EXPOSITION. 'rim INVITATION TO HoBA.ll (vers. 29~2). gint. It n1ea.ns simply a "marria.ge rela.tioir," Yer. 29.-Rob&b, the aon of llaguel (or and is even u.sed by Zipporali of Moses rather Reuel, of which Ra.guel is simply the bimself (Exod. iv. 26, 26-Hebrew. The Septuagint a.nd Vulgste variation), Kosea' Septungint avoids the word). It is just ta.ther-in-law. It is not quite certain who 1\11 likely to mean " brother-in-la.w" when this "Hobab" was. The n&me oocnm only applied to Hoba.b. Ml Moses was a.lrea.dy herea.nd in Judges iv. 11. The older opinion, eighty years old when Jethro is first men• followed by the A. V., identified Hoba.b with tioned (Exod. iii. 1), it may seem probable Jethro, a.nd Jethro with Reuel the" priest of that his father-in•la.w was by that time dead, Midian," and father of Zippornh, Moses' and succeeded in his priestly office by his "ife. It is, of cou1'l!e, no real objection to eldest son. In that case Hobab would be a this opinion that Hobab is here called the younger son of Reuel, a.nd as such free to " son of Reuel ; " for the nan:.a may quite leave the home of his ancestors and to join well have been a.n heredit:a.ry one, like himself to his sister's people. Abimelech and so many others. Nor need Ver. 81.-Forasmuch as thou knowest the multiplicity of 11&mes given to one indi• how we are to encamp in the wilderuess, ndual astonish us, for it is of frequent and thou ma.yeet be to us instead of eyes. occurrence in the Old Testament, a.nd not It is an obvious conclusion, from the reasons infrequent in the New. The father-in-law here urged by Moses, that the many and of Moses was a priest, holding (probably by wonderful promises of Divine guidance and right of birth) the patriarchal dignity of Divine direction did not supersede in his tribal priest, as Job did on a. smaller, a.nd eyes the use of all available human aids. It Melchizedec on a larger, scale. He may ve;r, is not indeed easy to say where any room well, therefore, have had oneormore "official ' was left for the good offices a.nd experience names in addition to his personal name. If of Hobab ; the cloud of the Divine Presence this is accepted, then it may serve as one SU'1Md to control absolutely the journeying insta.nce amongst many to remind us how and encamping of the people ; yet if we ertremely careless the inspired writers are really knew in detail the aetua.l ordering of about n/MM$--" careless" not in the sense of that wondrous march, we should doubtless not caring whether they are right or wrong, find that the heavenly guide.nee did but but in the sense of not betraying a.nd not give unity and certainty to all the wisdom, feeling the least a.n.:riety to a void the appear• caution, and endeavour of its earthly leaders, ance and suspicion of inaccuracy. Even in Indeed if we recall to mind that the host is the lists of the twelve apostles we are forced calculated at more tha.n two millions of to believe that "Judas the brother of Ja.mes" people, it is quite evident that even during is the same person as "Lebbams" and the march to Kadesh (and much more in "Thaddreus ; " and it is a matter of endless the long wa.nderings which followed) it discussion whether or no " Bartholomew" must have been extremely difficult to keep w1111 the sa.me as" Nathanael" On the face the va.rious divisions together. In the broken of it Scriptu.re proclo.ims that it uses no arts, and difficult country which they were to that it takes no pains to preserve an a.ppea.r- traverse, which had been familiar to Hobab ance of accuracy-that appearance which is from his youth, there would be scope enough so easily simulated for the purposes of false. for all his ability o.s a guide. And it would hood. Holy Scripture may therefore fairly seem that it was just this prospect of being claim to be read v.ithout that captiousness, really useful to the people of Israel that pro• without that demand for minute ca.refulness vailed with Hobab. He must indeed have and obvious consistency, which we rightly felt assured that a wonderful future o.wnited e.pply to one of our own histories. The a nation whose past and present were, even modern historian avowedly tells his story as within his own knowledge, so wonderful. a witness does in the presence of a. hostile But that a.lone could not move him to leo.ve counsel ; the sacred historian tells his as a his own land and his own kindred, a thing man does t9 the, children round his knee. so unspeakably repugnant to the feelings and Surely such an obvious fact should disarm a traditions of his ags a.nd country, Doubtless good deal of the petty criticism which carps to the child of the desert, whose life wa.s o. at the sacred narrative. never-ending struggle with the dangers and :Ma.ny, however, will think that the vicissitudes of the wilderness, the land of bala.nce of probability is aga.inst the older promise, flowing with milk and honey, opinion. It is certain that the word tran.s• wa.tered with the rain of heaven, seemed Li.t.ed "fa.ther-in-law" haa no such definite. like the garden of Eden. Yot the offer of - either in the Hebrew or in the Septua• an heritage within that land moved him CH, X. 29-32,] THE BOOK OF NUMBERS. 93
not so much, it would o.ppear, o.s the claim descendants were not incorporated into Israel; upon his own good offices in helping the they were with them, but not of them. chosen people to reach their own abode, Ver. 32.-If thou go with us. From The Septuagint tro.nslation, or rather para- Judges i. 16 we learn that the sons of Hobab phrase, of this verse is, "Leave us not, forllB• joined themselves to the sons of Judah, ancl much as thou wast with us in the wilderness, dwelt amongst them on the southern border e.nd thou she.It be an elder among us." This of the land. Here is an "undesigned coin- seems, on the one hand, to identify Hobab cidence," albeit a slight one. Judah led the with Jethro ; on the other, to imply that he way on the march from Sinai to Canaan, and was shortly afterwards one of the seventy Hobab's duties as guide and scout would elders upon whom the spirit came. This, bring him more into contact with that tribe however, is not likely. Hobab does indeed than with any other, seem to have gone with the people, but his