Numbers 27
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 27
Zelophehad’s Daughters. 1 The daughters of Zelophehad, son of Hepher, son of Gilead, son of Machir, son of Manasseh, came forward. (Zelophehad belonged to the clans of Manasseh, son of Joseph.) The names of his daughters were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah and Tirzah.(A) 2 Standing before Moses, Eleazar the priest, the princes, and the whole community at the entrance of the tent of meeting, they said: 3 “Our father died in the wilderness. Although he did not join the faction of those who conspired against the Lord,[a] Korah’s faction, he died for his own sin without leaving any sons. 4 But why should our father’s name be cut off from his clan merely because he had no son? Give us land among our father’s kindred.”
Laws Concerning Heiresses.[b] 5 So Moses laid their case before the Lord, 6 and the Lord said to him: 7 The plea of Zelophehad’s daughters is just; you shall give them hereditary land among their father’s kindred and transfer their father’s heritage to them. 8 Tell the Israelites: If a man dies without leaving a son, you shall transfer his heritage to his daughter; 9 if he has no daughter, you shall give his heritage to his brothers; 10 if he has no brothers, you shall give his heritage to his father’s brothers; 11 if his father had no brothers, you shall give his heritage to his nearest relative in his clan, who shall then take possession of it.
This will be the statutory procedure for the Israelites, as the Lord commanded Moses.(B)
Joshua to Succeed Moses. 12 The Lord said to Moses: Go up into this mountain of the Abarim range[c] and view the land that I have given to the Israelites.(C) 13 When you have viewed it, you will be gathered to your people, as was Aaron your brother.(D) 14 For in the rebellion of the community in the wilderness of Zin you both rebelled against my order to acknowledge my holiness before them by means of the water.(E) (These were the waters of Meribah of Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin.)
15 Then Moses said to the Lord, 16 “May the Lord, the God of the spirits of all humanity,[d] set over the community someone 17 who will be their leader in battle and who will lead them out and bring them in, that the Lord’s community may not be like sheep without a shepherd.” 18 And the Lord replied to Moses: Take Joshua, son of Nun,(F) a man of spirit,[e] and lay your hand upon him. 19 Have him stand before Eleazar the priest and the whole community, and commission him in their sight. 20 Invest him with some of your own power, that the whole Israelite community may obey him. 21 He shall present himself to Eleazar the priest, who will seek for him the decision of the Urim[f] in the Lord’s presence; and as it directs, Joshua, all the Israelites with him, and the whole community will go out for battle; and as it directs, they will come in.
22 Moses did as the Lord had commanded him. Taking Joshua and having him stand before Eleazar the priest and the whole community, 23 he laid his hands on him and commissioned him, as the Lord had directed through Moses.
Footnotes
- 27:3 He did not join…against the Lord: had he done so, he and his heirs could have been deprived of a portion in the promised land.
- 27:5–11 The purpose of this law, as also that of the related laws in 36:2–10 (marriage within the same tribe), Dt 25:5–10 (levirate marriage), and Lv 25:10 (return of property in the jubilee year), was to keep the landed property within the proper domain of each tribe.
- 27:12 The Abarim range: the mountains on the eastern side of the Dead Sea. The peak of this chain is Mount Nebo where Moses views the promised land before he dies (Dt 32:49).
- 27:16 The God of the spirits of all humanity: the sense is that God knows the character and abilities of all people and therefore knows best whom to appoint (cf. Jgs 6:34; 11:29; 1 Sm 16:13); see the same phrase in Nm 16:22, where “spirit” evidently means the life principle.
- 27:18 A man of spirit: lit., “a man in whom there is spirit,” that is, probably one who is endowed with a courageous spirit (Jos 2:11); compare Gn 41:38; Dt 34:9.
- 27:21 The Urim: certain sacred objects which Israelite priests employed to discern the divine will, probably by obtaining a positive or negative answer to a given question. The full expression was “the Urim and Thummim”; cf. Ex 28:30; Lv 8:8; Dt 33:8; Ezr 2:63; Neh 7:65. Joshua ordinarily did not receive direct revelations from God as Moses had received them.
Numbers 27
New King James Version
Inheritance Laws
27 Then came the daughters of (A)Zelophehad the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, from the families of Manasseh the son of Joseph; and these were the names of his daughters: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. 2 And they stood before Moses, before Eleazar the priest, and before the leaders and all the congregation, by the doorway of the tabernacle of meeting, saying: 3 “Our father (B)died in the wilderness; but he was not in the company of those who gathered together against the Lord, (C)in company with Korah, but he died in his own sin; and he had no sons. 4 Why should the name of our father be (D)removed[a] from among his family because he had no son? (E)Give us a [b]possession among our father’s brothers.”
5 So Moses (F)brought their case before the Lord.
6 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 7 “The daughters of Zelophehad speak what is right; (G)you shall surely give them a possession of inheritance among their father’s brothers, and cause the inheritance of their father to pass to them. 8 And you shall speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘If a man dies and has no son, then you shall cause his inheritance to pass to his daughter. 9 If he has no daughter, then you shall give his inheritance to his brothers. 10 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 relative closest to him in his family, and he shall possess it.’ ” And it shall be to the children of Israel (H)a statute of judgment, just as the Lord commanded Moses.
Joshua the Next Leader of Israel(I)
12 Now the Lord said to Moses: (J)“Go up into this Mount Abarim, and see the land which I have given to the children of Israel. 13 And when you have seen it, you also (K)shall [c]be gathered to your people, as Aaron your brother was gathered. 14 For in the Wilderness of Zin, during the strife of the congregation, you (L)rebelled against My command to hallow Me at the waters before their eyes.” (These are the (M)waters of Meribah, at Kadesh in the Wilderness of Zin.)
15 Then Moses spoke to the Lord, saying: 16 “Let the Lord, (N)the God of the spirits of all flesh, set a man over the congregation, 17 (O)who may go out before them and go in before them, who may lead them out and bring them in, that the congregation of the Lord may not be (P)like sheep which have no shepherd.”
18 And the Lord said to Moses: “Take Joshua the son of Nun with you, a man (Q)in whom is the Spirit, and (R)lay your hand on him; 19 set him before Eleazar the priest and before all the congregation, and (S)inaugurate[d] him in their sight. 20 And (T)you shall give some of your authority to him, that all the congregation of the children of Israel (U)may be obedient. 21 (V)He shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall inquire before the Lord for him (W)by the judgment of the Urim. (X)At his word they shall go out, and at his word they shall come in, he and all the children of Israel with him—all the congregation.”
22 So Moses did as the Lord commanded him. He took Joshua and set him before Eleazar the priest and before all the congregation. 23 And he laid his hands on him (Y)and [e]inaugurated him, just as the Lord commanded by the hand of Moses.
Footnotes
- Numbers 27:4 withdrawn
- Numbers 27:4 inheritance
- Numbers 27:13 Die and join your ancestors
- Numbers 27:19 commission
- Numbers 27:23 commissioned
Numbers 27
English Standard Version
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. 2 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, 3 “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. 4 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.”
5 Moses (F)brought their case before the Lord. 6 And the Lord said to Moses, 7 “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. 8 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. 9 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.
Numbers 27
Evangelical Heritage Version
Zelophehad’s Daughters
27 Then the daughters of Zelophehad came forward. (Zelophehad was the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Makir, the son of Manasseh, from the clans of Manasseh the son of Joseph.) These were the names of his daughters: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milkah, and Tirzah. 2 They stood at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting before Moses and Eleazar the priest, before the tribal chiefs and the entire community. They said, 3 “Our father died in the wilderness. He was not among the company of those who gathered together against the Lord along with the followers of Korah, but he died in his own sin. He had no sons. 4 Why should the name of our father be taken away from a place among his clan, because he had no son? Give us property among our father’s brothers.”
5 Moses brought their case before the Lord. 6 The Lord spoke to Moses: 7 “What the daughters of Zelophehad say is correct. You must give them property as an inheritance among their father’s brothers. You are to allow their father’s inheritance to be passed down to them. 8 You are to tell the Israelites, ‘If a man dies and has no son, then you are to have his inheritance pass down 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 relative from his clan, and he will take possession of it. This will be a legal statute for the Israelites, just as the Lord commanded Moses.’”
Joshua Will Succeed Moses
12 The Lord said to Moses, “Go up onto this mountain in the Abarim range and see the land which I have given to the Israelites. 13 After you have seen it, you yourself will also be gathered to your people just as Aaron your brother was gathered. 14 For when the community quarreled in the Wilderness of Zin, you both rebelled against my command to honor me as holy in their sight at the waters.” (This refers to the waters of Meribah Kadesh in the Wilderness of Zin.)
15 Moses spoke to the Lord, 16 “May the Lord, the God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the community, 17 who will go out before them and come in before them, who will lead them out and bring them in, so that the community of the Lord will not be like sheep without a shepherd.”
18 The Lord said to Moses, “Take Joshua son of Nun, a man in whom is the Spirit, and place your hand on him. 19 Have him stand in front of Eleazar the priest and the entire community. You will commission him in their sight. 20 You will give some of your authority to him so that the entire Israelite community will listen to him. 21 He will stand before Eleazar the priest, who will inquire for him before the Lord with the decision of the Urim. He and all the Israelites with him, the entire community, will go out at his command and come in at his command.”
22 Moses did just as the Lord commanded him. He took Joshua and had him stand in front of Eleazar the priest and the entire community. 23 He placed his hands on him and commissioned him, just as the Lord spoke through Moses.
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.