The Hebrew choresh refers to a forest, a wooded area, or a dense thicket. It describes the untamed, often wild vegetation of ancient Canaan and serves as a geographical marker in several narratives.
Choresh appears in the dramatic narrative of David hiding from Saul in the wilderness of Ziph, where he 'remained in the desert strongholds in the hills of the Desert of Ziph, at Horesh' (1 Samuel 23:15). There, Jonathan came to David and 'helped him find strength in God' — one of the most tender scenes of covenant friendship in Scripture. The forest choresh becomes a place of divine encounter, strengthening, and covenant renewal. Isaiah uses forest imagery extensively for both the destruction of the proud (10:18) and the transformation of the wilderness into abundance (41:19).