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Special Inheritance Laws

27 [a] Then the daughters of Zelophehad son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh of the families of Manasseh,[b] the son of Joseph came forward. Now these are the names of his daughters: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. And they stood before Moses and Eleazar the priest and the leaders of the whole assembly at the entrance to the tent of meeting and said, “Our father died in the wilderness, although[c] he was not part of[d] the company of those that gathered themselves together against the Lord in the company of Korah, but he died for his own sin,[e] and he had no sons. Why should the name of our father be lost from among his family because he had no son? Give us a possession[f] among the relatives[g] of our father.”

So Moses brought their case before the Lord. The Lord said to Moses: “The daughters of Zelophehad have a valid claim.[h] You must indeed[i] give them possession of an inheritance among their father’s relatives, and you must transfer[j] the inheritance of their father to them. And you must tell the Israelites, ‘If a man dies[k] and has no son, then you must transfer his inheritance to his daughter; and if he has no daughter, then you are to give his inheritance to his brothers; 10 and if he has no brothers, then you are to give his inheritance to his father’s brothers; 11 and if his father has no brothers, then you are to give his inheritance to his relative nearest to him from his family, and he will possess it. This will be for the Israelites a legal requirement,[l] as the Lord commanded Moses.’”

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Footnotes

  1. Numbers 27:1 sn For additional information on this section, see N. H. Snaith, “The Daughters of Zelophehad,” VT 16 (1966): 124-27; and J. Weingreen, “The Case of the Daughters of Zelophehad,” VT 16 (1966): 518-22.
  2. Numbers 27:1 tc The phrase “of the families of Manasseh” is absent from the Latin Vulgate.
  3. Numbers 27:3 tn This clause begins with a vav (ו) on a pronoun, marking it out as a disjunctive vav. In this context it fits best to take it as a circumstantial clause introducing concession.
  4. Numbers 27:3 tn Heb “in the midst of.”
  5. Numbers 27:3 tn The word order is emphatic: “but in/on account of his own sins he died.”
  6. Numbers 27:4 tn That is, the possession of land, or property, among the other families of their tribe.
  7. Numbers 27:4 tn The word is “brothers,” but this can be interpreted more loosely to relatives. So also in v. 7.
  8. Numbers 27:7 tn Heb “[the daughters of Zelophehad] speak right” (using the participle דֹּבְרֹת [doverot] with כֵּן [ken]).
  9. Numbers 27:7 tn The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute with the imperfect tense. The imperfect is functioning as the imperfect of instruction, and so the infinitive strengthens the force of the instruction.
  10. Numbers 27:7 tn The verb is the Hiphil perfect with a vav (ו) consecutive, from the root עָבַר (ʿavar, “to pass over”). Here it functions as the equivalent of the imperfect of instruction: “and you shall cause to pass,” meaning, “transfer.”
  11. Numbers 27:8 tn Heb “a man, if he dies.”
  12. Numbers 27:11 tn The expression is חֻקַּת מִשְׁפָּט (khuqqat mishpat, “a statute of judgment”), which means it is a fixed enactment that determines justice. It is one which is established by God.

27 Then drew near 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, at the door of the tent of meeting, saying, Our father died in the wilderness, and he was not among the company of them that gathered themselves together against Jehovah in the company of Korah: but he died in his own sin; and he had no sons. Why should the name of our father be taken away from among his family, because he had no son? Give unto us a possession among the brethren of our father. And Moses brought their cause before Jehovah.

And Jehovah 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 [a]statute and ordinance, as Jehovah commanded Moses.

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Footnotes

  1. Numbers 27:11 Hebrew statute of judgment.