Numbers 36:2

2 They said, "The LORD commanded my master to give the land as an inheritance by lot to the Israelites. But my master was also commanded by the LORD to give the inheritance of Zelophehad our brother to his daughters.

Numbers 36:2 Meaning and Commentary

Numbers 36:2

And they said
One in the name of the rest:

the Lord commanded my lord;
that is, Moses, whom they address in a very respectable manner, being the chief governor of the nation under God:

to give the land for an inheritance by lot to the children of Israel;
which command may be seen, in ( Numbers 26:53-56 ) :

and my lord was commanded by the Lord to give the inheritance of
Zelophehad our brother;
or kinsman, being of the same tribe:

unto his daughters;
who sued for it, and upon Moses's consulting the Lord about it, it was ordered they should have it, ( Numbers 27:1-11 ) and which these princes observed was likely to be attended with the following inconvenience.

Numbers 36:2 In-Context

1 The leaders of the households of the clans of Gilead, Machir's son and Manasseh's grandson, of Joseph's clans, approached and spoke before Moses and the chiefs, who were the leaders of the Israelite households.

2 They said, "The LORD commanded my master to give the land as an inheritance by lot to the Israelites. But my master was also commanded by the LORD to give the inheritance of Zelophehad our brother to his daughters.

3 If they are married to someone from another Israelite tribe, their inheritance will be taken away from our household and given to another tribe into which they marry. Then it will be taken away from the lot of our inheritance.

4 At the Israelite Jubilee, their inheritance will be added to the inheritance of the tribe into which they married. Then their inheritance will be taken away from the inheritance of our ancestral tribe."

5 Then Moses commanded the Israelites according to the LORD's word: "The tribe of Joseph's descendants are correct in what they're saying.