The Midrash states that the sorek is a "fruitless tree", implying a moral lesson and metaphor suggesting that Samson's involvement in his affair with Delilah was eventually "fruitless". However, another etymology suggests that "sorek" means "special vine" and refers to the grapes and wines grown in the area.
Nahal Sorek was the place where Delilah lived, and Samson came to meet her for the first time. It was also the place she enticed him to tell her the secret of his strength, and where he was eventually captured by the Philistines:
In 1921, lands that bounded Nahal Sorek which passed to the south of Artuf were designated as "Mara land," meaning, pasture land reserved primarily for the use of the adjoining villages.
Road and railway
In the 19th century, Nahal Sorek served as an important connection between the two major cities in the area, Jaffa and Jerusalem. Because railways at the time were reliant on water sources, several surveyors who planned the first railway in the Middle East, the Jaffa–Jerusalem line, decided to use Nahal Sorek as the main route for the line. The line was inaugurated in 1892, following Nahal Sorek until its junction with the Valley of Rephaim, after which it follows the Valley of Rephaim into Jerusalem. While the Tel Aviv-to-Jerusalem high-speed railway line, which is expected to open for passenger service in the fourth quarter of 2018, is designed to avoid the Nahal Sorek route and shorten the line, the older railway along Nahal Sorek has been refurbished and remains in use. It connects the country's two largest cities and its main international airport, running in an westerly-easterly direction between Tel Aviv, Ben Gurion International Airport, Lod, Ramla, Beit Shemesh and Jerusalem. However, today the rail line mainly serves as a scenic route used by tourists. Several small water reservoirs exist along its route, notably near Tal Shahar and Yesodot. Waterfalls are located on several of its tributaries, including Ayanot Dekalim in Beit Shemesh, Ein Sifla on Nahal HaMe'ara, and others.
The Nahal Sorek Nature Reserve, first declared in 1965, and since expanded, spans over 11000 dunams, from the Avshalom Cave Nature Reserve near Beit Shemesh, to moshavNes Harim.
Desalination plants
Near the mouth of the Sorek River are two large seawater desalination plants, Palmachim and Sorek, the latter being, when used at full capacity, the largest of its kind in the world.
