  In the framework of a relativistic covariant Bethe-Salpeter model for the
quark-antiquark system we present a renewed determination of the
Cabbibo-Kobayashi-Maskawa matrix element $|V_{cb}|$. Complementing an earlier
analysis applied to the whole decay spectrum for $B\to D^* e\nu$ we now also
employ the ``zero-recoil method'' that uses the end point of the decay spectrum
($\omega=1$) and is suited for heavy-to-heavy transitions. The averaged
experimental value extracted from the data at zero recoil, $|V_{cb}|{\cal
F}(\omega=1)=0.0343\pm0.0015$, then leads to $|V_{cb}|=0.0360\pm 0.0016$. This
value is somewhat larger than the one that uses the whole decay spectrum for
the model analysis. We also contrast this result to a nonrelativistic model and
to recent experiments on the $B\to D e\nu$ semileptonic decay.
