1 And the chief fathers of the families of the children of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, of the families of the sons of Joseph, came near, and spake before Moses, and before the princes, the chief fathers of the children of Israel:
2 And they said, The LORD commanded my lord to give the land for an inheritance by lot to the children of Israel: and my lord was commanded by the LORD to give the inheritance of Zelophehad our brother unto his daughters.
3 And if they be married to any of the sons of the other tribes of the children of Israel, then shall their inheritance be taken from the inheritance of our fathers, and shall be put to the inheritance of the tribe whereunto they are received: so shall it be taken from the lot of our inheritance.
4 And when the jubilee of the children of Israel shall be, then shall their inheritance be put unto the inheritance of the tribe whereunto they are received: so shall their inheritance be taken away from the inheritance of the tribe of our fathers.
5 And Moses commanded the children of Israel according to the word of the LORD, saying, The tribe of the sons of Joseph hath said well.
6 This is the thing which the LORD doth command concerning the daughters of Zelophehad, saying, Let them marry to whom they think best; only to the family of the tribe of their father shall they marry.
7 So shall not the inheritance of the children of Israel remove from tribe to tribe: for every one of the children of Israel shall keep himself to the inheritance of the tribe of his fathers.
8 And every daughter, that possesseth an inheritance in any tribe of the children of Israel, shall be wife unto one of the family of the tribe of her father, that the children of Israel may enjoy every man the inheritance of his fathers.
9 Neither shall the inheritance remove from one tribe to another tribe; but every one of the tribes of the children of Israel shall keep himself to his own inheritance.
10 Even as the LORD commanded Moses, so did the daughters of Zelophehad:
11 For Mahlah, Tirzah, and Hoglah, and Milcah, and Noah, the daughters of Zelophehad, were married unto their father's brothers' sons:
12 And they were married into the families of the sons of Manasseh the son of Joseph, and their inheritance remained in the tribe of the family of their father.
13 These are the commandments and the judgments, which the LORD commanded by the hand of Moses unto the children of Israel in the plains of Moab by Jordan near Jericho.
1 And the chief H7218 fathers H1 of the families H4940 of the children H1121 of Gilead, H1568 the son H1121 of Machir, H4353 the son H1121 of Manasseh, H4519 of the families H4940 of the sons H1121 of Joseph, H3130 came near, H7126 and spake H1696 before H6440 Moses, H4872 and before H6440 the princes, H5387 the chief H7218 fathers H1 of the children H1121 of Israel: H3478
2 And they said, H559 The LORD H3068 commanded H6680 my lord H113 to give H5414 the land H776 for an inheritance H5159 by lot H1486 to the children H1121 of Israel: H3478 and my lord H113 was commanded H6680 by the LORD H3068 to give H5414 the inheritance H5159 of Zelophehad H6765 our brother H251 unto his daughters. H1323
3 And if they be married H802 to any H259 of the sons H1121 of the other tribes H7626 of the children H1121 of Israel, H3478 then shall their inheritance H5159 be taken H1639 from the inheritance H5159 of our fathers, H1 and shall be put H3254 to the inheritance H5159 of the tribe H4294 whereunto they are received: so shall it be taken H1639 from the lot H1486 of our inheritance. H5159
4 And when the jubile H3104 of the children H1121 of Israel H3478 shall be, then shall their inheritance H5159 be put H3254 unto the inheritance H5159 of the tribe H4294 whereunto they are received: so shall their inheritance H5159 be taken away H1639 from the inheritance H5159 of the tribe H4294 of our fathers. H1
5 And Moses H4872 commanded H6680 the children H1121 of Israel H3478 according to the word H6310 of the LORD, H3068 saying, H559 The tribe H4294 of the sons H1121 of Joseph H3130 hath said H1696 well.
6 This is the thing H1697 which the LORD H3068 doth command H6680 concerning the daughters H1323 of Zelophehad, H6765 saying, H559 Let them marry H802 to whom they think H5869 best; H2896 only to the family H4940 of the tribe H4294 of their father H1 shall they marry. H802
7 So shall not the inheritance H5159 of the children H1121 of Israel H3478 remove H5437 from tribe H4294 to tribe: H4294 for every one H376 of the children H1121 of Israel H3478 shall keep H1692 himself to the inheritance H5159 of the tribe H4294 of his fathers. H1
8 And every daughter, H1323 that possesseth H3423 an inheritance H5159 in any tribe H4294 of the children H1121 of Israel, H3478 shall be wife H802 unto one H259 of the family H4940 of the tribe H4294 of her father, H1 that the children H1121 of Israel H3478 may enjoy H3423 every man H376 the inheritance H5159 of his fathers. H1
9 Neither shall the inheritance H5159 remove H5437 from one tribe H4294 to another H312 tribe; H4294 but every one H376 of the tribes H4294 of the children H1121 of Israel H3478 shall keep H1692 himself to his own inheritance. H5159
10 Even as the LORD H3068 commanded H6680 Moses, H4872 so did H6213 the daughters H1323 of Zelophehad: H6765
11 For Mahlah, H4244 Tirzah, H8656 and Hoglah, H2295 and Milcah, H4435 and Noah, H5270 the daughters H1323 of Zelophehad, H6765 were married H802 unto their father's H1730 brothers' sons: H1121
12 And they were married H802 into the families H4940 of the sons H1121 of Manasseh H4519 the son H1121 of Joseph, H3130 and their inheritance H5159 remained in the tribe H4294 of the family H4940 of their father. H1
13 These are the commandments H4687 and the judgments, H4941 which the LORD H3068 commanded H6680 by the hand H3027 of Moses H4872 unto the children H1121 of Israel H3478 in the plains H6160 of Moab H4124 by Jordan H3383 near Jericho. H3405
1 And the heads of the fathers' `houses' 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 spake before Moses, and before the princes, the heads of the fathers' `houses' of the children of Israel:
2 and they said, Jehovah commanded my lord to give the land for inheritance by lot to the children of Israel: and my lord was commanded by Jehovah to give the inheritance of Zelophehad our brother unto his daughters.
3 And if they be married to any of the sons of the `other' tribes of the children of Israel, then will their inheritance be taken away from the inheritance of our fathers, and will be added to the inheritance of the tribe whereunto they shall belong: so will it be taken away from the lot of our inheritance.
4 And when the jubilee of the children of Israel shall be, then will their inheritance be added unto the inheritance of the tribe whereunto they shall belong: so will their inheritance be taken away from the inheritance of the tribe of our fathers.
5 And Moses commanded the children of Israel according to the word of Jehovah, saying, The tribe of the sons of Joseph speaketh right.
6 This is the thing which Jehovah doth command concerning the daughters of Zelophehad, saying, Let them be married to whom they think best; only into the family of the tribe of their father shall they be married.
7 So shall no inheritance of the children of Israel remove from tribe to tribe; for the children of Israel shall cleave every one to the inheritance of the tribe of his fathers.
8 And every daughter, that possesseth an inheritance in any tribe of the children of Israel, shall be wife unto one of the family of the tribe of her father, that the children of Israel may possess every man the inheritance of his fathers.
9 So shall no inheritance remove from one tribe to another tribe; for the tribes of the children of Israel shall cleave every one to his own inheritance.
10 Even as Jehovah commanded Moses, so did the daughters of Zelophehad:
11 for Mahlah, Tirzah, and Hoglah, and Milcah, and Noah, the daughters of Zelophehad, were married unto their father's brothers' sons.
12 They were married into the families of the sons of Manasseh the son of Joseph; and their inheritance remained in the tribe of the family of their father.
13 These are the commandments and the ordinances which Jehovah commanded by Moses unto the children of Israel in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho.
1 And the heads of the fathers of the families of the sons of Gilead, son of Machir, son of Manasseh, of the families of the sons of Joseph, come near, and speak before Moses, and before the princes, heads of the fathers of the sons of Israel,
2 and say, Jehovah commanded my lord to give the land for inheritance by lot to the sons of Israel, and my lord hath been commanded by Jehovah to give the inheritance of Zelophehad our brother to his daughters.
3 `And -- they have been to one of the sons of the `other' tribes of the sons of Israel for wives, and their inheritance hath been withdrawn from the inheritance of our fathers, and hath been added to the inheritance of the tribe which is theirs, and from the lot of our inheritance it is withdrawn,
4 and if it is the jubilee of the sons of Israel, then hath their inheritance been added to the inheritance of the tribe which is theirs, and from the inheritance of the tribe of our fathers is their inheritance withdrawn.'
5 And Moses commandeth the sons of Israel, by the command of Jehovah, saying, `Rightly are the tribe of the sons of Joseph speaking;
6 this `is' the thing which Jehovah hath commanded concerning the daughters of Zelophehad, saying, To those good in their eyes let them be for wives; only, to a family of the tribe of their fathers let them be for wives;
7 and the inheritance of the sons of Israel doth not turn round from tribe unto tribe; for each to the inheritance of the tribe of his fathers, do the sons of Israel cleave.
8 `And every daughter possessing an inheritance, of the tribes of the sons of Israel, is to one of the family of the tribe of her father for a wife, so that the sons of Israel possess each the inheritance of his fathers,
9 and the inheritance doth not turn round from `one' tribe to another tribe; for each to his inheritance do they cleave, the tribes of the sons of Israel.'
10 As Jehovah hath commanded Moses, so have the daughters of Zelophehad done,
11 and Mahlah, Tirzah, and Hoglah, and Milcah, and Noah, daughters of Zelophehad, are to the sons of their fathers' brethren for wives;
12 `to men' of the families of the sons of Manasseh, son of Joseph, they have been for wives, and their inheritance is with the tribe of the family of their father.
13 These `are' the commands and the judgments which Jehovah hath commanded, by the hand of Moses, concerning the sons of Israel, in the plains of Moab, by Jordan, `near' Jericho.
1 And the chief fathers of families of the sons 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 chief fathers of the children of Israel:
2 and they said, Jehovah commanded my lord to give the land for an inheritance by lot to the children of Israel; and my lord was commanded by Jehovah to give the inheritance of Zelophehad our brother to his daughters.
3 Now if they be married to any of the sons of the [other] tribes of the children of Israel, then shall their inheritance be taken from the inheritance of our fathers, and shall be added to the inheritance of the tribe to which they shall belong; and it shall be taken from the lot of our inheritance.
4 And when the jubilee of the children of Israel shall come, then shall their inheritance be added to the inheritance of the tribe to which they shall belong; and their inheritance shall be taken away from the inheritance of the tribe of our fathers.
5 And Moses commanded the children of Israel according to the word of Jehovah, saying, The tribe of the sons of Joseph hath said well.
6 This is the thing which Jehovah hath commanded concerning the daughters of Zelophehad, saying, Let them marry whom they please; only they shall marry one of the tribe of their father,
7 that no inheritance of the children of Israel pass from tribe to tribe; for every one of the children of Israel shall keep to the inheritance of the tribe of his fathers.
8 And every daughter that possesseth an inheritance among the tribes of the children of Israel, shall be married to one of the family of the tribe of her father, that the children of Israel may possess every one the inheritance of his fathers,
9 and the inheritance shall not pass from one tribe to another tribe; for each of the tribes of the children of Israel shall keep to his inheritance.
10 Even as Jehovah had commanded Moses, so did the daughters of Zelophehad;
11 and Mahlah, Tirzah, and Hoglah, and Milcah, and Noah, the daughters of Zelophehad, were married unto their uncles' sons.
12 To those that were of the families of the sons of Manasseh the son of Joseph were they married; and their inheritance remained in the tribe of the family of their father.
13 These are the commandments and the ordinances which Jehovah commanded through Moses to the children of Israel, in the plains of Moab, by the Jordan of Jericho.
1 The heads of the fathers' [houses] 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' [houses] of the children of Israel:
2 and they said, Yahweh commanded my lord to give the land for inheritance by lot to the children of Israel: and my lord was commanded by Yahweh to give the inheritance of Zelophehad our brother to his daughters.
3 If they be married to any of the sons of the [other] tribes of the children of Israel, then will their inheritance be taken away from the inheritance of our fathers, and will be added to the inheritance of the tribe whereunto they shall belong: so will it be taken away from the lot of our inheritance.
4 When the jubilee of the children of Israel shall be, then will their inheritance be added to the inheritance of the tribe whereunto they shall belong: so will their inheritance be taken away from the inheritance of the tribe of our fathers.
5 Moses commanded the children of Israel according to the word of Yahweh, saying, The tribe of the sons of Joseph speaks right.
6 This is the thing which Yahweh does command concerning the daughters of Zelophehad, saying, Let them be married to whom they think best; only into the family of the tribe of their father shall they be married.
7 So shall no inheritance of the children of Israel remove from tribe to tribe; for the children of Israel shall cleave everyone to the inheritance of the tribe of his fathers.
8 Every 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 possess every man the inheritance of his fathers.
9 So shall no inheritance remove from one tribe to another tribe; for the tribes of the children of Israel shall cleave everyone to his own inheritance.
10 Even as Yahweh commanded Moses, so did the daughters of Zelophehad:
11 for Mahlah, Tirzah, and Hoglah, and Milcah, and Noah, the daughters of Zelophehad, were married to their father's brothers' sons.
12 They were married into the families of the sons of Manasseh the son of Joseph; and their inheritance remained in the tribe of the family of their father.
13 These are the commandments and the ordinances which Yahweh commanded by Moses to the children of Israel in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho.
1 Now the heads of the families of the children of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, of the families of the sons of Joseph, came to Moses, the chiefs and the heads of families of the children of Israel being present,
2 And said, The Lord gave orders to my lord to make distribution of the land as their heritage to the children of Israel: and my lord was ordered by the Lord to give the heritage of Zelophehad, our brother, to his daughters.
3 Now if they get married to any of the sons of other tribes of the children of Israel, then their property will be taken away from the heritage of our fathers, and become part of the heritage of the tribe into which they get married: and their heritage will be taken away from the heritage of our tribe.
4 And at the time of the Jubilee of the children of Israel, their property will be joined to the heritage of the tribe of which they are part and will be taken away from the heritage of the tribe of our fathers.
5 So by the direction of the Lord, Moses gave orders to the children of Israel, saying, What the tribe of the sons of Joseph have said is right.
6 This is the order of the Lord about the daughters of Zelophehad: The Lord says, Let them take as their husbands whoever is most pleasing to them, but only among the family of their father's tribe.
7 And so no property will be handed from tribe to tribe among the children of Israel; but every one of the children of Israel will keep the heritage of his father's tribe.
8 And every daughter owning property in any tribe of the children of Israel is to be married to one of the family of her father's tribe, so that every man of the children of Israel may keep the heritage of his fathers.
9 And no property will be handed from one tribe to another, but every tribe of the children of Israel will keep its heritage.
10 So the daughters of Zelophehad did as the Lord gave orders to Moses:
11 For Mahlah, Tirzah, and Hoglah, and Milcah, and Noah, the daughters of Zelophehad, took as their husbands the sons of their father's brothers:
12 And were married into the families of the sons of Manasseh, the son of Joseph, and their property was kept in the tribe of their father's family
13 These are the laws and the orders which the Lord gave to the children of Israel by Moses, in the lowlands of Moab by Jordan at Jericho.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » John Gill's Exposition of the Bible » Commentary on Numbers 36
Commentary on Numbers 36 John Gill's Exposition of the Bible
INTRODUCTION TO NUMBERS 36
This chapter gives an account of an application made by the heads of the tribe of Manasseh, concerning the inheritances of the daughters of Zelophehad, which, should they marry into other tribes, would be removed thither, and so be a loss to theirs, Numbers 36:1, which case was judged worthy of regard; and to remedy this inconvenience, they were ordered to marry into the family of their father's tribe, and this was to be a law to all heiresses for the future in other tribes, Numbers 36:5 and accordingly the daughters of Zelophehad married their father's brothers' sons, Numbers 36:10.
And the chief fathers of the families of the children of Gilead,.... The princes, as Aben Ezra; so the Septuagint version, which was the tribe of Manasseh, whose grandson Gilead was, as follows:
the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh of the families of the sons of Joseph, came near; to the house of judgment, as the Targum of Jonathan, the sanhedrim or court of judicature, consisting of the following persons:
and spoke before Moses; the Septuagint version adds, "and before Eleazar the priest", as in Numbers 27:2.
and before the princes, the chief fathers of the children of Israel: the princes of the several tribes; or it may be rather the seventy elders.
And they said,.... One in the name of the rest:
the Lord commanded my lord; that is, Moses, whom they address in a very respectable manner, being the chief governor of the nation under God:
to give the land for an inheritance by lot to the children of Israel; which command may be seen, in Numbers 26:53,
and my lord was commanded by the Lord to give the inheritance of Zelophehad our brother; or kinsman, being of the same tribe:
unto his daughters; who sued for it, and upon Moses's consulting the Lord about it, it was ordered they should have it, Numbers 27:1 and which these princes observed was likely to be attended with the following inconvenience.
And if they be married to any of the sons of the other tribes of the children of Israel,.... Which was not an unreasonable supposition, and perhaps was judged very probable and likely, if some method was not taken to prevent it; which they might conclude from the application of some young men of the other tribes unto them:
then shall their inheritance be taken from the inheritance of our fathers, and shall be put to the inheritance of the tribe whereunto they are received; for the inheritance given unto them would of course, the above being the case, descend to their sons, and whose fathers being of other tribes, it would be fixed there:
so shall it be taken from the lot of our inheritance; which gave them some concern; for though this was no personal injury to them, nor any detriment to their families and estates, yet, as it was a lessening of their tribe, they were uneasy at it; and the rather they might be, since half their tribe was to settle on that side Jordan, where they now were: and now all this, the suit of the daughters of Zelophehad for their father's inheritance, which was granted them, the address of young men to them as heiresses, the concern of the heads of the tribe of Manasseh on this account; all this, I say, being before they entered into the land, or it was conquered by them, or divided to them by inheritance, show their strong faith and assurance that they should possess it.
And when the jubilee of the children of Israel shall be,.... At which time inheritances were to be restored to the original proprietors of them; yet this would be of no service in the present case, but rather the contrary, since it would fix the inheritances of these daughters in another tribe or in other tribes into which they should marry; and so Aben Ezra and Jarchi interpret it, "though" there shall be a jubilee, that will be of no advantage; it will not remedy this inconvenience: for
then shall their inheritance be put unto the inheritance of the tribe whereunto they are received; it being one principal part of the business of the jubilee year to settle the inheritances of every tribe; and these daughters being married into another tribe, of consequence their inheritance would be placed there; or should it be sold by their husbands, or their sons, at the year of jubilee it would be restored to them as of such a tribe:
so shall their inheritance be taken away from the inheritance of the tribe of our fathers; and thereby be a lessening of it; and every tribe being ambitious of preserving and increasing its grandeur, this affair sensibly affected the heads of this tribe.
And Moses commanded the children of Israel,.... Even all the tribes of Israel, whom the following law concerned, as well as the tribe of Manasseh:
according to the word of the Lord; whom no doubt he consulted on this occasion, as he did when the daughters of Zelophehad applied unto him about the inheritance of their father:
saying, the tribe of the sons of Joseph hath said well; in showing such a concern for the welfare of their tribe; the consideration of which would be of service to them all, and therefore was worthy of notice. Aben Ezra observes, that the heads of the fathers spoke for the sake of every tribe, what was for the good of them all, and therefore was well spoken.
This is the thing which the Lord doth command concerning the daughters of Zelophehad,.... Concerning this affair relative to them; the Targum of Jonathan paraphrases the words,"not for the generations that rise up after the division of the land, but for the daughters of Zelophehad;'as if this order only respected them, or what might happen before the land was divided, but not after; and this is the general opinion of the Jewish writers; but it seems, that as the following law not only concerns them, but all heiresses, so all such after as well as before the division of the land, since the reason of it holds good after as before:
saying, let them marry to whom they think best; whom they like best, who are most acceptable to them; as it was reasonable they should, and not have such forced upon them, whose persons were disagreeable to them:
only into the family of the tribe of their father shall they marry; they were to marry not only such as were of the tribe of Manasseh, but of their father's family in that tribe; they could only marry into the family of the Hepherites; see Numbers 26:32.
So shall not the inheritance of the children of Israel remove from tribe to tribe,.... Which shows that this concerns all the tribes of Israel, though yet not fully expressed, as it is afterwards:
for everyone of the children of Israel shall keep himself to the inheritance of the tribe of his fathers; or cleaveF1 to a wife in that tribe for marriage; this word is used in the original institution of it, Genesis 2:24 though they were not strictly obliged to marry in their own tribe; and frequently they did intermarry with other tribes, which, had it been unlawful, would not have been done, as it was by kings, and priests, and others; nor was there any danger of an inheritance going into another tribe by a man's marrying into it; wherefore this signifies only, that they were to be careful to keep their inheritances in their tribe; and therefore if any of them had no sons, only daughters, he was to marry them in his own tribe and family, that the inheritance might not remove, as followscf13 (a) ידבקו "adhaerebunt", Montanus, Vatablus, Junius & Tremellius.
And every daughter that possesseth an inheritance in any tribe if the children of Israel,.... For the same law which gave the daughters of Zelophehad right to their father's inheritance, gave every other daughter in Israel a right to inherit where there were no sons, Numbers 27:8 and every such daughter, according to this law:
shall be wife unto one of the family of the tribe of her father; marry into her father's tribe and family; by which it appears that such who were not heiresses might marry persons of another family, and even of another tribe:
that the children of Israel may enjoy every man the inheritance of his fathers; of his father's brethren, or of those that are near akin to him.
Neither shall the inheritance remove from one tribe to another,.... Which was one end of the year of jubilee, but that did not sufficiently secure it without this law, as this case shows:
but everyone of the tribes of Israel shall keep himself to his own inheritance; the chief view of which was, that it might clearly appear of what tribe and family the Messiah sprang when he came.
Even as the Lord commanded Moses, so did the daughters of Zelophehad. They married into, the family of their father's tribe, according to the following account.
For Mahlah, Tirzah, and Hoglah, and Milcah, and Noah,.... The names of the daughters of Zelophehad, and the same as in Numbers 26:33, only the order a little varied, Tirzah and Noah here changing places; there they are according to their birth, here they are according to their marriage, as Aben Ezra thinks; though Jarchi is of opinion, that being thus differently placed shows that they were equal to one another, and one was not preferred to the other:
these were married unto their father's brothers' sons; so that they were first cousins.
And they were married into the families of the sons of Manasseh, the son of Joseph,.... The family of the Hepherites, of which they were. Aben Ezra observes, that their being married into families, and not a family, is a sign that their uncles' sons were not all of them brethren, or the sons of one man, but of more, though all sons of one or other of their father's, brethren:
and their inheritance remained in the tribe of the family of their father; by means of these marriages, even both in their father's tribe and family.
These are the commandments and the judgments,.... The judicial laws concerning the division of the land of Canaan, the case of inheritances in it, and the cities of refuge:
which the Lord commanded by, the hand of Moses unto the children of Israel, in the plains of Moab by Jordan near Jericho; where the Israelites had been ever since they were first observed by Balak king of Moab, and where the various things had been done recorded in the preceding chapters from that time.