marched out first: Ahab seems to have sent this small squad to test the enemy. In the ancient Near East, surprise attacks often divided soldiers into groups with special purposes:
To attack from two sides at once (a pincer movement) (Judges 7:16; 1 Samuel 11:11).
To trick the enemy into chasing them into an ambush (Joshua 8:15–22)
To draw the enemy to a place where the attacking army had the advantage (Judges 4:14–16; 5:19–21).