Illustration created for this project.
Hobab
A son of Jethro whom Moses asked to guide Israel through the wilderness.
What we know — and how we know it
Bible — stated in scripture (with verse) · 1
Scholarly — supported scholarly belief · 2
Origin & birthplace
Family & lineage
ScholarlyHobab sits at the center of a well-known textual crux over the identity of Moses's father-in-law, who is named Jethro, Reuel, and Hobab across the Pentateuch; Numbers 10:29 makes Hobab the son of Reuel, while Judges 4:11 appears to call Hobab himself Moses's ḥōtēn (father-in-law/kinsman), and his Kenite descendants are traced from him.
Standard source- and text-critical discussion of the Jethro/Reuel/Hobab problem in Pentateuch commentaries.
Name & titles
ScholarlyThe name Hobab derives from the Semitic root ḥbb, "to love," yielding a sense like "beloved" or "cherished one."
Hebrew/Semitic onomastics (root ḥbb).
Where in scripture
NumbersJudgesIn their own words — 1 recorded saying
“But he said, I will not go with you, I will go back to the land of my birth and to my relations.” — Numbers 10:30
Speaker attribution: Clear Bible MACULA (CC BY 4.0). Wording: Bible in Basic English (public domain).
Places in their life
Photo: Marc Ryckaert — CC BY 3.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)