men of. Hebrew. gibbor. App-14.
four hundred... eight hundred. Note the steady increase of Judah and the decrease of Israel: Rehoboam could assemble 180,000; Abijah (eighteen years later), 400,000; Asa (six years later), 580,000; Jehoshaphat (thirty-two years later), 1,160, 000. On the other hand, with Israel, Jeroboam could assemble 800,000, while Ahab's army was compared to "two little flocks of kids" (1 Kings 20:27), which could not stand against the Syrians. This increase of Judah was caused by the constant emigration of Israelites from the ten tribes. See note on 1 Kings 12:17.
mighty men. Hebrew. gibbor. App-14.