36:1-9Zelophehad had five daughters but no sons. After he died, the daughters made an appeal to Moses. Because the inheritance normally passed only through the male line, the family line of Zelophehad would have disappeared. God told Moses that if a man died without sons, then the inheritance would go to his daughters (27:8). But the question of marriage arose. If the daughters were to marry outside of their tribe, the land would belong to another tribe at the Year of Jubilee.
Life Application Study BibleNumbersChapter 36
Numbers 36
New Living Translation · Life Application Study Bible · Original pages: 260, 261
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36Numbers 36
Women Who Inherit Property
13 Then the heads of the clans of Gilead—descendants of Makir, son of Manasseh, son of Joseph—came to Moses and the family leaders of Israel with a petition. 2They said, “Sir, the LORD instructed you to divide the land by sacred lot among the people of Israel. You were told by the LORD to give the grant of land owned by our brother Zelophehad to his daughters. 3But if they marry men from another tribe, their grants of land will go with them to the tribe into which they marry. In this way, the total area of our tribal land will be reduced. 4Then when the Year of Jubilee comes, their portion of land will be added to that of the new tribe, causing it to be lost forever to our ancestral tribe.” 5So Moses gave the Israelites this command from the LORD: “The claim of the men of the tribe of Joseph is legitimate. 6This is what the LORD commands concerning the daughters of Zelophehad: Let them marry anyone they like, as long as it is within their own ancestral tribe. 7None of the territorial land may pass from tribe to tribe, for all the land given to each tribe must remain within the tribe to which it was first allotted. 8The daughters throughout the tribes of Israel who are in line to inherit property must marry within their tribe, so that all the Israelites will keep their ancestral property.
9No grant of land may pass fromone tribe to another; each tribe of Israel must keep its allotted portion of land.”So Moses commanded that in such cases the women shouldmarry men in their own clan and tribe so that each tribe wouldretain its original inheritance. Later, when the tribes receivedtheir land under Joshua, the daughters of Zelophehad receivedtheir inheritance as God had instructed (Joshua 17:3-6).We don’t have to look far to find those who want to beconsidered “special cases” and “exceptions to the rule,” butwise leaders will sort out those who have legitimate concernsand make sure that justice is done in these special situations.
‘The daughters of Zelophehad did as the LORD commanded Moses. 10Mahlah, Tirzah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Noah all married cousins on their father’s side. 12They married into the clans of Manasseh son of Joseph. Thus, their inheritance of land remained within their ancestral tribe. 13These are the commands and regulations that the LORD gave to the people of Israel through Moses while they were camped on the plains of Moab beside the Jordan River across from Jericho.
Life Application Notes 2 notes
36:13The book of Numbers covers 39 years and closes with the Israelites poised near the banks of the Jordan River with the Promised Land in sight. The wanderings in the wilderness have come to an end, and the people are preparing for their next big move—the conquest of the land. The apostle Paul says that the events described in Numbers are examples that warn us and help us avoid the Israelites’ mistakes (1 Corinthians 10:1-12). From
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their experiences we learn that unbelief is disastrous. We atso Jearn not to long for the sinful pleasures of the past, to avoid complaining, and to stay away from all forms of sexual sin. We must not weaken our biblical beliefs by compromising them with our culture's values. if we choose to let God lead our lives, we should not ignore his message in the book of Numbers.