(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)
Numbers 10:29–36, “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. And he said unto him, I will not go; but I will depart to mine own land, and to my kindred. And he said, Leave us not, I pray thee; forasmuch as thou knowest how we are to encamp in the wilderness, and thou mayest be to us instead of eyes. And it shall be, if thou go with us, yea, it shall be, that what goodness the LORD shall do unto us, the same will we do unto thee. And they departed from the mount of the LORD three days’ journey: and the ark of the covenant of the LORD went before them in the three days’ journey, to search out a resting place for them. And the cloud of the LORD was upon them by day, when they went out of the camp. And it came to pass, when the ark set forward, that Moses said, Rise up, LORD, and let thine enemies be scattered; and let them that hate thee flee before thee. And when it rested, he said, Return, O LORD, unto the many thousands of Israel.”
Hobab is given three different names in the Bible, we first meet him with the name Jethro (Ex 3: 1) then, later, we see him called Reuel (Ex 2: 1). It is quite likely that this man had various names according to his position as priest of Midian and also a shepherd. In this case Moses asked him to act as the guide for Israel as they travelled in the wilderness. These different roles had different names associated with them. Even though the Lord was guiding Israel by taking up the cloud and resting the cloud from time to time, it was important for Moses to have someone who knew the country where they were travelling and give them some insight into what to expect.
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