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Numbers 36

KJV · Chapter 36/36

1And 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:

2And 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.

3And 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.

4And when the jubile 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.

5And Moses commanded the children of Israel according to the word of the Lord, saying, The tribe of the sons of Joseph hath said well.

6This 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.

7So 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.

8And 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.

9Neither 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.

10Even as the Lord commanded Moses, so did the daughters of Zelophehad:

11For Mahlah, Tirzah, and Hoglah, and Milcah, and Noah, the daughters of Zelophehad, were married unto their father’s brothers’ sons:

12And 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.

13These 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.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

Leaders of the tribe of Manasseh raise a concern about the case of Zelophehad's daughters: if they marry men from another tribe, their inherited land would pass to the husband's tribe. God resolves this by requiring that heiresses marry within their own tribe, and Zelophehad's daughters obey.

Explanation

This final chapter of Numbers elegantly resolves the tension between two important principles established earlier: the right of Zelophehad's daughters to inherit land (chapter 27) and the need to maintain the territorial integrity of each tribe across generations. The solution — that heiresses marry within their own tribe — preserves both values without nullifying either one, showing how biblical law sought a practical balance between individual justice and long-term community stability. It is significant that the book of Numbers ends with this question of territorial inheritance resolved, symbolically preparing the transition to the book of Joshua, where the land will finally be conquered and actually distributed among the tribes.

Fun facts

  • Zelophehad's daughters married 'their uncles' sons' (cousins, v. 11), a common practice at the time to keep property within the extended family, similar to what happens later in the story of Ruth and Boaz, also tied to questions of family inheritance.
  • The book of Numbers ends in a relatively administrative and legal way, a notable contrast to the intense emotional drama of earlier chapters (the rebellions, the plagues, the deaths) — showing that the biblical narrative also values the orderly, practical resolution of communal matters, not just the great dramatic moments.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Numbers 36:1The leaders of the clan of Gilead, of the tribe of Manasseh, come before Moses and the rest of the leaders of Israel with a specific concern.
  2. Numbers 36:2They acknowledge that the LORD commanded that the inheritance of Zelophehad be given to his daughters, as decided back in chapter 27, but they see a practical problem in this.
  3. Numbers 36:3The problem is that, if these daughters married men from other tribes, the inherited land would pass to the husband’s tribe, taking that portion away from the tribe of Manasseh.
  4. Numbers 36:4They further point out that, in the year of Jubilee, that change would become permanent, causing the tribe of Manasseh to lose that land for good.
  5. Numbers 36:5Moses relays the LORD’s answer to the people, acknowledging that the concern of the tribe of Joseph, through Manasseh, made sense.
  6. Numbers 36:6Returning to the case of Zelophehad’s daughters from chapter 27, the law now requires them to marry within their father’s own tribe, so that the inherited land would not pass to another tribe through marriage. It is a practical adjustment to protect the system of land division by tribe that had already been established.
  7. Numbers 36:7The solution prevents the inheritance of one tribe from passing to another, keeping each family tied to the portion of land that belonged to its ancestors.
  8. Numbers 36:8This rule becomes a general law: any woman who inherited land for lack of brothers was to marry within her father’s tribe. In this way, each tribe’s territory remained intact across generations, without mixing because of marriages between different tribes.
  9. Numbers 36:9The general principle is reinforced: no inheritance of land was to pass from one tribe to another, preserving the original territory of each one.
  10. Numbers 36:10The daughters of Zelophehad accept the condition and do exactly as the LORD had commanded through Moses.
  11. Numbers 36:11Mahlah, Tirzah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Noah end up marrying their cousins, sons of their father’s own brothers, keeping everything within the family.
  12. Numbers 36:12Since they all married within the families of Manasseh, the inheritance of land remained correctly within their father’s tribe.
  13. Numbers 36:13The book of Numbers ends with this final note: these were the commandments and judgments the LORD gave to the people of Israel through Moses, still on the plains of Moab, by the Jordan across from Jericho.

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