H2246 H2246
personal name meaning uncertain; Moses' father-in-law, also called Jethro or Reuel
Hobab appears in Numbers 10:29 and Judges 4:11 as the son of Reuel and the 'father-in-law' (or possibly brother-in-law) of Moses. The relationship is textually complex, as Moses' father-in-law is elsewhere called Jethro (Exodus 3:1) or Reuel (Exodus 2:18). Some scholars suggest Hobab was Jethro's son and thus Moses' brother-in-law, others that the terms overlap. In Numbers, Moses invites Hobab to accompany Israel as a guide through the wilderness. Judges notes his Kenite descendants. The name's etymology is uncertain, though Phoenician parallels exist.
Senses
1. sense 1 — A personal name for a Midianite/Kenite kinsman of Moses, identified as the son of Reuel. Moses appeals to Hobab's knowledge of the wilderness, asking him to serve as 'eyes' for Israel—a guide through terrain he knows intimately. Whether father-in-law or brother-in-law, Hobab represents the Kenite alliance with Israel, a non-Israelite people who attached themselves to Yahweh's covenant community. Judges 4:11 traces Kenite lineage through him, preserving the memory of this wilderness kinship that predates Sinai. 2×
AR["حوبابَ", "لِ-حُوبَابَ"]·ben["-হোবাবকে", "হোবাবের"]·DE["Chovav", "zu-Hobab"]·EN["Chovav", "to-Hobab"]·FR["Chovav", "à-Hobab"]·heb["חובב", "ל-חבב"]·HI["से-होबाब", "होबाब-के"]·ID["Hobab", "kepada-Hobab"]·IT["Chovav", "a-Hobab"]·jav["Hobab", "dhateng-Hobab"]·KO["에게-호박", "호밥-의"]·PT["Hovav", "a-Chovav"]·RU["Ховава", "к-Ховаву"]·ES["Jovav", "a-Hobab"]·SW["Hobabu", "kwa-Hobabu"]·TR["-e-Hovav", "Hovav"]·urd["حوباب-سے", "حوباب-کے"]
Related Senses
G3588 1. definite article (18298×)H0853 1. definite direct object marker (10915×)G2532 1. (8312×)H3068 1. YHWH (the divine name) (6522×)H0834a 1. relative pronoun (who/which/that) (4839×)H3588a 1. causal: because, for (3498×)G1161 1. and (2806×)H3478 1. Israel (proper name and nation) (2507×)G4771 1. you (plural address) (1853×)H1931 1. personal pronoun he/she/it (1431×)G3739 1. relative pronoun who/which/that (1149×)H1732 1. David (proper name) (1075×)H2088 1. this, this one (demonstrative) (1059×)G1063 1. (1047×)G3778 1. this thing, these things (1003×)H???? 2. (1002×)G2424 1. (924×)G3754 1. that (content clause) (881×)H2009 1. presentative particle: behold, look (881×)H0589 1. I (first person singular pronoun) (874×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† חֹבָב n.pr.m. (cf. Ph. n.pr. חב; WeSkizzen iii, 171. 217 suggests compar. with حُباب serpent)—son of Reuel, חֹתֵן of Moses (v. חתן), Nu 10:29 (JE), Ju 4:11; ins. ח׳ prob. also Ju 1:16, v. GFM.