ZEB (Heb. zè'èbh = “wolf”). — Chief of the Midianites, against whom the “judge” Gideon (q.v.) fought.
Having thrown the enemy camp into confusion by a stratagem, Gideon pursued the fugitives to the fords of the Jordan. When the Ephraimites intervened and took up positions along the river, they captured Z. together with another Midianite chieftain, Oreb. The two defeated leaders were slain near the Jordan, and their heads brought to Gideon as trophies.
The text anticipates the name of the place of Z.’s death as “the wine-press of Z.,” alluding to the terrain’s configuration, which must have consisted of a small flat surface hollowed out of the rock (cf. Judg. 7:25). The victory over Z. remained famous in the people’s memory (Ps. 82:12).