Numbers 36
English Standard Version
Marriage of Female Heirs
36 The heads of the fathers' houses of the clan of the (A)people of Gilead the son of Machir, son of Manasseh, from the clans of the people of Joseph, came near and spoke before Moses and before the chiefs, the heads of the fathers' houses of the people of Israel. 2 They said, (B)“The Lord commanded my lord to give the land for inheritance by lot to the people of Israel, and (C)my lord was commanded by the Lord to give the inheritance of Zelophehad our brother to his daughters. 3 But if they are married to any of the sons of the other tribes of the people of Israel, then their inheritance will be taken from the inheritance of our fathers and added to the inheritance of the tribe into which they marry. So it will be taken away from the lot of our inheritance. 4 And when (D)the jubilee of the people of Israel comes, then their inheritance will be added to the inheritance of the tribe into which they marry, and their inheritance will be taken from the inheritance of the tribe of our fathers.”
5 And Moses commanded the people of Israel according to the word of the Lord, saying, “The tribe of the people of Joseph (E)is right. 6 This is what the Lord commands concerning the daughters of Zelophehad: ‘Let them marry whom they think best, (F)only they shall marry within the clan of the tribe of their father. 7 The inheritance of the people of Israel shall not be transferred from one tribe to another, for every one of the people of Israel (G)shall hold on to the inheritance of the tribe of his fathers. 8 And (H)every daughter who possesses an inheritance in any tribe of the people of Israel shall be wife to one of the clan of the tribe of her father, so that every one of the people of Israel may possess the inheritance of his fathers. 9 So no inheritance shall be transferred from one tribe to another, for each of the tribes of the people of Israel shall hold on to its own inheritance.’”
10 The daughters of Zelophehad did as the Lord commanded Moses, 11 (I)for Mahlah, Tirzah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Noah, the daughters of Zelophehad, were married to sons of their father's brothers. 12 They were married into the clans of the people of Manasseh the son of Joseph, and their inheritance remained in the tribe of their father's clan.
13 These are the commandments and the rules that the Lord commanded through Moses to the people of Israel (J)in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho.
Numbers 36
International Standard Version
The Daughters of Zelophehad(A)
36 The leaders of the ancestral families of the descendants of Gilead, who were descendants of Machir, and descendants of Manasseh, from Joseph’s tribe, approached and spoke to Moses and the leaders of the ancestral houses[a] of the Israelis. 2 “The Lord commanded my master[b] to apportion the land as an inheritance by lot to the Israelis,” they said. “Now my master was ordered by the Lord to give the inheritance of our brother Zelophehad to his daughters. 3 But when they get married to one of the descendants of the tribes of Israel, their inheritances are to be withdrawn from our father’s inheritance and added to the inheritance of the tribe to which they are to belong. Consequently, it is to be withdrawn from the portion of our inheritance. 4 Then, when the Jubilee Year of the Israelis comes, their inheritance will be added to the inheritance of the tribe to which they have come to belong. Their inheritance will thus be taken away from the inheritance of our father’s tribe!”
5 So Moses issued the Israelis these orders based on what the Lord said: “The tribe of the descendants of Joseph has spoken. 6 This is what the Lord is commanding the daughters of Zelophehad: If they decide it’s a good idea in their opinion[c] to get married only within the family of their father’s tribe, then let them get married 7 so that the inheritance of the Israelis won’t be turned over[d] from one tribe to another. Each one has an inheritance from his own father’s tribe that the Israelis are to maintain. 8 Every daughter who is in possession of an inheritance from the Israelis is to marry someone from the families within her father’s tribe so the Israelis can retain possession of their ancestral inheritance. 9 That way, their inheritance won’t be turned over from one tribe to another, because the Israelis are each to maintain their ancestral inheritances.”
10 Zelophehad’s daughters did just what the Lord had commanded Moses 11 for Mahlah, Tirzah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Noah: Zelophehad’s daughters married their uncle’s sons. 12 They married[e] into families of the descendants of Manasseh, that is, Joseph’s descendants, so that their inheritance remained within the tribe of their ancestor’s family.
13 These were the commands and the ordinances that the Lord issued to the Israelis through Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan River in Jericho.
Footnotes
- Numbers 36:1 Lit. the fathers
- Numbers 36:2 Or lord
- Numbers 36:6 Lit. eyes
- Numbers 36:7 Lit. turned aside
- Numbers 36:12 Lit. became wives
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Copyright © 1995-2014 by ISV Foundation. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. Used by permission of Davidson Press, LLC.
