Make their nobles like Oreb, and like Zeeb: yea, all their princes as Zebah, and as Zalmunna:
Oreb, Zeeb, Zebah, and Zalmunna were Midianite leaders whom Israel defeated in the past. The verse asks God to make the nobles and princes of the present enemies like them, invoking that past overthrow as the pattern for defeating present foes.
As seen in Jehoshaphat's crisis, this request belongs to a prayer for God to judge the nations threatening Israel and to defeat their rulers as He had defeated enemies before. It is part of a plea for God to defeat the coalition arrayed against Israel and to overthrow it. It seeks not only their defeat but their confusion and shame, holding up God's overthrow of Oreb, Zeeb, Zebah, and Zalmunna as the example of how He overthrows Israel's enemies.
Oreb, Zeeb, Zebah, and Zalmunna were Midianite leaders whom Israel defeated in the past. The verse asks God to make the nobles and princes of the present enemies like them, invoking that past overthrow as the pattern for defeating present foes.
As seen in Jehoshaphat's crisis, this request belongs to a prayer for God to judge the nations threatening Israel and to defeat their rulers as He had defeated enemies before. It is part of a plea for God to defeat the coalition arrayed against Israel and to overthrow it. It seeks not only their defeat but their confusion and shame, holding up God's overthrow of Oreb, Zeeb, Zebah, and Zalmunna as the example of how He overthrows Israel's enemies.