The Daughters of Zelophehad

27 Then drew near the daughters of (A)Zelophehad the son of Hepher, son of Gilead, son of Machir, son of Manasseh, from the clans of Manasseh the son of Joseph. The names of his daughters were: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. And they stood before Moses and before Eleazar the priest and before the chiefs and all the congregation, at the entrance of the tent of meeting, saying, “Our father (B)died in the wilderness. He was not among the company of those who gathered themselves together against the Lord (C)in the company of Korah, but (D)died for his own sin. And he had no sons. Why should the name of our father be taken away from his clan because he had no son? (E)Give to us a possession among our father's brothers.”

Moses (F)brought their case before the Lord. And the Lord said to Moses, “The daughters of Zelophehad (G)are right. (H)You shall give them possession of an inheritance among their father's brothers and transfer the inheritance of their father to them. And you shall speak to the people of Israel, saying, ‘If a man dies and has no son, then you shall transfer his inheritance to his daughter. And if he has no daughter, then you shall give his inheritance to his brothers. 10 And 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 the nearest (I)kinsman of his clan, and he shall possess it. And it shall be for the people of Israel (J)a statute and rule, as the Lord commanded Moses.’”

Joshua to Succeed Moses

12 The Lord said to Moses, “Go up into (K)this mountain of Abarim and see the land that I have given to the people of Israel. 13 When you have seen it, you also (L)shall be gathered to your people, as your brother Aaron was, 14 (M)because you rebelled against my word in the wilderness of Zin when the congregation quarreled, failing (N)to uphold me as holy at the waters before their eyes.” (These are (O)the waters of Meribah of Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin.) 15 Moses spoke to the Lord, saying, 16 “Let the Lord, (P)the God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the congregation 17 who (Q)shall go out before them and come in before them, who shall lead them out and bring them in, that the congregation of the Lord may not be (R)as sheep that have no shepherd.” 18 So the Lord said to Moses, “Take (S)Joshua the son of Nun, a man (T)in whom is the Spirit, and (U)lay your hand on him. 19 Make him stand before Eleazar the priest and all the congregation, and you shall (V)commission him in their sight. 20 You shall invest him with some of your authority, (W)that all the congregation of the people of Israel may obey. 21 And he shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall inquire for him (X)by the judgment of the Urim before the Lord. At his word they shall go out, and at his word they shall come in, both he and all the people of Israel with him, the whole congregation.” 22 And Moses did as the Lord commanded him. He took Joshua and made him stand before Eleazar the priest and the whole congregation, 23 and he laid his hands on him and (Y)commissioned him as the Lord directed through Moses.

Zelophehad’s daughters’ inheritance

27 The daughters of Zelophehad, Hepher’s son, Gilead’s grandson, Machir’s great-grandson, and Manasseh’s great-great-grandson, belonging to the clan of Manasseh son of Joseph, came forward. His daughters’ names were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. They stood before Moses, Eleazar the priest, the chiefs, and the entire community at the entrance of the meeting tent and said, “Our father died in the desert. He wasn’t part of the community who gathered against the Lord with Korah’s community. He died for his own sin, but he had no sons. Why should our father’s name be taken away from his clan because he didn’t have a son? Give us property among our father’s brothers.”

Moses brought their case before the Lord. The Lord said to Moses: Zelophehad’s daughters are right in what they are saying. By all means, give them property as an inheritance among their father’s brothers. Hand over their father’s inheritance to them. Speak to the Israelites and say: If a man dies and doesn’t have a son, you must hand his inheritance over to his daughters. If he doesn’t have a daughter, you will give his inheritance to his brothers. 10 If he doesn’t have any brothers, you should give his inheritance to his father’s brothers. 11 If his father had no brothers, you should give his inheritance to his nearest relative from his clan. He will take possession of it. This will be a regulation and a case law for the Israelites, as the Lord commanded Moses.

Announcement of Moses’ death

12 The Lord said to Moses, “Go up this mountain, Abarim, and look at the land that I’ve given to the Israelites. 13 You will see it and then join your ancestors just as Aaron your brother has, 14 because in the Zin desert, when the community confronted you, you rebelled against my command to show them my holiness by means of the water.” (These are the waters of Meribah[a] of Kadesh in the Zin desert.)

15 Moses spoke to the Lord: 16 “Let the Lord, the God of all living things, appoint someone over the community 17 who will go out before them and return before them, someone who will lead them out and bring them back, so that the Lord’s community won’t be like sheep without their shepherd.”

18 The Lord said to Moses, “Take Joshua, Nun’s son, a man who has the spirit, and lay your hand on him. 19 Place him before Eleazar the priest and the entire community and commission him before them. 20 You will give him some of your power so that the entire Israelite community may obey. 21 He will stand before Eleazar the priest, who will determine for him the decision by lot before the Lord. At his command, he and all the Israelites with him, the entire community, will go out, and at his command they will return.”

22 Moses did as the Lord commanded him. He took Joshua and placed him before Eleazar the priest and the entire community. 23 He laid his hands on him and commissioned him as the Lord had spoken through Moses.

Footnotes

  1. Numbers 27:14 Or confrontation