A weeping voice marched in my head – the weeping trees are mentioned in the Bible during King David’s war against the Philistines. The Philistines had gone on a raid that took them from the Philistine cities on the Mediterranean coast, across the Sorek River, and into the Judean mountains. God encouraged King David with these words:

“And when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees (הבכאים), then make haste, for the LORD has then gone before you to strike the army of the Philistines.” (2 Samuel 5:24)

In “Jewish Antiquities,” Josephus Flavius ​​recounts, among other things, David’s wars against the Philistines. It was in the Valley of Rephaim near Jerusalem that King David was commanded by God to camp in a grove of balsam trees, not far from the enemy’s camp. God commanded him to remain quiet until the Philistines reached the “grove of the weeping.” King David acted according to God’s counsel and thwarted the Philistine invasion.

The word “habacha” (הבכא) appears again in Psalm 84:

“When...

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