NUMBERS 36
Moses had already decreed that a man’s inheritance must go to his daughters if he had no sons (27:1–11), but that did not completely solve the problem. Some men of the tribe of Manasseh (Zelophehad’s tribe) had discussed and pondered the matter and were concerned about the distribution of their tribal land. What if the daughters married into other tribes? Would the inheritance eventually be confused or even lost?
It is good to think about decisions and see their practical ramifications in everyday life. It is good to think about the future and ask, “What may happen?”
The simple solution was to require the women who inherit property to marry only within their own family clan. It is good to inherit wealth, but with the inheritance may come restrictions and responsibilities. If we want the one, we must accept the other. The daughters of Zelophehad married their cousins, so the inheritance remained intact.