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.
Then Zebah and Zalmunna said, 'Get up and kill us yourself, because a man's strength shows what kind of person he is.' So Gideon got up and killed Zebah and Zalmunna, and took the decorative ornaments that were hanging around their camels' necks.
The defeated Midianite kings challenged Gideon to execute them personally rather than having a young man do it, recognizing that true strength comes from maturity and character.
📚 Historical Context
This event concludes Gideon's pursuit of the Midianite army that had oppressed Israel for seven years. Zebah and Zalmunna were the two remaining kings of Midian who had escaped the main battle where God gave Israel victory through Gideon's small army of 300 men. The ornaments on their camels' necks were likely crescent-shaped decorations that symbolized their wealth and status as desert kings.
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