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Judges 7:25

in Judges 7

They also captured Oreb and Zeeb, the two princes of Midian; and they killed Oreb at the rock of Oreb and Zeeb at the winepress of Zeeb. So they pursued the Midianites and brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon on the other side of the Jordan.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV

ASV

And they took the two princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb; and they slew Oreb at the rock of Oreb, and Zeeb they slew at the winepress of Zeeb, and pursued Midian: and they brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon beyond the Jordan.

KJV

And they took two princes of the Midianites, Oreb and Zeeb; and they slew Oreb upon the rock Oreb, and Zeeb they slew at the winepress of Zeeb, and pursued Midian, and brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon on the other side Jordan.

This verse in Judges 7

Commentary

6 notes on this verse

A commentator

Jerome

HOMILIES ON THE PSALMS 15 (PS 82) · Written before 420.

They who were glorying in their army, whose king was the Assyrian and who used to boast "I will scale the heavens," not only fell down to earth but on the ground became dung."Make their nobles." What nobles? Those who fight against your people. "Like Oreb and Zeeb; all their chiefs like Zebah and Zalmunna." I suppose you have read in the book of Judges the story of Gideon, who is also called Jerubbaal, how he outwitted those four kings while fighting for the people of God and put an end to them.

This site's exposition

Gideon sent messengers throughout all

on Judges 7:24-25

Ephraim is called after the fighting rather than before it, and 8:1 opens with that tribe complaining about exactly this. Holding the waters and the fords of Jordan shuts the escape route, which is the tactic Ehud used at 3:28. Oreb means raven and Zeeb means wolf, and the rock and the winepress carry their names afterward from what happened at them. Isaiah 10:26 reaches back to this day at the rock of Oreb, and Psalm 83:11 names both princes in a prayer asking God to do it again.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices

And they took two princes of the Midianites, Oreb and Zeeb,.... The one signifies a "raven", and the other a "wolf"; which were either nicknames given them because of their voraciousness and cruelty, or which they took themselves, or their ancestors before them, to make themselves terrible to others; so the Romans had the families of the Corvini, &c. and they slew Oreb upon the rock Oreb; perhaps they found him in a cave of the rock, and dragging him out slew him, from whence the rock afterwards had its name.

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

Their names perhaps signified their nature, Oreb signifies a raven, and Zeeb a wolf ( corvus and lupus ). These in their flight had taken shelter, one in a rock ( Isa. ii.

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

2 And the L ORD said unto Gideon, The people that are with thee are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel vaunt themselves against me, saying, Mine own hand hath saved me. 3 Now therefore go to, proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, Whosoever is fearful and afraid, let him return and depart early from mount Gilead.

quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:97%@v2-3

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

proposed

They slew Oreb upon the rock Oreb - These two generals had taken shelter, one in the cavern of the rock, the other in the vat of a winepress; both of which places were from this circumstance, afterwards called by their names. Brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon - Oreb signifies a raven and Zeeb a wolf.

The words behind it

29 Hebrew words

Every Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

  • וַֽיִּלְכְּד֡וּand they captured

    vaiyilkeduH3920121 times

  • שְׁנֵֽי־[the] two

    shenei-H8147768 times

  • שָׂרֵ֨י[the] commanders of

    sareiH8269421 times

  • מִדְיָ֜ןMidian

    midyanH408059 times

  • אֶת־<obj.>

    ʾet-H85310935 times

  • עֹרֵ֣בOreb

    ʾorevH61597 times

  • וְאֶת־and <obj.>

    veetH85310935 times

  • זְאֵ֗בZeeb

    zeevH20626 times

  • וַיַּהַרְג֨וּand they killed

    vaiyaharguH2026167 times

  • אֶת־<obj.>

    ʾet-H85310935 times

  • עוֹרֵ֤בOreb

    orevH61597 times

  • בְּצוּר־at [the] rock of

    betzur-H669778 times

  • עוֹרֵב֙Oreb

    orevH61597 times

  • וְאֶת־and <obj.>

    veetH85310935 times

  • זְאֵב֙Zeeb

    zeevH20626 times

  • הָרְג֣וּthey killed

    hareguH2026167 times

  • בְיֶֽקֶב־at [the] winepress of

    veyekev-H3342

  • זְאֵ֔בZeeb

    zeevH20626 times

  • וַֽיִּרְדְּפ֖וּand they pursued

    vaiyirdefuH7291143 times

  • אֶל־<to>

    ʾel-H4135510 times

  • מִדְיָ֑ןMidian

    midyanH408059 times

  • וְרֹאשׁ־and [the] head of

    verosh-H7218599 times

  • עֹרֵ֣בOreb

    ʾorevH61597 times

  • וּזְאֵ֔בand Zeeb

    uzeevH20626 times

  • הֵבִ֙יאוּ֙they brought

    heviuH9352568 times

  • אֶל־to

    ʾel-H4135510 times

  • גִּדְע֔וֹןGideon

    gidonH143939 times

  • מֵעֵ֖בֶרfrom [the] other side

    meeverH567690 times

  • לַיַּרְדֵּֽן׃of the Jordan

    laiyardenH3383182 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

The walk

8 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    Isaiah 10:26

    And the LORD of Hosts will brandish a whip against them, as when He struck Midian at the rock of Oreb. He will raise His staff over the sea, as He did in Egypt.

    it leads to

    • Isaiah 9:4

      For as in the day of Midian You have shattered the yoke of their burden, the bar across their shoulders, and the rod of their oppressor.

    • 2 Kings 19:35

      And that very night the angel of the LORD went out and struck down 185,000 men in the camp of the Assyrians. When the people got up the next morning, there were all the…

    • Exodus 14:16

      And as for you, lift up your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground.

  • Through

    Joshua 7:26

    And they heaped over Achan a large pile of rocks that remains to this day. So the LORD turned from His burning anger. Therefore that place is called the Valley of Achor to this…

    it leads to

    • Hosea 2:15

      There I will give back her vineyards and make the Valley of Achor into a gateway of hope. There she will respond as she did in the days of her youth, as in the…

    • Isaiah 65:10

      Sharon will become a pasture for flocks, and the Valley of Achor a resting place for herds, for My people who seek Me.

    • Deuteronomy 13:17

      Nothing devoted to destruction shall cling to your hands, so that the LORD will turn from His fierce anger, grant you mercy, show you compassion, and multiply you as He swore to your fathers,

    • Lamentations 3:53

      They dropped me alive into a pit and cast stones upon me.

    • 2 Samuel 18:17

      They took Absalom, cast him into a large pit in the forest, and piled a huge mound of stones over him. Meanwhile, all the Israelites fled, each to his home.

Where this verse is studied

About Judges

Gideon Chooses 300 Soldiers — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain
Gideon Chooses 300 Soldiers — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jerome, HOMILIES ON THE PSALMS 15 (PS 82); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: Joshua, Judges, Ruth and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.