were] with him,
&c.] Encouraged by the oracle of the Lord:

and came to the brook Besor;
which Adrichomius ^F17 places in the tribe of Simeon; it is thought to be near Gaza. Aristaeus ^F18 speaks of brooks that flowed by Gaza and Ashdod, places that belonged to the Philistines; some take it to be the river of the wilderness in Amos, (See Gill on Amos 6:14):

where those that were left behind stayed:
or a part of them were left, as the Targum; all the six hundred came to this brook, but two hundred of them were left here, ( 1 Samuel 30:10 ) shows, and stayed here till the rest returned; for this is not to be understood of any that were left behind at Ziklag, for all came from thence to this brook.

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FOOTNOTES:

F17 Theatrum Terrae Sanct. p. 133.
F18 Hist. 72. Interpret. p. 41.

1 Samuel 30:9 In-Context

7 David said to Abiathar the priest, son of Ahimelech, "Bring me the ephod." So Abiathar brought it to him,

8 and David asked the Lord: "Should I pursue these raiders? Will I overtake them?" The Lord replied to him, "Pursue [them], for you will certainly overtake [them] and rescue [the people]."

9 David and the 600 men with him went as far as the Wadi Besor, where where 200 men who were to remain behind would stop.

10 They stopped because they were too exhausted to cross the Wadi Besor. David and 400 of the men continued in pursuit.

11 They found an Egyptian in the open country and brought him to David. They gave him some bread to eat and water to drink.