Numberschapter 27
23 verses · Moses, by tradition · 15th to 13th century BC · The Law
Key verse
“May the LORD, the God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the congregation
It stands in Hands laid on Joshua before them all, verses 15 to 23.
The chapter
Chapter summary
The daughters of Zelophehad and the commissioning of Joshua. Five daughters come before Moses and Eleazar with a request: their father died without sons; ‘give unto us therefore a possession among the brethren of our father’. Moses brings their cause before the LORD; they shall inherit. A statute of judgment for generations. Then Moses is told to go up Mount Abarim and see the land; he will not enter. He requests a successor: ‘a man over the congregation’. Joshua son of Nun is chosen, a man in whom the Spirit is; hands laid on him in the sight of Eleazar; he receives Moses' honour. The leadership transition is set in motion.
Context
Law · Moses · Numbers overview
The world behind this chapter
Numbers 27The history
The chapter belongs to five women and to two men. Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah and Tirzah were the daughters of Zelophehad of the tribe of Manasseh, and the other two are Moses and Joshua.
The time is the fortieth year, directly after the census of chapter 26, which is the one place in either census where daughters are listed.
The place is the entrance of the tent of meeting, in front of Moses, Eleazar, the leaders and the whole assembly, and then a height in the Abarim range that Deuteronomy 32:49 names as Nebo.
The rest of the history, and what it meant to them
The occasion is the division of land that the census was taken to make possible, and a household with no son stood to lose its name and its holding.
A first hearer knew that land normally passed from father to son. He also knew the workarounds other legal systems used, the adoption of a son in law, or a daughter given a legal standing as a son. Arrangements of that kind are documented in family archives from Mesopotamian towns such as Nuzi.
He knew what the sisters were doing when they separated their father from the company of Korah. That put him under the general sentence of 14:29 rather than under a particular judgment, and it is a legal move rather than a family memory.
And he knew what laying on hands in the sight of the assembly meant. Authority was transferred in public, and the limit set at verse 21 was public too, that Joshua would stand before Eleazar the priest for guidance.
What it meant to them
Israel saw that the law was open. Five women with no political standing raised a real problem, and the ruling was changed in their favour before the land was ever divided.
They also saw a leader told he would die outside the land spend his next breath on who would take care of the people. That is the note the transfer of power was set in.
Sources cited
- John H. Walton, Victor H. Matthews and Mark W. Chavalas, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: Old Testament
- Roland de Vaux, Ancient Israel: Its Life and Institutions
- John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament , 1748 to 1763, on Numbers 27:8
Where the chapter sits
Numbers 27 falls in Second census and preparations (chapters 26–36). A new generation numbered; inheritance laws; Joshua commissioned; cities of refuge and tribal boundaries.
Before it: Approach to Moab, chapters 21–25.
The whole shape of Numbers→The structure of this chapter
The heads below are this chapter's scenes. The numbered points under each are its verses.
A. The daughters who asked for a portion
1. (vv. 1-2)
Numbers 27:1
“Women in Israel had not, up to the present time, enjoyed any distinct right of inheritance. Yet a father, whether sons had been born to him or not, had the power, either before or at his death, to cause part of his estate to pass to a daughter; in which case her husband married into her family rather than she into his, and the children were regarded as of the family from which the estate had come.”
Numbers 27:2
“By the door of the tabernacle of the congregation - The place of solemn assembly of the elders. The daughters of Zelophehad made their suit to the princes, the heads of tribes and of families, who were making the census under the superintendence of Moses and Eleazar.”
1 more voice on this verse
Numbers 27:2
“To them these young ladies made their application; for it is the duty of magistrates to defend the fatherless, Ps. lxxxii. We find not that the had any advocate to speak for them, but they managed their own cause ingeniously enough, which they could do the better because it was plain and honest, and spoke for itself.”
Matthew Henry· Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
The census just finished had already named these five women at Numbers 26:33, the one place in either census where daughters are listed, and here they come and stand. Their descent is given back four generations to Manasseh and to Joseph, so what they claim is a portion of a named tribe rather than land in general. They stand at the door of the tabernacle before Moses, Eleazar, the princes and the whole congregation, which puts a family inheritance question in front of the entire assembly.
2. (vv. 3-4)
Numbers 27:3
“But died in his own sin - i. e., perished under the general sentence of exclusion from the land of promise passed on all the older generation, but limited to that generation alone. By virtue of the declaration in Num 14:31 the daughters of Zelophehad claim that their father’s sin should not be visited upon them.”
Numbers 27:4
“Be done away - As it will be, if it be not preserved by an inheritance given to us in his name and for his sake. Hence some gather, that the first son of each of these heiresses was called by their father's name, by virtue of that law, Deut. xxv, 6, whereby the brother's first son was to bear the name of his elder brother, whose widow he married.”
John Wesley· Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
Numbers 27:4
“A distribution of the promised land was about to be made; and it is interesting to know the legal provision made in these comparatively rare cases for preserving a patrimony from being alienated to another tribe.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown· Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
The case is argued in two moves and both of them are legal. They separate their father from the company of Korah in Numbers 16 so that no charge of rebellion attaches to his house, and they say he died in his own sin, which places him under the general sentence of Numbers 14:29 rather than under a particular judgment. Barnes reads the claim as resting on Numbers 14:31, where the children of that generation were promised the land their parents refused. What they ask for is their father's name kept in his family, and the possession is the means of keeping it.
3. (vv. 5-6)
Numbers 27:5
“And the Lord spake unto Moses,.... From off the mercy seat, where he consulted him, and from whence he promised to commune with him about any difficult matter that came before him, Exo 25:22, saying; as follows.”
Moses hears a case he has no law for and leaves it undecided. This is the third time in Numbers that a situation arises which the law does not cover, after the men defiled by a dead body at 9:6-8 and the sabbath-breaker at 15:32-36, and Numbers 9:8 gives the shape of all of them, I will hear what the LORD will command concerning you. Gill takes the answer of verse 6 as spoken from off the mercy seat, on the promise of Exodus 25:22 and as Numbers 7:89 records it happening.
4. (vv. 7-8)
Numbers 27:7
“Thou shalt surely give them - an inheritance among their father’s brethren - There is a curious anomaly here in the Hebrew text which cannot be seen in our translation. In Hebrew they, them, and their, you, ye, and your, are both of the masculine and feminine genders, according as the nouns are to which they are affixed; but these words are of no gender in English. In this verse, speaking of the brethren of the father of those women, the masculine termination הם hem, Their, is used instead of the feminine, הן hen, governed by בנות benoth, daughters.”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
Numbers 27:7
“It should seem, by the particular notice taken of it, that it was a singular case, and that the like did not at this time occur in all Israel, that the head of a family had no sons, but daughters only. Their case is again debated ( ch. xxxvi. ) upon another article of it; and, according to the judgments given in their case, we find them put in possession, Josh. xvii.”
Matthew Henry· Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Numbers 27:8
“And thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel,.... The above affair occasioned a law to be made, in which all the people would have a concern, among whom such cases should happen, as after related: saying, if a man die, and have no son, then ye shall cause his inheritance to pass unto his daughter; as in the above case of the daughters of Zelophehad; what was determined as to their particular case was made into a general law.”
The ruling goes further than the request. They asked for their father's portion, and verse 8 turns the particular case into a standing law for every man in Israel who dies leaving no son. Gill notes that what was determined in their case was made into a general law, so a petition brought by five women without an advocate becomes the inheritance rule of the nation. The same verdict of having spoken right is given to the tribe of Joseph at Numbers 36:5, when they come to object to this very ruling.
5. (vv. 9-11)
Numbers 27:9
“13 And when thou hast seen it, thou also shalt be gathered unto thy people, as Aaron thy brother was gathered. 14 For ye rebelled against my commandment in the desert of Zin, in the strife of the congregation, to sanctify me at the water before their eyes: that is the water of Meribah in Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin.”
Matthew Henry· Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
1 more voice on this verse
Numbers 27:9
“And if he have no daughter,....”
Numbers 27:10
“No brethren -- nor sisters, as appears from ver. 8. A statute of judgment - A statute or rule, by which the magistrates shall give judgment in such cases.”
John Wesley· Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)evangelical
Numbers 27:11
“And if his father have no brethren,....”
The law is then written out as an order of succession, son, daughter, brothers, father's brothers, and then the nearest kinsman of the family. Every step stays inside the father's house, so the land holds still where the tribal allotment put it. Calling it a statute of judgment makes it a rule the magistrates decide by rather than a single ruling, and chapter 36 finds its limit when the fathers of Manasseh object that a daughter's marriage would carry her land into another tribe.
B. Climb the mountain and look at the land
1. (vv. 12-13)
Numbers 27:12
“The Lord said unto Moses, Get thee up into this mount Abarim, and see the land--Although the Israelites were now on the confines of the promised land, Moses was not privileged to cross the Jordan, but died on one of the Moabitic range of mountains, to which the general name of Abarim was given (Nu 33:47).”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown· Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Numbers 27:13
“And when thou hast seen it,.... Which was all he was admitted to; for to go into it and see it was not allowed him, though he importuned it, Deu 3:25, thou shalt be gathered unto thy people, as Aaron thy brother was gathered; die as he did, in the same sudden, easy, quiet, and cheerful manner; see Num 20:26.”
A ruling about who inherits stands next to a man being told he inherits nothing. Moses is sent up mount Abarim to see the land, and Deuteronomy 32:49 names the height as Nebo while Deuteronomy 34:1 calls it Pisgah. Gathered unto thy people, as Aaron thy brother was gathered, points back to Numbers 20:23-28, where Aaron died on Hor with his garments already transferred to his son.
2. (v. 14)
Numbers 27:14
“If Aaron and Moses (who seemed to waver at the waters of contradiction) did not deserve to enter the Promised Land, does it not stand to reason that we, bent under the burden of sin, shall be far less able to cross the river Jordan and reach Gilgal, the place of circumcision, if we shall cause one of these little ones to sin?”
Jerome· written before 420· HOMILY 90patristic
The reason given here is the strife at Meribah in the desert of Zin, where Moses was told to speak to the rock at Numbers 20:8 and struck it twice instead. This verse charges him with rebelling against the commandment and with failing to sanctify God at the water before their eyes, and Numbers 20:12 puts it as unbelief. Moses himself gives it differently when he tells Israel at Deuteronomy 1:37, 3:26 and 4:21 that the LORD was angry with him for your sakes. Both accounts stand in the canon and neither chapter reconciles them.
C. Hands laid on Joshua before them all
1. (vv. 15-16)
Numbers 27:15
“And Moses spake unto the Lord,.... Having requested to go into the land and see it, which was denied him; and perceiving he must quickly die, and being a man of a public spirit, and concerned for the welfare of the people of Israel, prays that a successor might be nominated and appointed: saying; as follows.”
1 more voice on this verse
Numbers 27:15
“And Moses spake unto the Lord - Concerning his successor. We should concern ourselves both in our prayers and in our endeavours for the rising generation, that God's kingdom may be advanced among men, when we are in our graves.”
John Wesley· Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)evangelical
Numbers 27:16
“The God of the spirits of all flesh - An acknowledgment that man, who is but flesh (compare Gen 6:3), is of himself helpless; and “lives and moves and has his being” in God Act 17:28. The words are suitably employed here to introduce an entreaty that God would not leave the congregation without a guide and leader, and in Num 16:22 as a preface to an intercession that the whole people should not suffer for the sin of a, few.”
Moses answers the sentence by asking for a successor, and the request is made for the people. Deuteronomy 3:23-26 records that he also pleaded to be allowed over Jordan and was refused, which Numbers does not report, and both accounts stand. He addresses God as the God of the spirits of all flesh, the title he and Aaron used on their faces at Numbers 16:22 when the whole congregation stood to be destroyed. Barnes reads the title as an acknowledgment that the men who need a leader are flesh and helpless of themselves.
2. (v. 17)
Numbers 27:17
“That the congregation of the Lord be not as sheep which have no shepherd - This is a beautiful expression, and shows us in what light Moses viewed himself among his people. He was their shepherd; he sought no higher place; he fed and guided the flock of God under the direction of the Divine Spirit, and was faithful in all his Master’s house. To this saying of Moses our Lord alludes, Mat 9:36.”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
Numbers 27:17
“Go out before them - That is, who may wisely conduct them in all their affairs, both when they go forth to war, or upon other occasions, and when they return home and live in peace.”
John Wesley· Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)evangelical
Going out and coming in before them is the Hebrew way of naming the whole of a leader's public conduct, in war and out of it. The reason Moses gives is that the congregation be not as sheep which have no shepherd. Micaiah uses those words of a leaderless Israel at 1 Kings 22:17, Ezekiel 34:5 turns them into a charge against the shepherds themselves, and Matthew 9:36 puts them in the mouth of Christ over the crowds. Clarke reads the request as Moses describing the office he had filled himself.
3. (vv. 18-19)
Numbers 27:18
“This was done in token of Moses' transferring the government to him, as the laying of hands on the sacrifice put the offering in the place and stead of the offerer; also in token of God's conferring the blessing of the Spirit upon him, which Moses obtained by prayer. It is said ( Deut. xxxiv. 9 ), Joshua was full of the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands on him.”
Matthew Henry· Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
1 more voice on this verse
Numbers 27:18
“In whom is the spirit - This must certainly mean the Spirit of God; and because he was endued with this Spirit, therefore he was capable of leading the people. How miserably qualified is that man for the work of God who is not guided and influenced by the Holy Ghost! God never chooses a man to accomplish his designs but that one whom he himself has qualified for the work.”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Numbers 27:19
“And set him before Eleazar the priest, and before all the congregation,....”
1 more voice on this verse
Numbers 27:19
“He must be charged with the people of Israel, who were delivered into his hand as sheep into the hand of a shepherd, and for whom he must be accountable. He must be strictly charged to do his duty to them; though they were under his command, he was under God's command, and from him must receive charge. The highest must know that there is a higher than they.”
Matthew Henry· Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
The reason given for Joshua is a man in whom is the spirit, and it is the only qualification the verse names. Joshua had fought Amalek at Exodus 17:9, stayed in the tent when Moses left it at Exodus 33:11, and stood with Caleb against the ten spies at Numbers 14:6-9, so the camp had watched him for forty years. Moses lays his hand on him, and Deuteronomy 34:9 says Joshua was full of the spirit of wisdom because Moses had laid his hands upon him. The charge is given in their sight, so the congregation watches the transfer rather than hearing about it later.
4. (vv. 20-21)
Numbers 27:20
“And thou shalt put, etc. - מחודך mechodecha, of thine honor or authority upon him. Thou shalt show to the whole congregation that thou hast associated him with thyself in the government of the people.”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Numbers 27:21
“And he shall stand before Eleazar the priest ... - Joshua was thus to be inferior to what Moses had been. For Moses had enjoyed the privilege of unrestricted direct contact with God: Joshua, like all future rulers of Israel, was to ask counsel mediately, through the High Priest and those means of inquiring of God wherewith the high priest was entrusted. Such counsel Joshua seems to have omitted to seek when he concluded his hasty treaty with the Gibeonites (Jos 9:3 ff). Judgment of Urim - See Exo 28:30 note.”
1 more voice on this verse
Numbers 27:21
“Who shall ask counsel for him - When he requires him to do so, and in important and difficult matters. Of Urim - Urim is put for both Urim and Thummim.”
John Wesley· Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)evangelical
Some of thine honour is what passes to Joshua, and verse 21 shows where the difference falls. Joshua stands before Eleazar, who asks counsel for him by the judgment of Urim, while Moses had been spoken with mouth to mouth at Numbers 12:8. Barnes reads this as setting Joshua below Moses and alongside every ruler after him, inquiring of God through the high priest, and he points to Joshua 9:14, where that counsel went unasked and the treaty with the Gibeonites followed. The honour is put on him so that the congregation will obey, which the verse gives as the stated purpose.
5. (vv. 22-23)
Numbers 27:22
“And Moses did as the Lord commanded him - It had been little to resign his honour to a son of his own. But with his own hands, first to ordain Eleazar high-priest, and now Joshua chief ruler, while his own children had no preferment at all, but were left in the rank of common Levites: this was more to his glory than the highest advancement of his family could have been.”
John Wesley· Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)evangelical
Numbers 27:23
“And he laid his hands upon him,....”
The doing is recorded in the same words as the command. He lays his hands on Joshua, plural here where verse 18 said hand, and gives him the charge before Eleazar and the whole assembly. Moses had two sons, Gershom and Eliezer, and 1 Chronicles 23:14-15 leaves their line among the ordinary Levites, so the government passes out of his family in front of the nation that watched him lead it. Henry reads the ordination as Moses willing that the people should look away from him to the man coming after.
This page carries no textual note on Numbers 27. Where this site has examined a place the manuscripts differ, the examination is in the manuscripts room. Every place this site examines →
Sources for this chapter
The summary
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory; John Calvin, Commentaries; John Wesley, Notes on the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Complete Commentary.
The exposition
Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Calvin, Commentary on the Four Last Books of Moses Arranged in the Form of a Harmony; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
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