1 Samuel 30:9

9 David and his 600 men came to the Besor Valley. Some of them stayed behind there.

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 Then David spoke to the priest Abiathar, the son of Ahimelech. He said, "Bring me the linen apron." Abiathar brought it to him.

8 David asked the LORD for advice. He said, "Should I chase after the men who attacked Ziklag? If I do, will I catch up with them?" "Chase after them," the LORD answered. "You will certainly catch up with them. You will succeed in saving those who were captured."

9 David and his 600 men came to the Besor Valley. Some of them stayed behind there.

10 That's because 200 of them were too tired to go across the valley. But David and the other 400 continued the chase.

11 David's men found an Egyptian in a field. They brought him to David. They gave him water to drink and food to eat.