Numbers 36: Marriage of Female Heirs
1 Now 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 spoke before Moses and before the leaders, the chief fathers of the children of Israel. 2 And they said: “The Lord commanded my lord Moses to give the land as an inheritance by lot to the children of Israel, and my lord was commanded by the Lord to give the inheritance of our brother Zelophehad to his daughters. 3 Now if they are married to any of the sons of the other tribes of the children of Israel, then their inheritance will be taken from the inheritance of our fathers, and it will be added to the inheritance of the tribe into which they marry; so it will be taken from the lot of our inheritance.
"The daughters of Zelophehad had obtained an ordinance in Numbers 28:6-11 which permitted the daughters of an Israelite dying without male issue to inherit their father's property.” (Barnes) However, the chief fathers of those tribes now felt that this progressive legislation was a contradiction with the original promise of Jehovah concerning their inheritance in the land of Canaan. It had the potential to lesson the promise of God for future generations, as herein explained. "And although it is not expressly stated, yet on the ground of the promise of the everlasting possession of Canaan (Genesis 17:8), and the provision made by the law, that an inheritance was not to be alienated (Leviticus 25:10, Leviticus 25:13, Leviticus 25:23.), they understood it as signifying that the portion assigned to each tribe was to continue unchanged to all generations... Now, as the inheritance of their brother, i.e., their tribe-mate Zelophehad, had been given to his daughters (Numbers 27:1), if they should be chosen as wives by any of the children of the (other) tribes of Israel, i.e., should marry into another tribe, their inheritance would be taken away from the tribe-territory of Manasseh, and would be added to that of the tribe into which they were received. The suffix להם (Numbers 36:3) refers ad sensum to מטּה, the tribe regarded according to its members." (Keil and Delitzsch OT Commentary)
4 And when the Jubilee of the children of Israel comes, then their inheritance will be added to the inheritance of the tribe into which they marry; so their inheritance will be taken away from the inheritance of the tribe of our fathers.”
"In the year of Jubile, i.e. every fiftieth year, all purchased land returned to its original owners, or their descendants. But the law of Jubile would not affect the cases in which land was inherited by persons of another tribe. It would, indeed, be inherited by descendants of Zelophehad in the female line, but this would not prevent it from being permanently severed from the tribe of Manasseh." (Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges)
5 Then Moses commanded the children of Israel according to the word of the Lord, saying: “What the tribe of the sons of Joseph speaks is right. 6 This is what the Lord Commands concerning the daughters of Zelophehad, saying, ‘Let them marry whom they think best, but they may marry only within the family of their father’s tribe.’"
Let them marry whom they think best, but they may marry only within the family of their father’s tribe.. . “The direction is not altogether plain, since the tribe (matteh) contained several families (mishpachoth), and in this case one or more of the families were widely separated from the rest. Probably the words are to be read, ‘only to the tribe-family of their father,’ i.e., only into that mishpachah of Manasseh to which their father had belonged.” (Pulpit Commentary)
7 So the inheritance of the children of Israel shall not change hands from tribe to tribe, for every one of the children of Israel shall keep the inheritance of the tribe of his fathers. 8 And every daughter who possesses an inheritance in any tribe of the children of Israel shall be the wife of one of the family of her father’s tribe, so that the children of Israel each may possess the inheritance of his fathers. 9 Thus no inheritance shall change hands from one tribe to another, but every tribe of the children of Israel shall keep its own inheritance.”10 Just as the Lord commanded Moses, so did the daughters of Zelophehad; 11 for Mahlah, Tirzah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Noah, the daughters of Zelophehad, were married to the sons of their father’s brothers. 12 They were married into the families of the children of Manasseh the son of Joseph, and their inheritance remained in the tribe of their father’s family. 13 These are the commandments and the judgments which the Lord commanded the children of Israel by the hand of Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan, across from Jericho.
Moses commanded the children of Israel according to the word of the Lord— "Those who consult the oracles of God, concerning the making of their heavenly inheritance sure, shall not only be directed what to do, but their inquiries shall be graciously accepted. God would not have one tribe enriched at the expense of another. Each tribe was to keep to its own inheritance. The daughters of Zelophehad submitted to this appointment. How could they fail to marry well, when God himself directed them?" (Matthew Henry)
This law pertained to the righteous daughters of Zelophehad, without male siblings to take the role of head of house, yet who were interested in their inheritance among Israel. They were only to seek their own portions, not that of another. This was not a case of racial segregation, nor even a warning as in the New Testament- not to be unequally yoked together with unbelievers, as "the law was not applicable to daughters in different circumstances (1Ch 23:22)." (Jamieson-Fausset-Brown) This is a matter of the daughters of Zelophehad being content with their lot and being faithful by seeking only those promises made particularly to them from the Word of God. Many unrighteous sons of Adam do not seek the Lord through the precepts found His Word... and yet hearing the promises of God, try to appropriate them to themselves. It will never stand in Israel.
Just as the Lord commanded Moses, so did the daughters of Zelophehad…(10) “Perhaps Moses recorded the names of these women as a tribute to their commitment to do God's will. This testimony would have encouraged all the Israelites to do the same. ‘Rather than being haphazardly separated and/or appended to the end of the book, Numbers 27:1-11; Numbers 36:1-13 form an inclusio that frames the deliberately unfinished story of the second generation. Zelophehad’s daughters exemplified the faith that tenaciously clung to the Lord despite adverse circumstances. In contrast to the shortsightedness and concomitant unbelief of the first generation, the daughters’ eschatological outlook provided the necessary impetus for obeying the stipulations of the covenant.’ [Note: Dean R. Ulrich, 'The Framing Function of the Narratives about Zelophehad"s Daughters,']…” (Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable)
"And it happened, as He spoke these things, that a certain woman from the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, 'Blessed is the womb that bore You, and the breasts which nursed You!' But He said, 'More than that, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it!'" (Luke 11:27-28)
"My flesh and my heart fail;
But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever." (Psalm 73:26)