Inheritance of Zelophehad’s Daughters(A)

36 The family heads of the clan of Gilead(B) son of Makir,(C) the son of Manasseh, who were from the clans of the descendants of Joseph,(D) came and spoke before Moses and the leaders,(E) the heads of the Israelite families. They said, “When the Lord commanded my lord to give the land as an inheritance to the Israelites by lot,(F) he ordered you to give the inheritance of our brother Zelophehad(G) to his daughters. Now suppose they marry men from other Israelite tribes; then their inheritance will be taken from our ancestral inheritance and added to that of the tribe they marry into. And so part of the inheritance allotted to us will be taken away. When the Year of Jubilee(H) for the Israelites comes, their inheritance will be added to that of the tribe into which they marry, and their property will be taken from the tribal inheritance of our ancestors.”

Then at the Lord’s command Moses gave this order to the Israelites: “What the tribe of the descendants of Joseph is saying is right. This is what the Lord commands for Zelophehad’s daughters: They may marry anyone they please as long as they marry within their father’s tribal clan. No inheritance(I) in Israel is to pass from one tribe to another, for every Israelite shall keep the tribal inheritance of their ancestors. Every daughter who inherits land in any Israelite tribe must marry someone in her father’s tribal clan,(J) so that every Israelite will possess the inheritance of their ancestors. No inheritance may pass from one tribe to another, for each Israelite tribe is to keep the land it inherits.”

10 So Zelophehad’s daughters did as the Lord commanded Moses. 11 Zelophehad’s daughters—Mahlah, Tirzah, Hoglah, Milkah and Noah(K)—married their cousins on their father’s side. 12 They married within the clans of the descendants of Manasseh son of Joseph, and their inheritance remained in their father’s tribe and clan.(L)

13 These are the commands and regulations the Lord gave through Moses(M) to the Israelites on the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho.(N)

Land for Zelophehad’s Daughters

36 The leaders of ·Gilead’s family group [L the clan of the sons/descendants of Gilead] went to talk to Moses and the leaders of the ·families [clans] of ·Israel [L sons/T children of Israel]. (Gilead was the son of Makir, the son of Manasseh, the son of Joseph.) They said, “The Lord commanded you, our ·master [lord], to give the land for inheritance to the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel] by throwing lots [C perhaps the Urim and Thummim; Ex. 28:30; Lev. 8:8], and the Lord commanded you, our master [lord], to give for inheritance the land of Zelophehad, our brother, to his daughters [27:1–11]. But if his daughters marry ·men [L sons] from other tribes of ·Israel [L the sons/T children of Israel], then ·that land will leave our family [L their inheritance will be taken from the inheritance of our ancestors/fathers], and the people of the other tribes will get that land. So ·we will lose some of our land [L part of our allotted portion will be lost]. When the time of Jubilee [C every fiftieth year; Lev. 25:8–55] comes for the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel], their land will go to the tribes of the people they marry; ·their land will be taken away from us, the land we received from our fathers [L the inheritance of the tribe of our ancestors/fathers will be deprived of inheritance].”

Then Moses gave the ·Israelites [L the sons/T children of Israel] this command from the Lord: “These men from the ·tribe [L sons; descendants] of Joseph are right. This is the Lord’s command to Zelophehad’s daughters: You may marry anyone you wish, as long as the person is from ·your [L a clan of your] own tribe. In this way the ·Israelites’ land [L inheritance of the sons/T children of Israel] will not pass from tribe to tribe, and each ·Israelite [L son/child of Israel] will keep the land in the tribe that belonged to his ·ancestors [fathers]. A woman who inherits her father’s land may marry, but she must marry someone from ·her own [L a clan of her own] tribe. In this way every ·Israelite [L son/child of Israel] will keep the land that belonged to his ·ancestors [fathers]. The ·land [inheritance] must not pass from tribe to tribe, and each ·Israelite tribe [L tribe of the sons/T children of Israel] will keep the land it ·received [inherited] from its ·ancestors [fathers].”

10 Zelophehad’s daughters obeyed the Lord’s command to Moses.

11 So Zelophehad’s daughters—Mahlah, Tirzah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Noah—married ·their cousins, their father’s relatives [L sons of their father’s brothers]. 12 Their husbands were from the ·tribe of [L clan of the sons of] Manasseh son of Joseph, so their ·land [inheritance] stayed in their father’s ·family group [clan] and tribe.

13 These were the laws and commands that the Lord gave to the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel] through Moses on the plains of Moab by the Jordan River, across from Jericho.

Married Women and What They Would Get from Their Families

36 The heads of the fathers’ houses of the family group of the sons of Gilead the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, of the families of the sons of Joseph, came near. They spoke in front of Moses and the leaders, the heads of the fathers’ houses of the people of Israel. They said, “The Lord told my lord to give the land to the people of Israel by drawing names. And my lord was told by the Lord to give the land of our brother Zelophehad to his daughters. But if they marry one of the sons of the other family groups of Israel, then their land would be taken away from what was given to our fathers and would be added to the land of the family group they marry into. So it would be taken from the land that had been given to us. When the Year of Jubilee of the people of Israel comes, their land will be added to the land of the family group into which they marry. So their land will be taken from the land of the family group of our fathers.”

Then Moses told the people of Israel what the Lord said. He said, “The family group of the sons of Joseph are right in what they say. This is what the Lord has said about the daughters of Zelophehad: ‘Let them marry whom they think best. Only they must marry within the family group of their father.’ This way no land of the people of Israel will go from one family group to another. The people of Israel will each hold to the land of the family group of his fathers. Every daughter who comes to own the land of any family group of Israel, must be the wife of one of her father’s family group. So every one of the people of Israel may own the land of his fathers. No land will go from one family group to another. For the families of Israel will each hold to his own land.” 10 The daughters of Zelophehad did just as the Lord had told Moses. 11 Mahlah, Tirzah, Hoglah, Milcah and Noah, the daughters of Zelophehad, married sons of their father’s brothers. 12 They married into the families of the sons of Manasseh the son of Joseph. And their land stayed with their father’s family group.

13 These are the Laws which the Lord told the people of Israel through Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho.