Numbers 36
36
The Daughters of Zelophehad
1The heads of the ancestral clan of Gilead son of Makir, the son of Manasseh—they were from the clans of the descendants of Joseph—approached Moses and the leaders who were heads of the families in the People of Israel.
2-4They said, “When God commanded my master to hand over the inheritance-lands by lot to the People of Israel, my master was also commanded by God to hand over the inheritance-land of Zelophehad our brother to his daughters. But what happens if they marry into another tribe in the People of Israel? Their inheritance-land will be taken out of our ancestral tribe and get added into the tribe into which they married. And then when the year of Jubilee comes for the People of Israel their inheritance will be lumped in with the inheritance of the tribe into which they married—their land will be removed from our ancestors’ inheritance!”
5-9Moses, at God’s command, issued this order to the People of Israel: “What the tribe of the sons of Joseph says is right. This is God’s command to Zelophehad’s daughters: They are free to marry anyone they choose as long as they marry within their ancestral clan. The inheritance-land of the People of Israel must not get passed around from tribe to tribe. No, keep the tribal inheritance-land in the family. Every daughter who inherits land, regardless of the tribe she is in, must marry a man from within her father’s tribal clan. Every Israelite is responsible for making sure the inheritance stays within the ancestral tribe. No inheritance-land may be passed from tribe to tribe; each tribe of the People of Israel must hold tight to its own land.”
10-12Zelophehad’s daughters did just as God commanded Moses. Mahlah, Tirzah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Noah, Zelophehad’s daughters, all married their cousins on their father’s side. They married within the families of Manasseh son of Joseph and their inheritance-lands stayed in their father’s family.
13These are the commands and regulations that God commanded through the authority of Moses to the People of Israel on the Plains of Moab at Jordan-Jericho.
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THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved. Used by permission of NavPress. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.
Numbers 36
36
Women and Land Inheritance
1 Then the heads of the family groups#tn The expression is “the heads of the fathers by the family of the Gileadites.” of the Gileadites, the descendant of Machir, the descendant of Manasseh, who were from the Josephite families, approached and spoke before Moses#tn The Greek and the Syriac add “and before Eleazar the priest.” and the leaders who were the heads of the Israelite families.#tn Heb “heads of the fathers.” 2 They said, “The Lord commanded my lord to give#tn The infinitive construct “to give” serves here as the complement or object of the verb, answering what the Lord had commanded Moses. the land as an inheritance by lot to the Israelites; and my lord was commanded by the Lord to give the inheritance of our brother Zelophehad to his daughters. 3 Now if they should be married to one of the men#tn “Men” is understood; it says “to one from the sons of the tribes of the Israelites for a wife,” or if he has her for a wife. from another Israelite tribe, their inheritance would be taken from the inheritance of our fathers and added to the inheritance of the tribe into which they marry.#tn Heb “which they will be to them,” meaning, to those who have them, i.e., the marriages. As a result, it will be taken from the lot of our inheritance. 4 And when the Jubilee of the Israelites is to take place,#tn The verb הָיָה (hayah) is most often translated “to be,” but it can also mean “to happen, to take place, to come to pass,” etc. their inheritance will be added to the inheritance of the tribe into which they marry. So their inheritance will be taken away from the inheritance of our ancestral tribe.”#tn Heb “the tribe of our fathers.”
Moses’ Decision
5 Then Moses gave a ruling#tn Heb “commanded.” to the Israelites by the word#tn Heb “mouth.” of the Lord: “What the tribe of the Josephites is saying is right. 6 This is what#tn Heb “the word that.” the Lord has commanded for Zelophehad’s daughters: ‘Let them marry#tn The idiom again is “let them be for wives for….” whomever they think best,#tn Heb “to the one who is good in their eyes.” only they must marry within the family of their father’s tribe. 7 In this way the inheritance of the Israelites will not be transferred#tn Heb “turned aside.” from tribe to tribe. But every one of the Israelites must retain the ancestral heritage. 8 And every daughter who possesses an inheritance from any of the tribes of the Israelites must become the wife of a man from any family in her father’s tribe, so that every Israelite#tn The subject is “Israelites” and the verb is plural to agree with it, but the idea is collective as the word for “man” indicates: “so that the Israelites may possess – [each] man the inheritance of his fathers.” may retain the inheritance of his fathers. 9 No inheritance may pass from tribe to tribe. But every one of the tribes of the Israelites must retain its inheritance.”
10 As the Lord had commanded Moses, so the daughters of Zelophehad did. 11 For the daughters of Zelophehad – Mahlah, Tirzah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Noah – were married to the sons of their uncles.#tn They married in the family as they were instructed. But the meaning of דּוֹד (dod) is not necessarily restricted to “uncle.” 12 They were married into the families of the Manassehites, the descendants of Joseph, and their inheritance remained in the tribe of their father’s family.
13 These are the commandments and the decisions that the Lord commanded the Israelites through the authority#tn Heb “by the hand.” of Moses, on the plains of Moab by the Jordan River#tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for clarity. opposite Jericho.#map For the location of Jericho see Map5-B2; Map6-E1; Map7-E1; Map8-E3; Map10-A2; Map11-A1.
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