Numbers 27
New American Standard Bible
A Law of Inheritance
27 Then (A)the daughters of Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, of the families of Manasseh the son of Joseph, came forward; and these are (B)the names of his daughters: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. 2 They stood before Moses, before Eleazar the priest, before the leaders, and all the congregation at the entrance of the tent of meeting, saying, 3 “Our father (C)died in the wilderness, yet he was not among the group of those who gathered together against the Lord, in the group of Korah; but he died in his own sin, and (D)he had no sons. 4 Why should the name of our father be withdrawn from among his family simply because he had no son? Give us property among our father’s brothers.” 5 (E)So Moses brought their case before the Lord.
6 Then the Lord said to [a]Moses, 7 “(F)The daughters of Zelophehad are right about their statements. You shall certainly give them hereditary property among their father’s brothers, and you shall transfer the inheritance of their father to them. 8 Further, you shall speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘If a man dies and has no son, then you shall transfer his inheritance to his daughter. 9 And if he has no daughter, then you shall give his inheritance to his brothers. 10 If he has no brothers, then you shall give his inheritance to his father’s brothers. 11 And if his father has no brothers, then you shall give his inheritance to his nearest relative in his own family, and he shall take possession of it; and it shall be a (G)statutory ordinance to the sons of Israel, just as the Lord has commanded Moses.’”
12 (H)Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go up to this (I)mountain of Abarim, and see the land which I have given to the sons of Israel. 13 When you have seen it, you too (J)will be gathered to your people, (K)just as Aaron your brother [b]was; 14 for in the wilderness of Zin, during the strife of the congregation, (L)you rebelled against My [c]command to treat Me as holy before their eyes at the water.” (These are the waters of Meribah of Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin.)
Joshua to Succeed Moses
15 Then Moses spoke to the Lord, saying, 16 “(M)May the Lord, the God of the spirits of [d]humanity, appoint a man over the congregation, 17 who (N)will go out [e]and come in before them, and lead them out and [f]bring them in, so that the congregation of the Lord will not be (O)like sheep that have no shepherd.” 18 So the Lord said to Moses, “[g]Take Joshua the son of Nun, a man (P)in whom is the Spirit, and (Q)lay your hand on him; 19 and have him stand before Eleazar the priest and before all the congregation, and (R)commission him in their sight. 20 And you shall put some of your [h]authority on him, so that all the congregation of the sons of Israel will obey him. 21 Moreover, he shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall inquire for him (S)by the judgment of the Urim before the Lord. At his [i]command they shall go out, and at his [j]command they shall come in, both he and all the sons of Israel with him, all the congregation.” 22 Then Moses did just as the Lord commanded him; he took Joshua and had him stand before Eleazar the priest and before all the congregation. 23 Then he laid his hands on him and (T)commissioned him, just as the Lord had spoken [k]through Moses.
Footnotes
- Numbers 27:6 Lit Moses, saying
- Numbers 27:13 Lit was gathered
- Numbers 27:14 Lit mouth
- Numbers 27:16 Lit all flesh
- Numbers 27:17 Lit before them and who will
- Numbers 27:17 Lit who will bring
- Numbers 27:18 Lit Take for yourself
- Numbers 27:20 Lit majesty
- Numbers 27:21 Lit mouth
- Numbers 27:21 Lit mouth
- Numbers 27:23 Lit by the hand of
Numbers 27
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 27
Zelophehad’s Daughters.[a] 1 The daughters of Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, the son of Joseph came forward. The names of the daughters were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. 2 They stood before Moses and Eleazar, the priest, and the leaders and all the assembly at the entrance to the tent of meeting. They said, 3 “Our father died in the desert, but he was not in the band of those who conspired together with Korah against the Lord. He died on account of his own sin. He had no sons. 4 Why should the name of our father perish from his clan because he did not have a son? Give us property among our father’s kinsmen.”
5 So Moses brought their case before the Lord. 6 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 7 “What Zelophehad’s daughters are saying is just. You surely must give them property as an inheritance among their father’s kinsmen, and you must turn their father’s inheritance over to them. 8 Say to the people of Israel, ‘If a man dies and leaves no son, then turn over his inheritance to his daughter. 9 If he has no daughter, then turn over his inheritance to his brothers. 10 If he has no brothers, then give his inheritance to his father’s brothers. 11 If the father has no brothers, you will give his inheritance to his nearest kinsman in his clan so that he might possess it. This will be a statute and an ordinance for the people of Israel, as the Lord commanded Moses.’ ”
12 Joshua Commissioned by Moses. The Lord said to Moses, “Go up onto Mount Abarim and look upon the land that I have given to the people of Israel. 13 After you have seen it, you will be gathered to your people, as Aaron your brother was, 14 for in the Desert of Zin, in the strife over the water with the assembly, you both disobeyed my command to treat me as holy before their eyes.” (This is the water of Meribah in Kadesh, in the Desert of Zin.)
15 Moses spoke to the Lord, saying, 16 “May the Lord, the God of the spirits of all flesh, place a man over the assembly 17 who will go out and come in before them, and who will lead them out and bring them in, so that the assembly of the Lord might not be like sheep without a shepherd.”[b] 18 So the Lord said to Moses, “Take Joshua, the son of Nun, a man in whom the Spirit is found, and lay your hand upon him. 19 Have him stand before Eleazar the priest and before the whole assembly and commission him in their sight. 20 Give him some of your authority, so that the assembly of the people of Israel might obey. 21 He will stand before Eleazar, the priest, who will inquire for him before the Lord with the judgment of the Urim. At his word they will go out, and at his word they will come in, he and all the people of Israel with him, the whole assembly.”[c]
22 So Moses did as the Lord had commanded him. He took Joshua and brought him before Eleazar the priest and the whole assembly. 23 He laid his hand upon him and commissioned him, as the Lord had commanded through Moses.
Footnotes
- Numbers 27:1 The fact that women engage in this type of bargaining concerning their rights of inheritance through their dead father is extraordinary for this time.
- Numbers 27:17 Joshua will have authority to make all decisions that are useful in directing the advance of the people.
- Numbers 27:21 Although Joshua is appointed as successor to Moses (Deut 34:9), it is clear that he does not have the direct line to the Lord that Moses enjoyed.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
