Numbers 27:1-11

Modern English Version

Laws of Inheritance^(A)

27 Then came near the daughters of Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Makir, the son of Manasseh, of the families of Manasseh the son of Joseph, and these are the names of his daughters: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milkah, and Tirzah. ² They stood before Moses, and before Eleazar the priest, and before the leaders and all the assembly by the door of the tent of meeting, saying, ³ “Our father died in the wilderness, and he was not in the company of them that gathered against the Lord, in the company of Korah, but died in his own sin and had no sons. ⁴ Why should the name of our father diminish from among his family, because he has no son? Give to us a possession among the brothers of our father.”

⁵ Moses brought their case before the Lord. ⁶ The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: ⁷ The daughters of Zelophehad speak right. You will certainly give them an inheritance among their father’s brothers, and you will cause the inheritance of their father to pass on to them.

⁸ You will speak to the children of Israel, saying, “If a man dies, and has no son, then you will cause his inheritance to pass on to his daughter. ⁹ If he has no daughter, then you will give his inheritance to his brothers. ¹⁰ If he has no brothers, then you will give his inheritance to his father’s brothers. ¹¹ If his father has no brothers, then you will give his inheritance to his closest kinsman in his family, and he will possess it. And it will be for the children of Israel a statute of judgment, as the Lord commanded Moses.”