Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which has not kissed him.
All Commentaries on 1 Kings 19:18 Go To 1 Kings 19
Ephrem The Syrian
AD 373
Through these words it is clear that seven thousand people remained faithful to the true religion of the ancestors, while the others had turned away from it, even though at the time of Jeroboam, king of the ten tribes, it is written that 800,000 men came out with him to fight. But it is wonderful how this small troop was precious in the eyes of the Lord, and how, because of it, he gave a double victory to the sons of their people and to Ahab, their king, who were absolutely unworthy of it. The Scripture says that in those days Ben-hadad, king of Aram, came against Samaria with thirty-two kings. Now 7,000 men with 232 youths, who preceded the troop, came out of the city, and fought against the Arameans, and killed them and defeated that great army.
