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27 Then came 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; and these are the names of his daughters: Mahlah, Noah, and Hoglah, and Milcah, and Tirzah.

And they stood before Moses and before Eleazar the priest, and before the princes and all the congregation by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, saying,

“Our father died in the wilderness; and he was not in the company of those who gathered themselves together against the Lord in the company of Korah, but died in his own sin and had no sons.

Why should the name of our father be done away from among his family because he hath no son? Give unto us therefore a possession among the brethren of our father.”

And Moses brought their cause before the Lord.

And the Lord spoke unto Moses, saying,

“The daughters of Zelophehad speak right. Thou shalt surely give them a possession of an inheritance among their father’s brethren, and thou shalt cause the inheritance of their father to pass unto them.

And thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel, saying, ‘If a man die and have no son, then ye shall cause his inheritance to pass unto his daughter.

And if he have no daughter, then ye shall give his inheritance unto his brethren.

10 And if he have no brethren, then ye shall give his inheritance unto his father’s brethren.

11 And if his father have no brethren, then ye shall give his inheritance unto his kinsman who is next to him of his family, and he shall possess it. And it shall be unto the children of Israel a statute of judgment, as the Lord commanded Moses.’”

12 And the Lord said unto Moses, “Get thee up into this Mount Abarim, and see the land which I have given unto the children of Israel.

13 And when thou hast seen it, thou also shalt be gathered unto thy people, as Aaron thy brother was gathered.

14 For ye rebelled against My commandment in the Desert of Zin, in the strife of the congregation, to sanctify Me at the water before their eyes.” (That is, the water of Meribah in Kadesh in the Wilderness of Zin.)

15 And Moses spoke unto the Lord, saying,

16 “Let the Lord, the God of the spirits of all flesh, set a man over the congregation,

17 who may go out before them and who may go in before them and who may lead them out and who may bring them in, that the congregation of the Lord be not as sheep which have no shepherd.”

18 And the Lord said unto Moses, “Take thee Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is the Spirit, and lay thine hand upon him;

19 and set him before Eleazar the priest and before all the congregation, and give him a charge in their sight.

20 And thou shalt put some of thine honor upon him, that all the congregation of the children of Israel may be obedient.

21 And he shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall ask counsel for him by the judgment of the Urim before the Lord. At his word shall they go out, and at his word they shall come in, both he and all the children of Israel with him, even all the congregation.”

22 And Moses did as the Lord commanded him, and he took Joshua and set him before Eleazar the priest and before all the congregation.

23 And he laid his hands upon him and gave him a charge, as the Lord commanded by the hand of Moses.

Zelophehad’s Daughters(A)

27 The daughters of Zelophehad(B) son of Hepher,(C) the son of Gilead,(D) the son of Makir,(E) the son of Manasseh, belonged to the clans of Manasseh son of Joseph. The names of the daughters were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milkah and Tirzah. They came forward and stood before Moses,(F) Eleazar the priest, the leaders(G) and the whole assembly at the entrance to the tent of meeting(H) and said, “Our father died in the wilderness.(I) He was not among Korah’s followers, who banded together against the Lord,(J) but he died for his own sin and left no sons.(K) Why should our father’s name disappear from his clan because he had no son? Give us property among our father’s relatives.”

So Moses brought their case(L) before the Lord,(M) and the Lord said to him, “What Zelophehad’s daughters are saying is right. You must certainly give them property as an inheritance(N) among their father’s relatives and give their father’s inheritance to them.(O)

“Say to the Israelites, ‘If a man dies and leaves no son, give his inheritance to his daughter. If he has no daughter, give his inheritance to his brothers. 10 If he has no brothers, give his inheritance to his father’s brothers. 11 If his father had no brothers, give his inheritance to the nearest relative in his clan, that he may possess it. This is to have the force of law(P) for the Israelites, as the Lord commanded Moses.’”

Joshua to Succeed Moses

12 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go up this mountain(Q) in the Abarim Range(R) and see the land(S) I have given the Israelites.(T) 13 After you have seen it, you too will be gathered to your people,(U) as your brother Aaron(V) was, 14 for when the community rebelled at the waters in the Desert of Zin,(W) both of you disobeyed my command to honor me as holy(X) before their eyes.” (These were the waters of Meribah(Y) Kadesh, in the Desert of Zin.)

15 Moses said to the Lord, 16 “May the Lord, the God who gives breath to all living things,(Z) appoint someone over this community 17 to go out and come in before them, one who will lead them out and bring them in, so the Lord’s people will not be like sheep without a shepherd.”(AA)

18 So the Lord said to Moses, “Take Joshua son of Nun, a man in whom is the spirit of leadership,[a](AB) and lay your hand on him.(AC) 19 Have him stand before Eleazar the priest and the entire assembly and commission him(AD) in their presence.(AE) 20 Give him some of your authority so the whole Israelite community will obey him.(AF) 21 He is to stand before Eleazar the priest, who will obtain decisions for him by inquiring(AG) of the Urim(AH) before the Lord. At his command he and the entire community of the Israelites will go out, and at his command they will come in.”

22 Moses did as the Lord commanded him. He took Joshua and had him stand before Eleazar the priest and the whole assembly. 23 Then he laid his hands on him and commissioned him,(AI) as the Lord instructed through Moses.

Footnotes

  1. Numbers 27:18 Or the Spirit