Moses, who typically legislates ritual purity and covenant obedience, here uniquely adjudicates marriage law to preserve tribal land boundaries, blending domestic relations with territorial inheritance in unprecedented ways.
Numbers 36
Marriage of Female Heirs
1The heads of the fathers’ households of the family of the children of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, of the families of the sons of Joseph, came near and spoke before Moses and before the princes, the heads of the fathers’ households of the children of Israel.
2They said, “The LORD commanded my lord to give the land for inheritance by lot to the children of Israel. My lord was commanded by the LORD to give the inheritance of Zelophehad our brother to his daughters.
3If they are married to any of the sons of the other tribes of the children of Israel, then their inheritance will be taken away from the inheritance of our fathers, and will be added to the inheritance of the tribe to which they shall belong. So it will be taken away from the lot of our inheritance.
4When the jubilee of the children of Israel comes, then their inheritance will be added to the inheritance of the tribe to which they shall belong. So their inheritance will be taken away from the inheritance of the tribe of our fathers.”
5Moses commanded the children of Israel according to the LORD’s word, saying, “The tribe of the sons of Joseph speak what is right.
6This is the thing which the LORD commands concerning the daughters of Zelophehad, saying, ‘Let them be married to whom they think best, only they shall marry into the family of the tribe of their father.
7So shall no inheritance of the children of Israel move from tribe to tribe; for the children of Israel shall all keep the inheritance of the tribe of his fathers.
8Every daughter who possesses an inheritance in any tribe of the children of Israel shall be wife to one of the family of the tribe of her father, that the children of Israel may each possess the inheritance of his fathers.
9So shall no inheritance move from one tribe to another tribe; for the tribes of the children of Israel shall each keep his own inheritance.’”
10The daughters of Zelophehad did as the LORD commanded Moses:
11for Mahlah, Tirzah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Noah, the daughters of Zelophehad, were married to their father’s brothers’ sons.
12They were married into the families of the sons of Manasseh the son of Joseph. Their inheritance remained in the tribe of the family of their father.
13These are the commandments and the ordinances which the LORD commanded by Moses to the children of Israel in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho.
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Theme
The heads of the tribe of Manasseh approach Moses with a concern about the daughters of Zelophehad, who had previously been granted their father's inheritance. They worry that if these women marry outside their tribe, the land inheritance will transfer to other tribes, disrupting the original tribal allotments. Moses responds with God's command that female heirs must marry within their father's tribe to preserve tribal boundaries and inheritance patterns.
Context
This chapter resolves the inheritance case of Zelophehad's daughters from chapter 27 and serves as the final legal ruling in Numbers before the book's conclusion.
Key Themes
Outline
- 1-4 Tribal Leaders' Concern The heads of Manasseh present their worry about inheritance leaving their tribe through intermarriage
- 5-9 Moses' Divine Response God commands through Moses that female heirs must marry within their father's tribe to preserve inheritance boundaries
- 10-12 Daughters' Compliance Zelophehad's daughters obey by marrying their cousins within the tribe of Manasseh
- 13 Concluding Formula A closing statement marking the end of the laws given in the plains of Moab
Marriage of Female Heirs
36:1–36:13 law instruction solemn
The heads of Manasseh's tribe petition Moses about preserving tribal inheritance when women inherit land. Moses rules that female heirs must marry within their father's tribe to prevent land from transferring between tribes.
person_contrast
Moses, who typically legislates ritual purity and covenant obedience, here uniquely adjudicates marriage law to preserve tribal land boundaries, blending domestic relations with territorial inheritance in unprecedented ways.
Insights
Cross-References
Connected passages across Scripture
Numbers 36:1 5 references
Lexicals 5
Numbers 27:1 Lexical
Then the daughters of Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, of the f…
Joshua 17:1 Lexical
This was the lot for the tribe of Manasseh, for he was the firstborn of Joseph. As for Machir the firstborn of Manasseh,…
Numbers 26:29 Lexical
The sons of Manasseh: of Machir, the family of the Machirites; and Machir became the father of Gilead; of Gilead, the fa…
Joshua 13:31 Lexical
Half Gilead, Ashtaroth, and Edrei, the cities of the kingdom of Og in Bashan, were for the children of Machir the son of…
Numbers 32:39 Lexical
The children of Machir the son of Manasseh went to Gilead, took it, and dispossessed the Amorites who were therein.
Numbers 36:3 4 references
Lexicals 4
Joshua 14:2 Lexical
by the lot of their inheritance, as the LORD commanded by Moses, for the nine tribes, and for the half-tribe.
Numbers 33:54 Lexical
You shall inherit the land by lot according to your families; to the larger groups you shall give a larger inheritance,…
Joshua 19:1 Lexical
The second lot came out for Simeon, even for the tribe of the children of Simeon according to their families. Their inhe…
Joshua 19:51 Lexical
These are the inheritances, which Eleazar the priest, Joshua the son of Nun, and the heads of the fathers’ houses of the…
Numbers 36:8 5 references
Lexicals 5
Joshua 19:8 Lexical
and all the villages that were around these cities to Baalath Beer, Ramah of the South. This is the inheritance of the t…
Joshua 19:48 Lexical
This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Dan according to their families, these cities with their village…
Joshua 16:8 Lexical
From Tappuah the border went along westward to the brook of Kanah; and ended at the sea. This is the inheritance of the…
Joshua 19:1 Lexical
The second lot came out for Simeon, even for the tribe of the children of Simeon according to their families. Their inhe…
Numbers 33:54 Lexical
You shall inherit the land by lot according to your families; to the larger groups you shall give a larger inheritance,…
Numbers 36:11 3 references
Lexicals 3
Joshua 17:3 Lexical
But Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, had no sons, but daughters…
Numbers 27:1 Lexical
Then the daughters of Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, of the f…
Numbers 26:33 Lexical
Zelophehad the son of Hepher had no sons, but daughters: and the names of the daughters of Zelophehad were Mahlah, Noah,…
Numbers 36:12 5 references
Lexicals 5
Numbers 34:14 Lexical
for the tribe of the children of Reuben according to their fathers’ houses, the tribe of the children of Gad according t…
Numbers 34:23 Lexical
Of the children of Joseph: of the tribe of the children of Manasseh a prince, Hanniel the son of Ephod.
Joshua 17:1 Lexical
This was the lot for the tribe of Manasseh, for he was the firstborn of Joseph. As for Machir the firstborn of Manasseh,…
Numbers 13:11 Lexical
Of the tribe of Joseph, of the tribe of Manasseh, Gaddi the son of Susi.
Joshua 14:4 Lexical
For the children of Joseph were two tribes, Manasseh and Ephraim. They gave no portion to the Levites in the land, excep…
Numbers 36:13 5 references
Lexicals 5
Numbers 26:63 Lexical
These are those who were counted by Moses and Eleazar the priest, who counted the children of Israel in the plains of Mo…
Numbers 26:3 Lexical
Moses and Eleazar the priest spoke with them in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho, saying,
Joshua 13:32 Lexical
These are the inheritances which Moses distributed in the plains of Moab, beyond the Jordan at Jericho, eastward.
Numbers 31:12 Lexical
They brought the captives with the prey and the plunder, to Moses, and to Eleazar the priest, and to the congregation of…
Numbers 35:1 Lexical
The LORD spoke to Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho, saying,
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