Oreb and Zeeb were two leaders of the Midianite army who were killed by the Israelites during the time of the judges. Their story is recounted in Judges chapters 7 and 8.
The Midianites were a nomadic people who regularly raided Israel during the time of the judges. Under the leadership of Oreb and Zeeb, the Midianites would invade the land of Israel with the Amalekites and other eastern peoples, destroying crops and livestock and generally oppressing the Israelites (Judges 6:1-6).
God called Gideon to deliver Israel from the hand of Midian. Gideon gathered an army and prepared to attack the massive camp of the Midianites in the valley of Jezreel. However, God instructed Gideon to reduce his army to just 300 men, so that it would be clear that the Lord was the one giving Israel victory rather than their own military strength (Judges 7:2).
Gideon’s small army descended on the Midianite camp at night. They blew trumpets, broke jars to reveal torches, and shouted. This caused mass confusion in the Midianite camp. Thinking they were under attack by a huge army, the Midianites began attacking each other in the darkness. They fled the camp in panic, with Gideon’s army in pursuit (Judges 7:19-22).
Oreb and Zeeb were the two leaders of the Midianite forces under Gideon’s attack. As the Midianite army fled, Gideon’s men chased them down:
Gideon went up by the way of the tent dwellers east of Nobah and Jogbehah and attacked the army, for the army felt secure. And Zebah and Zalmunna fled, and he pursued them and captured the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, and he threw all the army into a panic. (Judges 8:11-12)
It seems that Gideon’s forces were divided into different groups to chase down the fleeing Midianite commanders. Two of Gideon’s men in particular, Oreb and Zeeb, are mentioned by name as slaying Oreb and Zeeb:
And he captured a young man of Succoth and questioned him. And he wrote down for him the officials and elders of Succoth, seventy-seven men. And he came to the men of Succoth and said, “Behold Zebah and Zalmunna, about whom you taunted me, saying, ‘Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna already in your hand, that we should give bread to your men who are exhausted?’” And he took the elders of the city, and he took thorns of the wilderness and briers and with them taught the men of Succoth a lesson. And he broke down the tower of Penuel and killed the men of the city. Then he said to Zebah and Zalmunna, “Where are the men whom you killed at Tabor?” They answered, “As you are, so were they. Every one of them resembled the son of a king.” And he said, “They were my brothers, the sons of my mother. As the Lord lives, if you had saved them alive, I would not kill you.” So he said to Jether his firstborn, “Rise and kill them!” But the young man did not draw his sword, for he was afraid, because he was still a young man. Then Zebah and Zalmunna said, “Rise yourself and fall upon us, for as the man is, so is his strength.” And Gideon arose and killed Zebah and Zalmunna, and he took the crescent ornaments that were on the necks of their camels. (Judges 8:14-21)
So Oreb and Zeeb were two of Gideon’s soldiers who respectively killed the Midianite leaders Oreb and Zeeb during the pursuit. Their obedience and courage led to a decisive victory for Israel that day.
Beyond these brief mentions in Judges 7-8, nothing more is known about Oreb and Zeeb. They rose from obscurity to play a pivotal role in delivering Israel from the Midianites before fading back into obscurity. However, their names were memorialized:
And Gideon came to the Jordan and crossed over, he and the 300 men who were with him, exhausted yet pursuing. So he said to the men of Succoth, “Please give loaves of bread to the people who follow me, for they are exhausted, and I am pursuing after Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian.” And the officials of Succoth said, “Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna already in your hand, that we should give bread to your army?” So Gideon said, “Well then, when the Lord has given Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand, I will flail your flesh with the thorns of the wilderness and with briers.” And from there he went up to Penuel, and spoke to them in the same way, and the men of Penuel answered him as the men of Succoth had answered. And he said to the men of Penuel, “When I come again in peace, I will break down this tower.” Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor with their army, about 15,000 men, all who were left of all the army of the people of the East, for there had fallen 120,000 men who drew the sword. And Gideon went up by the way of the tent dwellers east of Nobah and Jogbehah and attacked the army, for the army felt secure. And Zebah and Zalmunna fled, and he pursued them and captured the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, and he threw all the army into a panic. Then Gideon the son of Joash returned from the battle by the ascent of Heres. And he captured a young man of Succoth and questioned him. And he wrote down for him the officials and elders of Succoth, seventy-seven men. And he came to the men of Succoth and said, “Behold Zebah and Zalmunna, about whom you taunted me, saying, ‘Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna already in your hand, that we should give bread to your men who are exhausted?’” And he took the elders of the city, and he took thorns of the wilderness and briers and with them taught the men of Succoth a lesson. And he broke down the tower of Penuel and killed the men of the city. (Judges 8:4-17)
After their deaths, the places where Oreb and Zeeb were killed were remembered. Psalm 83 lists various enemies of Israel, including:
Oreb and Zeeb, and Zebah and Zalmunna, who said, “Let us take possession for ourselves of the pastures of God.” (Psalm 83:11-12)
And Isaiah uses them as examples of how the enemies of God’s people will be destroyed:
For a decree went out before him that their gods would be carried away. Surely he will snatch them away. And none will rescue his spoil from his hand. Come near, you nations, to hear; and you peoples, give heed! Let the earth hear, and all that fills it; the world, and all that comes from it. For the indignation of the Lord is against all the nations, and his wrath against all their host; he has devoted them to destruction, has given them over for slaughter. Their slain shall be cast out, and the stench of their corpses shall rise; the mountains shall flow with their blood. All the host of heaven shall rot away, and the skies roll up like a scroll. All their host shall fall, as leaves fall from the vine, like leaves falling from the fig tree. For my sword has drunk its fill in the heavens; behold, it descends for judgment upon Edom, upon the people I have doomed. The Lord has a sword; it is sated with blood; it is gorged with fat, with the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of rams. For the Lord has a sacrifice in Bozrah, a great slaughter in the land of Edom. Wild oxen shall fall with them, and young steers with the mighty bulls. Their land shall drink its fill of blood, and their soil shall be gorged with fat. For the Lord has a day of vengeance, a year of recompense for the cause of Zion. And the streams of Edom shall be turned into pitch, and her soil into sulfur; her land shall become burning pitch. Night and day it shall not be quenched; its smoke shall go up forever. From generation to generation it shall lie waste; none shall pass through it forever and ever. But the hawk and the porcupine shall possess it, the owl and the raven shall dwell in it. He shall stretch the line of confusion over it, and the plumb line of emptiness. Its nobles—there is no one there to call it a kingdom, and all its princes shall be nothing. Thorns shall grow over its strongholds, nettles and thistles in its fortresses. It shall be the haunt of jackals, an abode for ostriches. And wild animals shall meet with hyenas; the wild goat shall cry to his fellow; indeed, there the night bird settles and finds for herself a resting place. There the owl nests and lays and hatches and gathers her young in her shadow; indeed, there the hawks are gathered, each one with her mate. Seek and read from the book of the Lord: Not one of these shall be missing; none shall be without her mate. For the mouth of the Lord has commanded, and his Spirit has gathered them. He has cast the lot for them; his hand has portioned it out to them with the line; they shall possess it forever; from generation to generation they shall dwell in it. (Isaiah 10:12-17, 26-30; 34:1-17)
So in summary, Oreb and Zeeb were two otherwise obscure warriors in Gideon’s army who were memorialized for their role in bringing down the Midianite leaders of the same names. They provide an example of how God can use ordinary people in great ways when they step out in faith and obedience to Him. Though they faded back into obscurity, their act of courage was immortalized in Scripture as an example for future generations.
The story of Oreb and Zeeb occupies only a few verses of Scripture. But God saw fit to include their story, using their example to teach important spiritual truths. Though they were not famous heroes or kings, God valued and rewarded their obedient faith, just as He does for all His followers.