Granting inheritance land to Zelophehad's daughters sets a precedent for the rights of women
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¶ And 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:
2 And 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. 3 And 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. 4 And 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. 4 - Jubile Literally "a ram's horn" because it was blown to inaugurate the year of Jubilee. le25, jos0604-. |
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- Children of Gilead The half tribe of Manesseh that did not settle
on the east side of the Jordan.
1 - Gilead "hill of testimony, (Ge 31:21), a mountainous region east of Jordan. From its mountainous character it is called "the mount of Gilead" (Ge 31:25). It is called also "the land of Gilead" (Nu 32:1), and sometimes simply "Gilead" (Ps 60:7; Ge 37:25). It comprised the possessions of the tribes of Gad and Reuben and the south part of Manasseh (De 3:13; Nu 32:40). It was bounded on the north by Bashan, and on the south by Moab and Ammon (Ge 31:21; De 3:12-17). "Half Gilead" was possessed by Sihon, and the other half, separated from it by the river Jabbok, by Og, king of Bashan. [See map.] The deep ravine of the river Hieromax (the modern Sheriat el-Mandhur) separated Bashan from Gilead, which was about 60 miles in length [100 km.] and 20 in breadth, extending from near the south end of the Lake of Gennesaret to the north end of the Dead Sea. Abarim, Pisgah, Nebo, and Peor are its mountains mentioned in Scripture." (Easton's Bible Dictionary) |
| 5 ¶ And Moses
commanded the children of Israel according to the word of the LORD, saying,
The tribe of the sons of Joseph hath said well.
6 This 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. 7 So 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. |
6 - Only ... family To keep the tribes from becoming mixed and perhaps because God wanted the genealogical record to be traceable. |
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And 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.
9 Neither 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. .10 Even as the LORD commanded Moses, so did the daughters of Zelophehad: 11 For Mahlah, Tirzah, and Hoglah, and Milcah, and Noah, the daughters of Zelophehad, were married unto their father's brothers' sons: 12 And 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. |
11 - Father's brothers' sons Or "cousins." See 1ch2322. |
| .13 These 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. | 13 - These are the commandments This endnote refers to the whole book of Deuteronomy. |
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