Numbers · chapter 36 of 36
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Numbers 36 closes the book with a problem of inheritance. The heads of the clan of Gilead, of the tribe of Manasseh, fear that if the daughters of Zelophehad marry men of another tribe, their land will pass to it. The Lord commands through Moses that they may marry whom they please, but within their own tribe, so that no inheritance moves from one tribe to another. The daughters obey.
In Numbers 27 the daughters of Zelophehad had asked to inherit their father's share, since he died without sons, and the Lord granted them that right. Now, at the end of the book, a consequence arises: what happens to that land if they marry outside the tribe? Numbers closes its story by showing how justice for some women and the inheritance of each tribe can be kept together.
The heads of the clans of Gilead, son of Machir, son of Manasseh, come before Moses and the leaders of Israel. They recall that the Lord commanded that Zelophehad's inheritance be given to his daughters. But if the daughters marry men of another tribe, their inheritance will pass to that tribe and be taken from their own. And when the year of Jubilee comes, the land will not return to Manasseh but will remain with the husband's tribe.
At the Lord's command, Moses answers that the tribe of the sons of Joseph is right. The daughters of Zelophehad may marry whom they think best, but only men from the clan of their father's tribe. In this way no inheritance will pass from one tribe to another, and every Israelite will keep the inheritance of his own tribe. Every daughter who receives an inheritance will marry someone from a clan of her father's tribe.
The daughters of Zelophehad, Mahlah, Tirzah, Hoglah, Milcah and Noah, do as the Lord commanded Moses and marry sons of their uncles, from the clans of Manasseh. Their inheritance thus remains in their father's tribe. The chapter and the book end with the note that these are the commandments and rules the Lord gave through Moses on the plains of Moab by the Jordan opposite Jericho.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
The leaders of Gilead recall that the Lord commanded that Zelophehad's inheritance be given to his daughters. They do not question the women's right to inherit; they only ask for a solution so the land does not change tribes.
The Lord allows the daughters of Zelophehad to marry whom they think best, on the condition that he belong to the clan of their father's tribe. The decision respects the women's freedom and the tribe's inheritance at the same time.
No inheritance may pass from one tribe to another, because each tribe must keep its own. The land was a gift of the Lord, fairly divided, and the people were to guard it from generation to generation.
The five daughters marry their cousins, from the clans of Manasseh, and their inheritance stays in their father's tribe. The concrete obedience of these women fulfills what the Lord had said.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: The heads of the clan of Gilead, of the tribe of Manasseh. — Numbers 36:1
Answer: That if the women married men of another tribe, their inheritance would pass to that tribe and be taken from their own. — Numbers 36:3
Answer: That they were right. — Numbers 36:5
Answer: Whomever they wished, but only within the clan of their father's tribe. — Numbers 36:6
Answer: Mahlah, Tirzah, Hoglah, Milcah and Noah. — Numbers 36:11
Answer: Sons of their uncles, that is, cousins from the clans of Manasseh. — Numbers 36:11-12
The book of Numbers ends with a conversation between leaders and a decision in which both sides are heard. The women had received their right, and the leaders asked to protect the tribe's as well. Moses consults the Lord and reaches a solution that protects everyone. In a class you can learn from that style of leadership: take the community's concerns seriously without canceling what God has already granted.
The daughters of Zelophehad appear as women of faith who ask boldly and obey simply. They show that God cares for people who could be left unprotected, and that obedience to his word is also expressed in concrete life decisions, such as marriage, made freely and with responsibility toward the family.
With the daughters of Zelophehad, the book of Numbers ends on the plains of Moab, with Israel ready to cross the Jordan. The wilderness generation has passed, and the Lord's commandments have been put in writing. The next book, Deuteronomy, gathers the last speeches of Moses, who reminds the people of what God has done and renews the covenant before they enter the land.
Because the land had been divided by the Lord among the tribes, and the year of Jubilee returned land to its families. If a married heiress passed land to another tribe, the Jubilee would not correct that loss, and the tribe of Manasseh would be diminished.
The text applies it to daughters who receive a land inheritance. It is not a general rule for every marriage in Israel but a rule to protect each tribe's inheritance. The daughters of Zelophehad chose for themselves whom to marry.
That God recognized the right of Zelophehad's daughters to inherit when there were no sons, something notable in their time. The chapter keeps that right and adds a condition to protect the tribe, without taking the inheritance from the women.