People of the Bible

Hobab, son of Jethro

The name Hobab means “favored; beloved.” Hobab is mentioned in 2 verses of the Bible, first in Numbers 10:29.

Family of Hobab

Who was Hobab?

Beloved, the Kenite, has been usually identified with Jethro (q.v.), Ex. 18:5, 27; comp. Num. 10:29, 30. In Judg. 4:11, the word rendered “father-in-law” means properly any male relative by marriage (comp. Gen. 19:14, “son-in-law,” A.V.), and should be rendered “brother-in-law,” as in the R.V. His descendants followed Israel to Canaan (Num. 10:29), and at first pitched their tents near Jericho, but afterwards settled in the south in the borders of Arad (Judg. 1:8-11, 16).

Biography adapted from Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897), public domain, linked via Theographic Bible Metadata.

Key verses about Hobab

  • Numbers 10:29

    And Moses said unto Hobab, the son of Raguel the Midianite, Moses’ father in law, We are journeying unto the place of which the Lord said, I will give it you: come thou with us, and we will do thee good: for the Lord hath spoken good concerning Israel.

  • Judges 4:11

    Now Heber the Kenite, which was of the children of Hobab the father in law of Moses, had severed himself from the Kenites, and pitched his tent unto the plain of Zaanaim, which is by Kedesh.