Numbers 27:10
in Numbers 27If he has no brothers, give his inheritance to his father’s brothers.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And if he have no brethren, then ye shall give his inheritance unto his father’s brethren.
KJV
And if he have no brethren, then ye shall give his inheritance unto his father’s brethren.
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This verse in Numbers 27
Commentary
5 notes on this verseNo 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.
This site's exposition
If he has no daughter
on Numbers 27:9-11
The law sets an order of succession: son, daughter, brothers, father's brothers, then "the next of kin from his clan". Every step stays inside the father's house, and the order stands as "a statutory ordinance for the Israelites".
This site's exposition
give his inheritance to his father’s brothers
John Gill takes the father's brothers to include their children, so the line runs to uncles and cousins. Matthew Henry reports the Jewish teaching that a living father inherits before the brothers, a step he finds absent from the written law.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
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.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-scripture
And if he have no brethren,.... Nor any descendants from them: then ye shall give his inheritance unto his father's brethren; that is, to his uncles, and to their children.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
If he has no brothers, you shall give his hereditary property to his father’s brothers.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
The meaning thereof is that this judgment should be for all [future] generations, and not only for now when they inherited the Land [hence the expression “ a statute, i.e., a permanent one, for all the children of Israel in all future generations”].
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 6 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
9 Hebrew wordsEvery 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.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְאִם־ | veim- | and if | H518 → | 1069 times |
| אֵ֥ין | ʾein | not | H369 → | 789 times |
| ל֖וֹ | lo | [belong] to <the> him | ||
| אַחִ֑ים | ʾachim | brothers | H251 → | 630 times |
| וּנְתַתֶּ֥ם | unetatem | and you will give | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| נַחֲלָת֖וֹ | nachalato | inheritance his | H5159 → | 222 times |
| לַאֲחֵ֥י | laachei | to [the] brothers of | H251 → | 630 times |
| אָבִֽיו׃ | ʾaviv | father his | H1 → | 1212 times |
וְאִם־and if
veim-H518 →1069 times
אֵ֥יןnot
ʾeinH369 →789 times
ל֖וֹ[belong] to <the> him
lo
אַחִ֑יםbrothers
ʾachimH251 →630 times
וּנְתַתֶּ֥םand you will give
unetatemH5414 →2011 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
נַחֲלָת֖וֹinheritance his
nachalatoH5159 →222 times
לַאֲחֵ֥יto [the] brothers of
laacheiH251 →630 times
אָבִֽיו׃father his
ʾavivH1 →1212 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
Where this verse is studied
About Numbers
This page draws on John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch; Matthew Henry, Complete Commentary and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.