Zebah ( ''Zeḇaḥ'', "sacrifice", Zebee in the

Brenton Septuagint Translation ''The Septuagint version of the Old Testament'' is a translation of the Septuagint by Sir Lancelot Charles Lee Brenton, originally published by Samuel Bagster & Sons, London, in 1844, in English only. From the 1851 edition the Apocrypha were incl ...

and the Douai-Rheims Bible) and Zalmunna (צַלְמֻנָּע ''Ṣalmunnā‘'', "shade denied", Salmana in the Brenton Septuagint Translation and the Douai-Rheims Bible) were the two kings who led the vast host of the

Midian Midian (; he, מִדְיָן ''Mīḏyān'' ; ar, مَدْيَن, Madyan; grc-gre, Μαδιάμ, ''Madiam'') is a geographical place mentioned in the Hebrew Bible and Quran. William G. Dever states that biblical Midian was in the "northwest Ar ...

ites who invaded the

land of Israel The Land of Israel () is the traditional Jewish name for an area of the Southern Levant. Related biblical, religious and historical English terms include the Land of Canaan, the Promised Land, the Holy Land, and Palestine (see also Isra ...

, and over whom

Gideon Gideon (; ) also named Jerubbaal and Jerubbesheth, was a military leader, judge and prophet whose calling and victory over the Midianites are recounted in of the Book of Judges in the Hebrew Bible. Gideon was the son of Joash, from the Abiez ...

gained a great and decisive victory (

Judges A judge is an official who presides over a court. Judge or Judges may also refer to: Roles *Judge, an alternative name for an adjudicator in a competition in theatre, music, sport, etc. *Judge, an alternative name/aviator call sign for a membe ...

8). Zebah and Zalmunna had succeeded in escaping across the

Jordan River The Jordan River or River Jordan ( ar, نَهْر الْأُرْدُنّ, ''Nahr al-ʾUrdunn'', he, נְהַר הַיַּרְדֵּן, ''Nəhar hayYardēn''; syc, ܢܗܪܐ ܕܝܘܪܕܢܢ ''Nahrāʾ Yurdnan''), also known as ''Nahr Al-Shariea ...

with a remnant of the Midianite host, but were overtaken at Karkor, probably in the

Hauran The Hauran ( ar, حَوْرَان, ''Ḥawrān''; also spelled ''Hawran'' or ''Houran'') is a region that spans parts of southern Syria and northern Jordan. It is bound in the north by the Ghouta oasis, eastwards by the al-Safa (Syria), al-Safa ...

, and routed by

. The kings were taken alive and brought back across the Jordan; and confessing that they had personally taken part in the killing of Gideon's brothers, they were put to death. Their demise is remembered and invoked in : :''Deal with them as with Midian ... yes, all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna''. See also

1 Samuel The Book of Samuel (, ''Sefer Shmuel'') is a book in the Hebrew Bible, found as two books (1–2 Samuel) in the Old Testament. The book is part of the narrative history of Ancient Israel called the Deuteronomistic history, a series of books (Josh ...

12:11 and

Isaiah Isaiah ( or ; he, , ''Yəšaʿyāhū'', "God is Salvation"), also known as Isaias, was the 8th-century BC Israelite prophet after whom the Book of Isaiah is named. Within the text of the Book of Isaiah, Isaiah himself is referred to as "the ...

10:26.

References

General references

Midian Monarchs of the Hebrew Bible Mythological duos {{Tanakh-stub