Midianite living at the time of Egypt and Wilderness
Hobab, the son of Jethro (or 'Reuel') the Midianite and Moses' brother-in-law, was invited by Moses to join the Israelites on their journey to the Promised Land.
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Hobab was a Midianite and the son of Reuel (also known as Jethro), who was Moses' father-in-law (Num.10.29). He is mentioned in two passages in the Bible, Num.10.29 and Jdg.4.11.
In Num.10.29, as the Israelites were preparing to depart from Mount Sinai, Moses invited Hobab to join them on their journey to the Promised Land. Moses said, "We are setting out for the place of which the Lord said, 'I will give it to you.' Come with us, and we will treat you well, for the Lord has promised good to Israel." Initially, Hobab declined the invitation, preferring to return to his own land and people. However, it is implied that he eventually agreed to accompany the Israelites, as his descendants, the Kenites, are later mentioned as living among the Israelites (Jdg.4.11).
In Jdg.4.11, Hobab is described as the father-in-law of Heber the Kenite. This passage suggests that Hobab's descendants maintained a close relationship with the Israelites, even though they were not part of the original twelve tribes.
As a Midianite, Hobab would have had valuable knowledge of the wilderness through which the Israelites were traveling. His presence and guidance would have been beneficial to the Israelites during their journey to the Promised Land.
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Beloved, the Kenite, has been usually identified with Jethro (q.v.), Ex. 18:5, 27; comp. Num. 10:29, 30. In Judg. 4:11, the word rendered “father-in-law” means properly any male relative by marriage (comp. Gen. 19:14, “son-in-law,” A.V.), and should be rendered “brother-in-law,” as in the R.V. His descendants followed Israel to Canaan (Num. 10:29), and at first pitched their tents near Jericho, but afterwards settled in the south in the borders of Arad (Judg. 1:8-11, 16).
(beloved). This name is found in two places only (Numbers 10:29; Judges 4:11) Hobab was brother-in-law to Moses. (B.C. 1530.)
HO'BAB (love), the son of Jethro, and brother-in-law of Moses. Num 10:29-32.
HO'BAB (love), the son of Jethro, and brother-in-law of Moses. Num 10:29-32.
Easton (1897), Smith (1863), Hitchcock (1869), Hastings (1898) and Schaff are in the public domain. Parsed text: neuu-org/bible-dictionary-dataset (CC BY 4.0). Headwords and whitespace normalised for this site.
2 verses in 2 books · English text: BSB (change it from the menu at the top) · Strong’s H2246
Then Moses said to Hobab, the son of Mosesʼ father-in-law Reuel the Midianite, “We are setting out for the place of which the LORD said: ‘I will give it to you.’ Come with us, and we will treat you well, for the LORD has promised good things to Israel.”
Now Heber the Kenite had moved away from the Kenites, the descendants of Hobab the father-in-law of Moses, and had pitched his tent by the great tree of Zaanannim, which was near Kedesh.
Names, family links and references: STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). Short descriptions were drafted with AI assistance by STEPBible. Family links follow STEPBible’s scholarly decisions where genealogies are ambiguous.