Numbers 36:1-4

Marriage of Female Heirs

1 The heads of the fathers' houses of the clan of the ¹people of Gilead the son of Machir, son of Manasseh, from the clans of the people of Joseph, came near and spoke before Moses and before the chiefs, the heads of the fathers' houses of the people of Israel.

2 They said, ²"The LORD commanded my lord to give the land for inheritance by lot to the people of Israel, and ³my lord was commanded by the LORD to give the inheritance of Zelophehad our brother to his daughters.

3 But if they are married to any of the sons of the other tribes of the people of Israel, then their inheritance will be taken from the inheritance of our fathers and added to the inheritance of the tribe into which they marry. So it will be taken away from the lot of our inheritance.

4 And when ⁴the jubilee of the people of Israel comes, then their inheritance will be added to the inheritance of the tribe into which they marry, and their inheritance will be taken from the inheritance of the tribe of our fathers."

Numbers 36:1-4 Meaning and Commentary

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, Nu 36:1-4, 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, Nu 36:5-9 and accordingly the daughters of Zelophehad married their father's brothers' sons, Nu 36:10-13.

Cross References

• 1. Numbers 26:29
• 2. Numbers 26:55; Numbers 33:54
• 3. Numbers 27:1, 7; Joshua 17:3, 4
• 4. Leviticus 25:10