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
New American Standard Bible
Inheritance by Marriage
36 (A)Now the heads of the fathers’ households of the family of the sons of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, of the families of the sons of Joseph, came forward and spoke before Moses and before the leaders, the heads of the fathers’ households of the sons of Israel, 2 and they said, “The Lord commanded my lord to give the land by lot to the sons of Israel as an inheritance, and my lord (B)was commanded by the Lord to give the inheritance of our brother Zelophehad to his daughters. 3 But if they [a]marry one of the sons of the other tribes of the sons of Israel, their inheritance will be withdrawn from the inheritance of our fathers and will be added to the inheritance of the tribe to which they belong; so it will be withdrawn from our allotted inheritance. 4 And when the (C)jubilee of the sons of Israel takes place, then their inheritance will be added to the inheritance of the tribe to which they belong; so their inheritance will be withdrawn from the inheritance of the tribe of our fathers.”
5 Then Moses commanded the sons of Israel in accordance with the [b]word of the Lord, saying, “The tribe of the sons of Joseph is right in its statements. 6 (D)This is [c]what the Lord has commanded regarding the daughters of Zelophehad, saying, ‘Let them marry [d]whomever they wish; only they must marry within the family of the tribe of their father.’ 7 So (E)no inheritance of the sons of Israel will [e]be transferred from tribe to tribe, for the sons of Israel shall each [f]retain possession of the inheritance of the tribe of his fathers. 8 (F)And every daughter who comes into possession of an inheritance of any tribe of the sons of Israel shall marry one of the family of the tribe of her father, so that the sons of Israel may each possess the inheritance of his fathers. 9 So no inheritance will [g]be transferred from one tribe to another tribe, for the tribes of the sons of Israel shall each [h]retain possession of its own inheritance.”
10 Just as the Lord had commanded Moses, so the daughters of Zelophehad did: 11 (G)Mahlah, Tirzah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Noah, the daughters of Zelophehad married their uncles’ sons. 12 They married those from the families of the sons of Manasseh the son of Joseph, and their inheritance [i]remained with the tribe of the family of their father.
13 (H)These are the commandments and the ordinances which the Lord commanded to the sons of Israel through Moses in the plains of Moab, by the Jordan opposite Jericho.
Footnotes
- Numbers 36:3 Lit become wives to, and so throughout the ch
- Numbers 36:5 Lit mouth
- Numbers 36:6 Lit the word which
- Numbers 36:6 Lit the good one in their eyes
- Numbers 36:7 Lit turn about
- Numbers 36:7 Lit cling to
- Numbers 36:9 Lit turn about
- Numbers 36:9 Lit cling to
- Numbers 36:12 Lit was to the
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
