Numbers 27. The Daughters of Zelophehad

The Daughters of Zelophehad

Then drew near the daughters of 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 died in the wilderness. He was not among the company of those who gathered themselves together against the Lord in the company of Korah, but 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? Give to us a possession among our father’s brothers.”

• Here we meet Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah from the tribe of Manasseh whose father died
• It says that Zelophehad died of his own sin – possibly from the group banned from wilderness.
  • If Zelophehad died from the Korah rebellion would they have removed his inheritance?

⁵ Moses brought their case before the Lord. ⁶ And the Lord said to Moses, ⁷ “The daughters of Zelophehad are right. 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 kinsman of his clan, and he shall possess it. And it shall be for the people of Israel a statute and rule, as the Lord commanded Moses.’”

• God establishes a new inheritance law for Israel 
  • If a man has no son, his inheritance goes to his daughter.
  • If no daughter, it goes to his brothers.
  • If no brothers, it goes to his father’s brothers (uncles).
  • If no uncles, it goes to the nearest relative in the clan.
• Why did God wait to announce the rule of women receiving an inheritance until the daughters came forth?
• This story will continue in Numbers 36

Joshua to Succeed Moses

¹² The Lord said to Moses, “Go up into 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 shall be gathered to your people, as your brother Aaron was, ¹⁴ because you rebelled against my word in the wilderness of Zin when the congregation quarreled, failing to uphold me as holy at the waters before their eyes.” (These are the waters of Meribah of Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin.)

• God instructs Moses to climb a mountain of Abarim (often linked with Mount Nebo- see Deuteronomy 32) to see the land Israel will inherit
• Moses will not go into the Promised Land because of what happened in Numbers 20)

 ¹⁵ Moses spoke to the Lord, saying, ¹⁶ “Let the Lord, the God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the congregation ¹⁷ who 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 as sheep that have no shepherd.” 

• “The LORD, the God of the spirits of all flesh” is an interesting phrase- God is the source and ruler of every living being
• Moses’ first response to God telling him he would not enter the Promised Land is to make sure Israel is taken care of.

¹⁸ So the Lord said to Moses, “Take Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is the Spirit, and lay your hand on him. ¹⁹ Make him stand before Eleazar the priest and all the congregation, and you shall commission him in their sight. ²⁰ You shall invest him with some of your authority, 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 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.” 

• Joshua only receives some of Moses’ authority. He will still need to go through a priest (Moses got direct access to God), and will use Urim for judgment.
  • “by the judgment of the Urim” – This refers to the Urim and Thummim worn by the High Priest (Exodus 28)
  • Why not mention the Thummim?

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 commissioned him as the Lord directed through Moses.