Now therefore send, and gather to me all Israel unto mount Carmel, and the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the groves four hundred, which eat at Jezebel's table.
Gather ... the prophets of Baal ... the prophets of the groves. From the sequel, it appears that the former only came. The latter, anticipating some evil, evaded the king's command.
Eat at Jezebel's table - i:e., not at the royal table, where herself dined, but were maintained from her kitchen establishment (see the notes at 1 Samuel 20:24; 1 Kings 4:22). It was and is the custom of Eastern courts to entertain the officers attached to them from the royal table (Athenaeus, 4:, 10, p. 145). They were the priests of Astarte, the Zidonian goddess.