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The Daughters of Zelophehad Are Given Land

27 Zelophehad[a] was from the Manasseh tribe, and he had five daughters, whose names were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah.

One day his daughters went to the sacred tent, where they met with Moses, Eleazar, and some other leaders of Israel, as well as a large crowd of Israelites. The young women said:

You know that our father died in the desert. But it was for something he did wrong, not for joining with Korah in rebelling against the Lord.

Our father left no sons to carry on his family name. But why should his name die out for that reason? Give us some land like the rest of his relatives in our clan, so our father's name can live on.

Moses asked the Lord what should be done, and the Lord answered:

(A) Zelophehad's daughters are right. They should each be given part of the land their father would have received.

Tell the Israelites that when a man dies without a son, his daughter will inherit his land. If he has no daughter, his brothers will inherit the land. 10 But if he has no brothers, his father's brothers will inherit the land. 11 And if his father has no brothers, the land must be given to his nearest relative in the clan. This is my law, and the Israelites must obey it.

Joshua Is Appointed Israel's Leader

(Deuteronomy 31.1-8)

12 (B) The Lord said to Moses, “One day you will go up into the Abarim Mountains, and from there you will see the land I am giving the Israelites. 13 After you have seen it, you will die,[b] just like your brother Aaron, 14 because both of you disobeyed me at Meribah near the town of Kadesh in the Zin Desert. When the Israelites insulted me there, you didn't believe in my holy power.”[c]

15 Moses replied, 16 “You are the Lord God, and you know what is in everyone's heart. So I ask you to appoint a leader for Israel. 17 (C) Your people need someone to lead them into battle, or else they will be like sheep wandering around without a shepherd.”

18 (D) The Lord answered, “Joshua son of Nun can do the job. Place your hands on him to show that he is the one to take your place. 19 Then go with him and tell him to stand in front of Eleazar the priest and the Israelites. Appoint Joshua as their new leader 20 and tell them they must now obey him, just as they obey you. 21 (E) But Joshua must depend on Eleazar to find out from me[d] what I want him to do as he leads Israel into battle.”

22 Moses followed the Lord's instructions and took Joshua to Eleazar and the people, 23 (F) then he placed his hands on Joshua and appointed him Israel's leader.

Footnotes

  1. 27.1 Zelophehad: Hebrew “Zelophehad son of Hepher son of Gilead son of Machir son of Manasseh son of Joseph.” See also 26.28-34; 36.1-12.
  2. 27.12,13 One day … you will die: The story of Moses' death is in Deuteronomy 34.1-8.
  3. 27.14 both of you … my holy power: See 20.1-13.
  4. 27.21 from me: The Hebrew text has “by the urim,” something used by the priests to get answers from the Lord.

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 them that 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 spake 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 that 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 spake unto the Lord, saying,

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

17 Which may go out before them, and which may go in before them, and which may lead them out, and which 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 honour 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 after the judgment of 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.

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.

27 Och Selofhads döttrar trädde fram Selofhads, som var son till Hefer, son till Gilead, son till Makir son till Manasse, av Manasses, Josefs sons, släkter. Och hans döttrar hette Mahela, Noa, Hogla, Milka och Tirsa.

Dessa kommo nu inför Mose och prästen Eleasar och stamhövdingarna och hela menigheten, vid ingången till uppenbarelsetältet, och sade:

»Vår fader har dött i öknen, men han var icke med i den hop som rotade sig samman mot HERREN, Koras hop, utan han dog genom egen synd, och han hade inga söner.

Icke skall nu vår faders namn utplånas ur hans släkt för det att han icke hade någon son? Giv åt oss en besittning ibland vår faders bröder.»

och Mose bar fram deras sak inför HERREN.

Då talade HERREN till Mose och sade:

»Selofhads döttrar hava talat rätt. Du skall giva också dem en arvsbesittning bland deras faders bröder genom att låta deras faders arvedel övergå till dem.

Och till Israels barn skall du tala och säga: När någon dör utan att efterlämna någon son, skolen I låta hans arvedel övergå till hans dotter.

Men om han icke har någon dotter, så skolen I giva hans arvedel åt hans bröder.

10 Har han icke heller några bröder, så skolen I giva hans arvedel åt hans faders bröder.

11 Men om hans fader icke har några broder, så skolen I giva hans arvedel åt närmaste blodsförvant inom hans släkt, och denne skall då taga den i besittning.» Detta skall vara en rättsstadga för Israels barn, såsom HERREN har bjudit Mose.

12 Och HERREN sade till Mose: »Stig upp här på Abarimberget, så skall du få se det land som jag har givit åt Israels barn.

13 Men när du har sett det, skall också du samlas till dina fäder, likasom din broder Aron har blivit samlad till sina fäder;

14 detta därför att I, i öknen Sin, när menigheten tvistade med mig, voren gensträviga mot min befallning och icke villen hålla mig helig genom att skaffa fram vatten inför deras ögon.» Detta gällde Meribas vatten vid Kades, i öknen Sin.

15 Och Mose talade till HERREN och sade:

16 »Må HERREN, den Gud som råder över allt kötts anda, sätta en man över menigheten,

17 som kan gå i spetsen för dem, när de draga ut eller vända åter, och som kan vara deras ledare och anförare, så att icke HERRENS menighet kommer att likna får som icke hava någon herde.»

18 HERREN svarade Mose: »Tag till dig Josua, Nuns son, ty han är en man i vilken ande är, och lägg din hand på honom.

19 Och för honom fram inför prästen Eleasar och hela menigheten, och insätt honom i hans ämbete inför deras ögon,

20 och lägg något av din värdighet på honom, för att Israels barns hela menighet må lyda honom.

21 Och hos prästen Eleasar skall han sedan hava att inställa sig, för att denne genom urims dom må hämta svar åt honom inför HERRENS ansikte. Efter hans ord skola de draga ut och vända åter, han själv och alla Israels barn med honom, hela menigheten.»

22 och Mose gjorde såsom HERREN hade bjudit honom; han tog Josua och förde honom fram inför prästen Eleasar och hela menigheten.

23 Och denne lade sina händer på honom och insatte honom i hans ämbete, såsom HERREN hade befallt genom Mose.

A Request from Zelophehad’s Daughters

27 The daughters of Zelophehad, son of Hepher, grandson of Gilead, descendant of Machir, whose father was Manasseh, belonged to the families of Manasseh, son of Joseph. Their names were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. They came to Moses and stood in front of him, the priest Eleazar, the leaders, and the whole community at the entrance to the tent of meeting. They said, “Our father died in the desert. He was not a part of Korah’s followers who joined forces against the Lord. He died for his own sin and left no sons. Why should our father’s name be allowed to die out in his family because he had no son? Give us property among our father’s relatives.”

So Moses brought their case to the Lord, and the Lord said to him, “Zelophehad’s daughters are right. You must give them property of their own among their father’s relatives. Turn their father’s property over to them.

“Tell the Israelites: If a man dies and leaves no sons, turn his property over to his daughters. If he has no daughters, give his property to his brothers. 10 If he has no brothers, give his property to his uncles on his father’s side of the family. 11 If he has no uncles, give his property to the nearest relative in his family, and that relative will take possession of it. This will be a rule for the Israelites, as the Lord commanded Moses.”

The Lord Appoints Joshua to Succeed Moses

12 The Lord said to Moses, “Go up into the Abarim Mountains, and take a look at the land I will give the Israelites. 13 After you see it, you, too, will join your ancestors ⌞in death⌟, as your brother Aaron did. 14 You both rebelled against my command in the Desert of Zin. You didn’t show the people how holy I am when they were complaining at the oasis.” (This was the oasis of Meribah at Kadesh in the Desert of Zin.)

15 Moses said to the Lord, 16 Lord, you are the God who gives the breath of life to everyone. Please appoint someone over the community 17 who will lead them in and out ⌞of battle⌟ so that the Lord’s community will not be like sheep without a shepherd.”

18 So the Lord said to Moses, “Take Joshua, son of Nun, a man who has the Spirit, and place your hand on him. 19 Make him stand in front of the priest Eleazar and the whole community, and give him his instructions in their presence. 20 Give him some of your authority so that the whole community of Israel will obey him. 21 He will stand in front of the priest Eleazar, who will use the Urim [a] to make decisions in the Lord’s presence. At his command Joshua and the whole community of Israel will go into battle. And at his command they will return.”

22 Moses did as the Lord commanded him. He took Joshua and made him stand in front of the priest Eleazar and the whole community. 23 Moses placed his hands on Joshua and gave him his instructions as the Lord had told him.

Footnotes

  1. 27:21 The Urim   and Thummim were used by the chief priest to determine God’s answer to questions.