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Numbers 36:1

in Numbers 36

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 and addressed them,

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And the heads of the fathers’ houses of the family 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 heads of the fathers’ houses of the children of Israel:

KJV

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:

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This verse in Numbers 36

Commentary

5 notes on this verse

A commentator

John Calvin

1509–1564

Commentaries (1554)

What, then, can be the meaning of the objection, that God only half considered what was right? In my opinion, He so arranged His replies, that only when inquired of He assigned to each one his rights. The daughters of Zelophehad come, and demand justice of Moses and the elders, and God complies with their prayers.

This site's exposition

the chief fathers of the families

on Numbers 36:1-2

The heads of Gilead bring the fourth case in Numbers that the law as given does not settle, after the men defiled by a dead body at 9:6-8, the sabbath-breaker at 15:32-36, and the daughters themselves at 27:1-11. They come near and speak before Moses and the princes, which is the approach the daughters made at 27:2, so the second hearing opens the way the first one did. What they raise is a collision between two things already commanded, the land divided by lot at 26:55 and the inheritance granted to Zelophehad's daughters at 27:7.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

And the chief fathers of the families of the children of Gilead,....

The Nineteenth Century2 voices

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

Formerly they had applied, at their own instance, to be recognized, for want of male heirs in their family, as entitled to inherit their father's property [Nu 27:1-11]; now the application was made on behalf of the tribe to which they belonged--that steps might be taken to prevent the alienation of their patrimony by their alliance with husbands of another tribe.
The daughters of Zelophehad had obtained an ordinance Num 28:6-11 which permitted the daughters of an Israelite dying without male issue to inherit their father’s property. The chiefs of the Machirites, of whom Zelophehad had been one, now obtain a supplemental enactment, directing that heiresses should marry within their own tribe. Num 36:4 Be taken away - i. e. be permanently taken away. The jubilee year, by not restoring the estate to the tribe to which it originally belonged, would in effect confirm the alienation.

The words behind it

22 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.

  • וַֽיִּקְרְב֞וּand they drew near

    vaiyikrevuH7126 →280 times

  • רָאשֵׁ֣י[the] leaders of

    rasheiH7218 →599 times

  • הָֽאָב֗וֹתthe fathers

    haavotH1 →1212 times

  • לְמִשְׁפַּ֤חַתof [the] clan of

    lemishpachatH4940 →303 times

  • בְּנֵֽי־[the] descendants of

    benei-H1121 →4930 times

  • גִלְעָד֙Gilead

    giladH1568 →134 times

  • בֶּן־[the] son of

    ben-H1121 →4930 times

  • מָכִ֣ירMakir

    makhirH4353 →22 times

  • בֶּן־[the] son of

    ben-H1121 →4930 times

  • מְנַשֶּׁ֔הManasseh

    menashehH4519 →146 times

  • מִֽמִּשְׁפְּחֹ֖תfrom [the] clans of

    mimishpechotH4940 →303 times

  • בְּנֵ֣י[the] descendants of

    beneiH1121 →4930 times

  • יוֹסֵ֑ףJoseph

    yosefH3130 →213 times

  • וַֽיְדַבְּר֞וּand they spoke

    vaydaberuH1696 →1141 times

  • לִפְנֵ֤י<to> before

    lifneiH6440 →2123 times

  • מֹשֶׁה֙Moses

    moshehH4872 →765 times

  • וְלִפְנֵ֣יand <to> before

    velifneiH6440 →2123 times

  • הַנְּשִׂאִ֔יםthe leaders

    hanesiimH5387 →134 times

  • רָאשֵׁ֥יheads of

    rasheiH7218 →599 times

  • אָב֖וֹתfathers

    ʾavotH1 →1212 times

  • לִבְנֵ֥יof [the] people of

    livneiH1121 →4930 times

  • יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃Israel

    yisraelH3478 →2507 times

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

Related verses

5 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Numbers 27:1Now 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 approached3 worksExodus 18:22Have these men judge the people at all times. Then they can bring you any major issue, but all minor cases they can judge on their own, so that your load may be lightened as they share it with you.3 worksNumbers 26:29These were the descendants of Manasseh: The Machirite clan from Machir, the father of Gilead, and the Gileadite clan from Gilead.3 works1 Chronicles 7:14–16The descendants of Manasseh: Through his Aramean concubine, Asriel, as well as Machir the father of Gilead.2 worksJoshua 17:2–3So this allotment was for the rest of the descendants of Manasseh—the clans of Abiezer, Helek, Asriel, Shechem, Hepher, and Shemida. These are the other male descendants of the clans of Manasseh son of Joseph.2 works

The walk

5 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

    Numbers 27:1

    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…

    it leads to

    • 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.

    • Galatians 3:28

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

    • 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…

    • 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.

    • Joshua 17:3–6

      But Zelophehad son of Hepher (the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh) had no sons but only daughters. These are the names of his daughters: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah,…

Where this verse is studied

About Numbers

The Bronze Serpent, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
The Bronze Serpent, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
Numbers: the study guide →Read Numbers 36 →

This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Calvin, Commentaries; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

Read on in Numbers 36 →