Judges 4:11

4:11 Now Heber the Kenite had moved away ¹  from the Kenites, the descendants of Hobab, Moses’ father-in-law. He lived ²  near the great tree in Zaanannim near Kedesh.

Judges 4:17

4:17 Now Sisera ran away on foot to the tent of Jael, wife of Heber the Kenite, for King Jabin of Hazor ³  and the family of Heber the Kenite had made a peace treaty. ⁴ 

Numbers 10:29-32

The Appeal to Hobab

10:29 ⁵ Moses said to Hobab son of Reuel, the Midianite, Moses’ father-in-law, ⁶  “We are journeying to the place about which the Lord said, ‘I will give it to you.’ Come with us and we will treat you well, ⁷  for the Lord has promised good things ⁸  for Israel.” 10:30 But Hobab ⁹  said to him, “I will not go, but I will go instead to my own land and to my kindred.” 10:31 Moses ¹⁰  said, “Do not leave us, ¹¹  because you know places for us to camp in the wilderness, and you could be our guide. ¹²  10:32 And if you come with us, it is certain ¹³  that whatever good things the Lord will favor us with, we will share with you as well.”

Numbers 24:21-22

24:21 Then he looked on the Kenites and uttered this oracle:

“Your dwelling place seems strong,

and your nest ¹⁴  is set on a rocky cliff.

24:22 Nevertheless the Kenite will be consumed. ¹⁵ 

How long will Asshur take you away captive?”

Numbers 24:1

Balaam Prophesies Yet Again

24:1 ¹⁶ When Balaam saw that it pleased the Lord to bless Israel, ¹⁷  he did not go as at the other times ¹⁸  to seek for omens, ¹⁹  but he set his face ²⁰  toward the wilderness.

Numbers 15:6

15:6 Or for a ram, you must prepare as a grain offering two-tenths of an ephah of finely ground flour mixed with one-third of a hin of olive oil,

Numbers 15:1

Sacrificial Rulings

15:1 ²¹ The Lord spoke to Moses:

Numbers 2:15

2:15 Those numbered in his division are 45,650.

Jeremiah 35:2

35:2 “Go to the Rechabite community. ²²  Invite them to come into one of the side rooms ²³  of the Lord’s temple and offer them some wine to drink.”

[4:11]  ¹ tn Or “separated.”

[4:11]  ² tn Heb “pitched his tent.”

[4:17]  ³ map For location see Map1 D2; Map2 D3; Map3 A2; Map4 C1.

[4:17]  ⁴ tn Heb “for there was peace between.”

[10:29]  ⁵ sn For additional bibliography for this short section, see W. F. Albright, “Jethro, Hobab, and Reuel in Early Hebrew Tradition,” CBQ 25 (1963): 1-11; G. W. Coats, “Moses in Midian,” JBL 92 (1973): 3-10; B. Mazar, “The Sanctuary of Arad and the Family of Hobab the Kenite,” JNES 24 (1965): 297-303; and T. C. Mitchell, “The Meaning of the Noun h£tn in the Old Testament,” VT 19 (1969): 93-112.

[10:29]  ⁶ sn There is a problem with the identity of Hobab. The MT says that he is the son of Reuel, making him the brother-in-law of Moses. But Judg 4:11 says he is the father-in-law. In Judg 1:16; 4:11 Hobab is traced to the Kenites, but in Exod 3:1 and 18:1 Jethro (Reuel) is priest of Midian. Jethro is identified with Reuel on the basis of Exod 2:18 and 3:1, and so Hobab becomes Moses’ חֹתֵן (khoten), a relative by marriage and perhaps brother-in-law. There is not enough information to decide on the identity and relationships involved here. Some suggest that there is one person with the three names (G. B. Gray, Numbers [ICC], 93); others suggest Hobab is a family name (R. F. Johnson, IDB 2:615), and some suggest that the expression “the son of Reuel the Midianite” had dropped out of the genealogy of Judges, leading to the conflict (J. Crichton, ISBE 2:1055). If Hobab is the same as Jethro, then Exod 18:27 does not make much sense, for Jethro did go home. On this basis many conclude Hobab is a brother-in-law. This would mean that after Jethro returned home, Moses conversed with Hobab, his brother-in-law. For more discussion, see the articles and the commentaries.

[10:29]  ⁷ tn The verb is the Hiphil of the root “to be good” (יָטַב, yatav); it may be translated “treat well, deal favorably, generously with.” Here it is a perfect tense with vav (ו) following the imperative, showing a sequence in the verbal ideas.

[10:29]  ⁸ tn The Hebrew text simply has “has spoken good” for Israel.

[10:30]  ⁹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Hobab) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[10:31]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Moses) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[10:31]  ¹¹ tn The form with אַל־נָא (’al-na’) is a jussive; negated it stresses a more immediate request, as if Hobab is starting to leave, or at least determined to leave.

[10:31]  ¹² tn In the Hebrew text the expression is more graphic: “you will be for us for eyes.” Hobab was familiar with the entire Sinai region, and he could certainly direct the people where they were to go. The text does not record Hobab’s response. But the fact that Kenites were in Canaan as allies of Judah (Judg 1:16) would indicate that he gave in and came with Moses. The first refusal may simply be the polite Semitic practice of declining first so that the appeal might be made more urgently.

[10:32]  ¹³ tn Heb “and it shall be.”

[24:21]  ¹⁴ sn A pun is made on the name Kenite by using the word “your nest” (קִנֶּךָ, qinnekha); the location may be the rocky cliffs overlooking Petra.

[24:22]  ¹⁵ tc Heb “Nevertheless Cain will be wasted; how long will Asshur take you captive?” Cain was believed to be the ancestor of the Kenites. The NAB has “yet destined for burning, even as I watch, are your inhabitants.” Asshur may refer to a north Arabian group of people of Abrahamic stock (Gen 25:3), and not the Assyrian empire.

[24:1]  ¹⁶ sn For a thorough study of the arrangement of this passage, see E. B. Smick, “A Study of the Structure of the Third Balaam Oracle,” The Law and the Prophets, 242-52. He sees the oracle as having an introductory strophe (vv. 3, 4), followed by two stanzas (vv. 5, 6) that introduce the body (vv. 7b-9b) before the final benediction (v. 9b).

[24:1]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “it was good in the eyes of the Lord.”

[24:1]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “as time after time.”

[24:1]  ¹⁹ tn The word נְחָשִׁים (nÿkhashim) means “omens,” or possibly “auguries.” Balaam is not even making a pretense now of looking for such things, because they are not going to work. God has overruled them.

[24:1]  ²⁰ tn The idiom signifies that he had a determination and resolution to look out over where the Israelites were, so that he could appreciate more their presence and use that as the basis for his expressing of the oracle.

[15:1]  ²¹ sn The wilderness wandering officially having begun, these rules were then given for the people to be used when they finally entered the land. That they would be provided here would be of some encouragement to the nation after their great failure. God still spoke of a land that was to be their land, even though they had sinned greatly. This chapter collects a number of religious rules. The first 16 verses deal with rulings for sacrifices. Then, vv. 17-36 concerns sins of omission. Finally, rules concerning tassels are covered (vv. 37-41). For additional reading, see G. B. Gray, Sacrifice in the Old Testament (Oxford: Clarendon, 1925); B. A. Levine, In the Presence of the Lord (SJLA); D. J. McCarthy, “The Symbolism of Blood and Sacrifice,” JBL 88 (1969): 166-76; “Further Notes on the Symbolism of Blood and Sacrifice,” JBL 92 (1973): 205-10; J. Milgrom, “Sin Offering or Purification Offering,” VT 21 (1971): 237-39; N. H. Snaith, “Sacrifices in the Old Testament,” VT 7 (1957): 308-17; R. J. Thompson, Penitence and Sacrifice in Early Israel; R. de Vaux, Studies in Old Testament Sacrifice.

[35:2]  ²² tn Heb “the house of the Rechabites.” “House” is used here in terms of “household” or “family” (cf. BDB 109 s.v. בַּיִת 5.a, b).

[35:2]  ²³ sn This refers to one of the rooms built on the outside of the temple that were used as living quarters for the priests and for storage rooms (cf. Neh 13:4-5; 1 Kgs 6:5; 1 Chr 28:12; 2 Chr 31:11 and compare Ezek 41:1-14).