ZEBAH
(Zeʹbah) [sacrifice].
A king of Midian who was a party to oppressing Israel. Zebah and Zalmunna were rulers presumably for the seven years that Midian made raids against Israel, ruining fields and bringing about poverty. (Judg. 6:1-6) At some unspecified time they also killed members of Gideon’s household.—Judg. 8:18, 19.
When their army of 135,000 met defeat from Gideon, Zebah, Zalmunna and 15,000 managed to escape under hot pursuit and made their way to Karkor, quite some distance, but were there again defeated and finally captured. As Gideon was bringing their kings Zebah and Zalmunna back as humiliated captives at least as far as Succoth they must have been reminded of their boastful words (or at least the expression of their attitude), preserved in the psalm: “Let us take possession of the abiding places of God for ourselves.” (Ps. 83:11, 12) After they admitted to having killed his brothers, Gideon personally put to death the two Midianite kings.—Judg. 8:4-21.