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.

The Daughters of Zelophehad

27 One day a petition was presented by the daughters of Zelophehad—Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. Their father, Zelophehad, was a descendant of Hepher son of Gilead, son of Makir, son of Manasseh, son of Joseph. These women stood before Moses, Eleazar the priest, the tribal leaders, and the entire community at the entrance of the Tabernacle.[a] “Our father died in the wilderness,” they said. “He was not among Korah’s followers, who rebelled against the Lord; he died because of his own sin. But he had no sons. Why should the name of our father disappear from his clan just because he had no sons? Give us property along with the rest of our relatives.”

So Moses brought their case before the Lord. And the Lord replied to Moses, “The claim of the daughters of Zelophehad is legitimate. You must give them a grant of land along with their father’s relatives. Assign them the property that would have been given to their father.

“And give the following instructions to the people of Israel: If a man dies and has no son, then give his inheritance to his daughters. And if he has no daughter either, transfer his inheritance to his brothers. 10 If he has no brothers, give his inheritance to his father’s brothers. 11 But if his father has no brothers, give his inheritance to the nearest relative in his clan. This is a legal requirement for the people of Israel, just as the Lord commanded Moses.”

Joshua Chosen to Lead Israel

12 One day the Lord said to Moses, “Climb one of the mountains east of the river,[b] and look out over the land I have given the people of Israel. 13 After you have seen it, you will die like your brother, Aaron, 14 for you both rebelled against my instructions in the wilderness of Zin. When the people of Israel rebelled, you failed to demonstrate my holiness to them at the waters.” (These are the waters of Meribah at Kadesh[c] in the wilderness of Zin.)

15 Then Moses said to the Lord, 16 “O Lord, you are the God who gives breath to all creatures. Please appoint a new man as leader for the community. 17 Give them someone who will guide them wherever they go and will lead them into battle, so the community of the Lord will not be like sheep without a shepherd.”

18 The Lord replied, “Take Joshua son of Nun, who has the Spirit in him, and lay your hands on him. 19 Present him to Eleazar the priest before the whole community, and publicly commission him to lead the people. 20 Transfer some of your authority to him so the whole community of Israel will obey him. 21 When direction from the Lord is needed, Joshua will stand before Eleazar the priest, who will use the Urim—one of the sacred lots cast before the Lord—to determine his will. This is how Joshua and the rest of the community of Israel will determine everything they should do.”

22 So Moses did as the Lord commanded. He presented Joshua to Eleazar the priest and the whole community. 23 Moses laid his hands on him and commissioned him to lead the people, just as the Lord had commanded through Moses.

Footnotes

  1. 27:2 Hebrew the Tent of Meeting.
  2. 27:12 Or the mountains of Abarim.
  3. 27:14 Hebrew waters of Meribath-kadesh.