Who was Zebah in the Bible?

Zebah was a Midianite king who oppressed Israel. He was defeated and killed by the judge Gideon, as recorded in the Book of Judges (Judges 8:4-21).

Why did Gideon kill Zebah and Zalmunna?

Gideon executed Zebah and Zalmunna to avenge their earlier killing of his brothers at Tabor (Judges 8:18-19). This act fulfilled Gideon's duty as a kinsman-redeemer and delivered Israel from its oppressors.

What is the significance of Zebah's defeat?

Zebah's defeat marked the end of Midianite oppression and demonstrated God's power working through Gideon, a reluctant leader. It is a key event in the period of the Judges, showing Israel's cycle of sin, oppression, and deliverance (Judges 8:28).

Zebah

Old TestamentMaleKing

Zebah was a Midianite king who, along with Zalmunna, was defeated and killed by Gideon during the time of the judges.

Zebah

Biography

Zebah was a Midianite king who co-led a vast coalition that oppressed Israel during the era of the judges. Following Israel's initial cry to God and Gideon's subsequent military campaign, the Midianite army suffered a decisive defeat, but Zebah and his co-king Zalmunna escaped eastward across the Jordan with roughly fifteen thousand remaining troops (Judges 8:10-12). Gideon pursued them relentlessly, even passing through Succoth and Penuel in his single-minded chase. He captured both kings at Karkor and brought them back across the Jordan. When Zebah and Zalmunna admitted to having killed Gideon's brothers at Tabor, Gideon executed them as an act of blood vengeance, then took the royal ornaments from their camels as trophies (Judges 8:18-21).

Significance

Zebah's defeat and death, alongside Zalmunna's, became embedded in Israel's liturgical memory as a defining example of divine deliverance. Psalm 83:11 calls on God to make Israel's enemies like Zebah and Zalmunna, utterly destroyed. Their story illustrates the theological principle that powers which oppress God's covenant people are ultimately accountable to the divine King of Israel. The narrative also reveals Gideon's complex character: a reluctant judge who becomes an instrument of justice, yet whose subsequent actions with the ephod planted the seeds of future idolatry. Zebah's downfall reminds readers that human arrogance and aggression against God's purposes cannot ultimately prevail.

Authority Records

Wikidata

Verse Appearances (9)

Judg

Judg 8:5 Judg 8:6 Judg 8:7 Judg 8:10 Judg 8:12 Judg 8:15 Judg 8:18 Judg 8:21

Ps

Ps 83:11

References

Orr, J. (ed.) (1915) The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Chicago: Howard-Severance Company. [Public Domain]
Tyndale House, Cambridge (n.d.) Translators Individualised Proper Names with all References (TIPNR). STEPBible. Available at: https://www.stepbible.org. [CC BY 4.0]
Wikidata contributors (n.d.) Wikidata. Available at: https://www.wikidata.org. [CC0]
Church of England (1769) The Holy Bible, Authorized (King James) Version. [Public Domain]

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