H1308 H1308
the Besor—a brook in southern Philistine territory near Gaza
The Brook Besor marks a crucial location in David's pursuit of the Amalekite raiders who burned Ziklag (1 Sam 30). Two hundred of David's exhausted men stayed behind at this wadi while four hundred continued the chase. The brook became the site of a significant legal precedent: David ruled that those who stayed with the baggage would share equally in the plunder with those who fought (1 Sam 30:21-25). Modern scholarship identifies it with Wadi Razze southwest of Gaza. The name may connect to a root meaning 'good news,' though this is uncertain.
Senses
1. sense 1 — A seasonal watercourse (wadi) in Philistine territory, always appearing with the definite article as 'the Besor' (naḥal ha-Besor). All three occurrences are in 1 Samuel 30, marking the location where David divided his forces during the Amalekite pursuit. Cross-linguistic evidence is perfectly consistent: English 'the Besor,' Spanish 'el Besor,' French 'le Besor,' German 'der Besor'—all preserving the proper name with the definite article. This brook serves as both a geographical marker and a memorial to David's just ruling about shared plunder. 3×
AR["البَسورِ"]·ben["বেশোরের"]·DE["der-Besor"]·EN["the-Besor"]·FR["le-Besor"]·heb["ה-בשור"]·HI["बेसोर"]·ID["Besor"]·IT["il-Besor"]·jav["Bésor"]·KO["그-브소르", "그-브소르의"]·PT["o-Besor"]·RU["Весор"]·ES["el-Besor"]·SW["Besori"]·TR["Besor'un"]·urd["بسور-کے"]
Related Senses
H3808 1. simple negation (not) (4839×)G1722 1. locative: in, within (2442×)H1004b 1. house, dwelling, building (2015×)G3756 1. not (negation particle) (1635×)H4480a 1. source or separation (1198×)H5892b 1. city, town (1093×)G1519 1. direction: into, to, toward (1061×)H3427 1. Qal: to dwell, inhabit (937×)G1537 1. from, out of (source/origin) (886×)H8034 1. Name (designation / identifier) (856×)G3361 1. subjective negation (not) (834×)G1909 1. on, upon (spatial surface) (757×)H0369 1. existential negation: there is not (738×)H5869a 1. in the eyes/sight of (evaluative) (734×)H5650 1. Servant, attendant, subject (723×)H0408 1. prohibitive negation do-not (712×)G2443 1. so that, in order that (purpose/result) (665×)G0575 1. from (649×)G1223 1. through, by means of (582×)H3541 1. thus, so, in this manner (569×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† בְּשׂוֹר n.pr. of brook in Philistine territory: always נַחַל הַבְּשׂוֹר 1 S 30:9, 10, 21; 𝔊 Βοσορ (v 21 Βεανα, but 𝔊L Βοσορ); mod. Wady Ṛazze (Gaza) according to Guérin Judée ii. 213;—it empties into sea SW of Gaza. (Connexion with above √ dub.)