Bible Encyclopedias
Hobab

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

Search for…

Enter query below:

or

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z

Prev Entry
Hoar; Hoary

Next Entry
Hobah

Resource Toolbox

Print Article

Additional Links

Concordances
Nave Topical Bible
• Hobab
Dictionaries
American Tract Society
• Hobab
Easton's Bible Dictionary
• Hobab
Fausset Bible Dictionary
• Hobab
Holman Bible Dictionary
• Hobab
Hitchcock Bible Names
• Hobab
Hastings' BibleDictionary
• Hobab
Morrish Bible Dictionary
• Hobab
Hawker's Poor Man's Dictionary
• Hobab
Smith Bible Dictionary
• Hobab
Encyclopedias
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
• Hobab
Kitto Biblical Cyclopedia
• Hobab
McClintock and Strong's Bible Encyclopedia
• Hobab
The Jewish Encyclopedia
• Hobab
Lexicons
• חֹבָב

hō´bab ( חבב , ḥōbhābh , "beloved"; Septuagint Ὀβάβ , Obáb ): This name occurs only twice ( Numbers 10:29; Judges 4:11 ). It is not certain whether it denotes the father-in-law or the brother-in-law of Moses. The direct statement of Numbers 10:29 is that Hobab was "the son of Reuel" (the King James Version "Raguel"). This is probably the correct view and finds support in Exodus 18:27 , which tells us that some time before the departure of the Israelites from Sinai, Jethro had departed and returned to his own land. The statement of Judges 4:11 is ambiguous, and therefore does not help us out of the difficulty, but is rather itself to be interpreted in the light of the earlier statement in Numbers 10:29 .

Mohammedan traditions favor the view that Hobab was only another name for Jethro. But this has little weight against the statements of Scripture. However, whether father-in-law or brother-in-law to Moses, the service he rendered to the leader of the hosts of Israel was most valuable and beautiful. Hobab was an experienced sheikh of the desert whose counsel and companionship Moses desired in the unfamiliar regions through which he was to journey. His knowledge of the wilderness and of its possible dangers would enable him to be to the Israelites "instead of eyes."

The facts recorded of this man are too meager to enable us to answer all the questions that arise concerning him. A difficulty that remains unsolved is the fact that in Judges 1:16 and Judges 4:11 he is described as a Kenite, while in Exodus 3:1 and Exodus 18:1 , the father-in-law of Moses is spoken of as "the priest of Midian."