Judges 8:21

Then Zebah and Zalmunna said, “Get up and kill us yourself, for as the man is, so is his strength.” So Gideon got up and killed Zebah and Zalmunna, and he took the crescent ornaments from the necks of their camels.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — Zebah and Zalmunna speak to Gideon after his son Jether refuses to execute them out of fear. They offer to surrender themselves to his direct hand at this immediate moment of confrontation.

The words — The Hebrew ק֤וּם (kum) commands "arise," and כָ/אִ֖ישׁ (kha./'Ish) literally means "like the man," forming a proverbial claim that a commander's power matches his personal courage.

The thread — Zebah and Zalmunna reappear in Psalm 83:11 as a standard for divine judgment against enemies, while the crescent ornaments they wear are later cataloged among the finery the Lord will strip away in Isaiah 3:18.

Why it lands — The passage requires readers to acknowledge that delegated authority fails when the leader avoids direct confrontation, and it grounds effective action in personal readiness rather than status or proxy.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

וַיֹּ֜אמֶרva/i.Yo.merand/ he said זֶ֣בַחZe.vachZebah וְצַלְמֻנָּ֗עve./tzal.mu.Na'and/ Zalmunna ק֤וּםkumarise אַתָּה֙'a.Tahyou וּפְגַע־u./fe.ga'-and/ fallבָּ֔נוּBa./nuon <the>/ usכִּ֥יkifor כָאִ֖ישׁkha./'Ish[is] like the/ man גְּבוּרָת֑וֹge.vu.ra.T/ostrength/ his וַיָּ֣קָםva/i.Ya.komand/ he arose גִּדְע֗וֹןgid.'onGideon וַֽיַּהֲרֹג֙va/i.ya.ha.Rogand/ he killed אֶת־'et-<obj.>זֶ֣בַחZe.vachZebah וְאֶת־ve./'Etand/ <obj.>צַלְמֻנָּ֔עtzal.mu.Na'Zalmunna וַיִּקַּח֙va/i.yi.Kachand/ he took אֶת־'et-<obj.>הַשַּׂ֣הֲרֹנִ֔יםha./Sa.ha.ro.Nimthe/ ornaments אֲשֶׁ֖ר'a.Sherwhich בְּצַוְּארֵ֥יbe./tza.ve.Rei[were] on/ [the] necks of גְמַלֵּיהֶֽם׃ge.ma.lei./Hemcamels/ their

King James Version

Then Zebah and Zalmunna said, Rise thou, and fall upon us: for as the man is, so is his strength. And Gideon arose, and slew Zebah and Zalmunna, and took away the ornaments that were on their camels’ necks.

Cross-references

Psalms 83:11 Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb, and all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna,
Judges 8:26 The weight of the gold earrings he had requested was 1,700 shekels, in addition to the crescent ornaments, the pendants, the purple garments of the kings of Midian, and the chains from the necks of their camels.
Isaiah 3:18 In that day the Lord will take away their finery: their anklets and headbands and crescents;
Judges 9:54 He quickly called his armor-bearer, saying, “Draw your sword and kill me, lest they say of me, ‘A woman killed him.’” So Abimelech’s armor-bearer ran his sword through him, and he died.
1 Samuel 31:3 When the battle intensified against Saul, the archers overtook him and wounded him critically.
1 Samuel 31:5 When his armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he too fell on his own sword and died with him.
Psalms 83:1 A song. A Psalm of Asaph. O God, be not silent; be not speechless; be not still, O God.
Revelation 9:6 In those days men will seek death and will not find it; they will long to die, but death will escape them.

People named

GideonZalmunnaZebah