Verse 7 had indicated that Helaman’s forces were in dire need of food. They finally received that food, and an additional two thousand men. This number, now merged with the two thousand stripling soldiers, suggests that there had been another exiting Nephite military unit that consisted of two thousand men. It is also possible that, because it was a military unit, that its military designation did not really indicate the unit’s personnel count. As an example, in the Roman army, a centurion commanded a century, which was considered to be one hundred soldiers, but could be less, and perhaps at times, more.
Although the food was essential and the two thousand men were useful, the number of extra soldiers could not counter the significantly larger number of Lamanite forces opposing them. Therefore, they prayed for what amounted to a miracle.