Numbers 36
1599 Geneva Bible
36 6 An order for the marriage of the daughters of Zelophehad.
1 Then [a]the chief fathers 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, and spake before Moses, and before the princes, the chief fathers of the children of Israel,
2 And said, (A)The Lord commanded [b]my lord to give the land to inherit by lot to the children of Israel: and my lord was commanded by the Lord, to give the inheritance of Zelophehad our brother unto his daughters.
3 If they be married to any of the sons of the other tribes of the children of Israel, then shall their inheritance be taken away from the inheritance of our fathers, and shall be put unto the inheritance of the tribe whereof they shall be: so shall it be taken away from the lot of our inheritance.
4 Also when the [c]Jubilee of the children of Israel cometh, then shall their inheritance be put unto the inheritance of the tribe whereof they shall be: so shall their inheritance be taken away from the inheritance of the tribe of our fathers.
5 Then Moses commanded the children of Israel, according to the word of the Lord, saying, The tribe of the sons of Joseph have said [d]well.
6 This is the thing that the Lord hath commanded, concerning the daughters of Zelophehad, saying, They shall be wives, to whom they think best, only to the family of the tribe of their father shall they marry:
7 So shall not the inheritance of the children of Israel remove from tribe to tribe, for every one of the children of Israel shall join himself to the inheritance of the tribe of his fathers.
8 And every daughter that possesseth any [e]inheritance of the tribes of the children of Israel, shall be wife unto one of the family of the tribe of her father: that the children of Israel may enjoy every man the inheritance of their fathers.
9 Neither shall the inheritance go about from tribe to tribe: but every one of the tribes of the children of Israel shall stick to his own inheritance.
10 As the Lord commanded Moses, so did the daughters of Zelophehad.
11 For (B)Mahlah, Tirzah, and Hoglah, and Milcah, and Noah the daughters of Zelophehad were married unto their father’s brother’s sons,
12 They were wives to certain of the families of the sons of Manasseh the son of Joseph: so their inheritance remained in the tribe of the family of their father.
13 These are the [f]commandments and laws which the Lord commanded by the hand of Moses, unto the children of Israel in the plain of Moab, by Jordan toward Jericho.
Footnotes
- Numbers 36:1 It seemeth that the tribes contended who might marry these daughters to have their inheritance: and therefore the sons of Joseph proposed the matter to Moses.
- Numbers 36:2 Meaning, Moses.
- Numbers 36:4 Signifying that at no time it could return, for in the Jubilee all things returned to their own tribes.
- Numbers 36:5 For the tribe could not have continued, if the inheritance which was the maintenance thereof should have been alienated to others.
- Numbers 36:8 When there is no male to inherit.
- Numbers 36:13 Touching the ceremonial and judicial laws.
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 King James Version
Marriage of Female Heirs
36 Now the chief fathers of the families of the (A)children of Gilead the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, of the families of the sons of Joseph, came near and (B)spoke before Moses and before the leaders, the chief fathers of the children of Israel. 2 And they said: (C)“The Lord commanded my lord Moses to give the land as an inheritance by lot to the children of Israel, and (D)my lord was commanded by the Lord to give the inheritance of our brother Zelophehad to his daughters. 3 Now if they are married to any of the sons of the other tribes of the children of Israel, then their inheritance will be (E)taken from the inheritance of our fathers, and it will be added to the inheritance of the tribe into which they marry; so it will be taken from the lot of our inheritance. 4 And when (F)the Jubilee of the children of Israel comes, then their inheritance will be added to the inheritance of the tribe into which they marry; so their inheritance will be taken away from the inheritance of the tribe of our fathers.”
5 Then Moses commanded the children of Israel according to the word of the Lord, saying: (G)“What the tribe of the sons of Joseph speaks is right. 6 This is what the Lord commands concerning the daughters of Zelophehad, saying, ‘Let them [a]marry whom they think best, (H)but they may marry only within the family of their father’s tribe.’ 7 So the inheritance of the children of Israel shall not change hands from tribe to tribe, for every one of the children of Israel shall (I)keep the inheritance of the tribe of his fathers. 8 And (J)every daughter who possesses an inheritance in any tribe of the children of Israel shall be the wife of one of the family of her father’s tribe, so that the children of Israel each may possess the inheritance of his fathers. 9 Thus no inheritance shall change hands from one tribe to another, but every tribe of the children of Israel shall keep its own inheritance.”
10 Just as the Lord commanded Moses, so did the daughters of Zelophehad; 11 (K)for Mahlah, Tirzah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Noah, the daughters of Zelophehad, were married to the sons of their father’s brothers. 12 They were married into the families of the children of Manasseh the son of Joseph, and their inheritance remained in the tribe of their father’s family.
13 These are the commandments and the judgments which the Lord commanded the children of Israel by the hand of Moses (L)in the plains of Moab by the Jordan, across from Jericho.
Footnotes
- Numbers 36:6 Lit. be wives to
Geneva Bible, 1599 Edition. Published by Tolle Lege Press. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations in articles, reviews, and broadcasts.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
