And the children of Israel fled before Judah: and God delivered them into their hand.
The verse belongs to the account of the war between Judah under Abijah and Israel under Jeroboam, the revolting northern tribes, in which Judah conquered. It means that Israel fled before Judah and that God delivered Israel into Judah's hand and power, presenting Judah's victory as God's act. This took place in the decisive battle in which Jeroboam's army outnumbered Judah's two to one, and after Abijah called on the Lord God helped Judah, so that Judah slew many of Israel's chosen men. Jeroboam's revolt is likened to the Southern secession in the American Civil War and Abijah's kingdom to the North, and the chapter's example is invoked to argue that the rebellion could have ended sooner if the Northern government had followed Abijah's example.
The verse belongs to the account of the war between Judah under Abijah and Israel under Jeroboam, the revolting northern tribes, in which Judah conquered. It means that Israel fled before Judah and that God delivered Israel into Judah's hand and power, presenting Judah's victory as God's act. This took place in the decisive battle in which Jeroboam's army outnumbered Judah's two to one, and after Abijah called on the Lord God helped Judah, so that Judah slew many of Israel's chosen men. Jeroboam's revolt is likened to the Southern secession in the American Civil War and Abijah's kingdom to the North, and the chapter's example is invoked to argue that the rebellion could have ended sooner if the Northern government had followed Abijah's example.