Numbers 10 Footnotes

10:11-13 The historical setting for the second section of the book of Numbers is the twentieth day of the second month of the second year after the exodus from Egypt or about a month after the week-long Passover described in Nm 9:1-14 (Ex 13:6). Those Passover worshipers who had been unclean in the first month had been able to celebrate on the fourteenth of the second month (Nm 9:6-12). Less than two months had elapsed since the completion and dedication of the tabernacle. But after spending eleven months in the Wilderness of Sinai, the Israelites would now begin to follow the Lord’s leading toward his intended destination for them, the promised land. These verses are an introductory summary of the first stages of the journey as the Israelites followed the cloud of God from Mount Sinai to the Wilderness of Paran of the northwest Sinai region. Again the Israelites are described as faithfully following the Lord’s command through Moses in the language of the journey song of 9:17-23.

10:29-32 Moses asked his brother-in-law Hobab to accompany them on the journey and experience the goodness of the blessing of God upon Israel. In the Hebrew text, Moses notes three times that the Lord intends “good(ness)” for Israel. Twice Moses promises Hobab that the goodness would be apportioned to him as well if he helped guide them through the wilderness. Two critical issues arise; who was Hobab scendant of Reuel, and was Moses lacking faith in the Lord’s guidance in desiring his brother-in-law to be his eyes in the wilderness for camping sites?

Source critics suggest the dual names Reuel (Ex 2:18) and Jethro (Ex 3:1) are evidence of the combination of two pentateuchal traditions. Others suggest the reference to Hobab, whose name means “beloved friend,” is a later scribal insertion to give identity to a friend of Moses. Perhaps the patriarchal clan leader of this group of Midianites (called Kenites in Judges) was Reuel (“father,” [Ex 2:18] can also mean “grandfather”), while the actual father-in-law of Moses was Jethro. But Jethro and Reuel could well be the same person since dual names are often encountered in Bronze Age texts from Mesopotamia and the eastern Mediterranean region. The Hebrew choten can mean “brother-in-law” or “father-in-law” (Ex 3:1). The blessing of God is fulfilled for Hobab and his Kenite clan in Jdg 1:16.

Did Moses lack faith in the Lord’s ability to lead the people through this unfamiliar area? The text does not even hint at this possibility, focusing instead on Hobab as a potential recipient of the Israel’s covenant blessings. Moses was the interpreter of God’s direction, revealed through the cloud in the wilderness, but Hobab could provide valuable support in the desert setting native to the clans of the Midianites. The Lord was the provider of both forms of leadership.