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Numbers 27:1

in Numbers 27

Now the daughters of Zelophehad son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, belonged to the clans of Manasseh son of Joseph. These were the names of his daughters: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. They approached

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV

ASV

Then drew near the daughters of Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, of the families of Manasseh the son of Joseph; and these are the names of his daughters: Mahlah, Noah, and Hoglah, and Milcah, and Tirzah.

KJV

Then came the daughters of Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, of the families of Manasseh the son of Joseph: and these are the names of his daughters; Mahlah, Noah, and Hoglah, and Milcah, and Tirzah.

This verse in Numbers 27

Commentary

4 notes on this verse
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.

This site's exposition

Then came the daughters of Zelophehad

on Numbers 27:1-2

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.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

Then came the daughters of Zelophehad,....

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

proposed

The daughters of Zelophehad - The singular case of these women caused an additional law to be made to the civil code of Israel, which satisfactorily ascertained and amply secured the right of succession in cases of inheritance. The law, which is as reasonable as it is just, stands thus: 1. On the demise of the father the estate goes to the sons; 2. If there be no son, the daughters succeed; 3. If there be no daughter, the brothers of the deceased inherit; 4. If there be no brethren or paternal uncles, the estate goes to the brothers of his father; 5. If there be no grand uncles or brothers of the father of the deceased, then the nearest akin succeeds to the inheritance. Beyond the fifth degree the law does not proceed, because as the families of the Israelites were kept distinct in their respective tribes, there must always be some who could be called kinsmen, and were really such, having descended without interruption from the patriarch of the tribe.

The words behind it

23 Hebrew words

Every Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

  • וַתִּקְרַ֜בְנָהand they drew near

    vatikravnahH7126280 times

  • בְּנ֣וֹת[the] daughters of

    benotH1323588 times

  • צְלָפְחָ֗דZelophehad

    tzelafechadH676511 times

  • בֶּן־[the] son of

    ben-H11214930 times

  • חֵ֤פֶרHepher

    cheferH26609 times

  • בֶּן־[the] son of

    ben-H11214930 times

  • גִּלְעָד֙Gilead

    giladH1568134 times

  • בֶּן־[the] son of

    ben-H11214930 times

  • מָכִ֣ירMakir

    makhirH435322 times

  • בֶּן־[the] son of

    ben-H11214930 times

  • מְנַשֶּׁ֔הManasseh

    menashehH4519146 times

  • לְמִשְׁפְּחֹ֖תof [the] clans of

    lemishpechotH4940303 times

  • מְנַשֶּׁ֣הManasseh

    menashehH4519146 times

  • בֶן־[the] son of

    ven-H11214930 times

  • יוֹסֵ֑ףJoseph

    yosefH3130213 times

  • וְאֵ֙לֶּה֙and these

    veelehH428746 times

  • שְׁמ֣וֹת[were] [the] names of

    shemotH8034864 times

  • בְּנֹתָ֔יוdaughters his

    benotavH1323588 times

  • מַחְלָ֣הMahlah

    machlahH42445 times

  • נֹעָ֔הNoah

    noahH52704 times

  • וְחָגְלָ֥הand Hoglah

    vechagelahH22954 times

  • וּמִלְכָּ֖הand Milcah

    umilkahH443511 times

  • וְתִרְצָֽה׃and Tirzah

    vetirtzahH865618 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

The walk

8 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    Galatians 3:28

    There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

    it leads to

    • 1 Corinthians 12:12–13

      The body is a unit, though it is composed of many parts. And although its parts are many, they all form one body. So it is with Christ.

    • Colossians 3:11

      Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, or free, but Christ is all and is in all.

    • Romans 3:29–30

      Is God the God of Jews only? Is He not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too,

    • Galatians 5:6

      For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. All that matters is faith, expressed through love.

    • Romans 10:12–15

      For there is no difference between Jew and Greek: The same Lord is Lord of all, and gives richly to all who call on Him,

  • Through

    1 Chronicles 7:15

    Machir took a wife from among the Huppites and Shuppites. The name of his sister was Maacah. Another descendant was named Zelophehad, who had only daughters.

    it leads to

    • Numbers 36:1–12

      Now the family heads of the clan of Gilead son of Machir son of Manasseh, one of the clans of Joseph, approached Moses and the leaders who were the heads of the Israelite families…

    • Numbers 26:33

      Now Zelophehad son of Hepher had no sons but only daughters. The names of his daughters were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah.

    • Numbers 27:1–11

      Now the daughters of Zelophehad son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, belonged to the clans of Manasseh son of Joseph. These were the names of…

Where this verse is studied

On this page

About Numbers

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch.