Numbers 10 Study Notes

10:14-28 The orderly departure from Mount Sinai of the priests, Levites, and twelve tribes follows the pattern of the encampment detailed in 2:1-3:38, with Judah led by Nahshon setting out first (v. 14). The tribal leaders who assisted Moses and Aaron in taking the military census (1:5-15) are those who led their respective groups at the beginning of the victory march to the promised land. Order, harmony, and faithfulness marked the beginning of the wilderness journey.

10:29-32 Moses noted twice that the Lord has promised good things to Israel, and twice Moses promised Hobab that the goodness would be apportioned to him as well if he would help guide them through the wilderness. Who was this Hobab son of Reuel? The dual names “Reuel” (Ex 2:18) and “Jethro” (Ex 3:1) in reference to Moses’s in-laws are perhaps references to two generations of this Midianite clan, since the Hebrew term can mean “father-in-law,” “brother-in-law,” or just “in-law.” Thus the patriarchal clan leader was probably named “Reuel” (taking “father” as “grandfather” which is common in the Hebrew Bible) and the actual father-in-law of Moses was named “Jethro.” Others suggest Jethro and Reuel are the same person, since dual names are commonly reflected in Bronze Age texts. The blessing of God was fulfilled for Hobab and his Kenite clan in Jdg 1:16.

Did Moses show a lack of faith by asking his brother-in-law to serve as a guide in the wilderness? The text does not even hint at this suggestion, since the focus is on the involvement of Hobab as a potential recipient of the covenant blessings of Israel. Instead, the idea of shared leadership is emphasized in which Moses was the interpreter of God’s direction as revealed through the cloud in the wilderness. Hobab would provide valuable support in the desert setting known by the Midianites.

10:33-36 The “Battle Song of the Ark” (vv. 35-36) is preceded by a dual chronological marker about the first stage in the movement of the Lord’s cloud. A three-day journey would mean a distance of about 35 to 45 miles, based on travel rates mentioned in military annals of the pharaohs of Egypt. On the journey the cloud, symbolizing God’s presence and leadership (9:15-23), preceded them at a distance though still covering them for protection. The ark of the Lord’s covenant, the symbolic throne of God in king-to-servant relationship with Israel, led the way for the people. The three-day journey is reminiscent of Moses’s request to Pharaoh to allow the Israelites to journey three days into the wilderness to worship the Lord.