Judges 7:25
And they took two princes of the Midianites, Oreb and Zeeb; and they slew Oreb upon the rock Oreb, and Zeeb they slew at the winepress of Zeeb, and pursued Midian, and brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon on the other side Jordan.
This verse belongs to God's deliverance of Israel after seven years of Midianite oppression. Israel had done evil, His protecting hand was withdrawn, and they were delivered into Midian's hand. The Midianites had been nearly destroyed in the days of Moses but had since grown numerous and powerful and thirsted for revenge.
The oppression came with the Amalekites from the south and others from the eastern border and the deserts beyond, swarming the whole land and not only the tribes east of Jordan as locusts for multitude with flocks and herds. They arrived when harvests ripened and stayed until the last fruits were gathered, spreading from the Jordan to the Philistine plain stripping fields, robbing and maltreating the inhabitants before returning to the deserts. Israelites in the open country were forced to abandon homes for walled towns, fortresses, caves and rocky mountain fastnesses.
When in distress the people heeded reproof and confessed sins, so God raised up a faithful helper and deliverer to rescue Israel from its enemies, and the capture and slaying of Oreb and Zeeb was part of that deliverance. The verse records that Israel seized and killed the Midianite princes Oreb and Zeeb, pursued Midian, and brought the princes' heads to Gideon on the other side of the Jordan.
After the night rout Gideon sent messengers rousing Ephraim to seize the fords of the Jordan, including the southern fords, to prevent the Midianite fugitives from escaping as they fled toward the Jordan to reach their own territory beyond the river. In that pursuit thousands of dismissed Israelites returned on news of victory and joined the chase, while Gideon with his three hundred faint yet pursuing crossed the stream hard after those already over. The hostile princes were overtaken with their remaining fifteen thousand, their force was scattered and the leaders captured and slain, no fewer than one hundred twenty thousand invaders perished, Midian's power was broken so they could never again make war on Israel, and the tidings that Israel's God had fought for His people by simple means spread far and wide to the terror of surrounding nations.
By seizing the fords Ephraim slew a large number of the enemy, among them Oreb and Zeeb, thus following up the battle and helping complete the victory, with God delivering the princes into their hand. The saying that Ephraim's gleaning was better than Abiezer's vintage means that Ephraim's finishing work in slaying Oreb and Zeeb was greater than what Gideon and his own kindred had done. Yet Ephraim did not discern God's hand in the triumph nor appreciate His power and mercy in the deliverance, and jealous anger toward Gideon showed them unworthy to be chosen as special instruments.
The victory shows that Gideon's army prevailed against Midian not because of numbers but because in living faith they followed God's special directions. It rebukes faithlessness and narrowness of view by teaching that narrow plans accomplish very little.