Numbers 27:7

7 “The claim of the daughters of Zelophehad is legitimate. You must give them a grant of land along with their father’s relatives. Assign them the property that would have been given to their father.

Numbers 27:7 Meaning and Commentary

Numbers 27:7

The daughters of Zelophehad speak right
What is just and reasonable:

thou shalt surely give them a possession of an inheritance among their
father's brethren;
their uncles, or rather the children of them; for it is reasonable to suppose their father's brethren, or their uncles, were dead also: or "in giving thou shall give" F21; which, according to Jarchi, denotes two parts or portions they should receive; the part of their father, who was of them that came out of Egypt, and his part with his brethren in the goods of Hepher: in the Misnah F23, from whence he seems to have taken it, it is;

``the daughters of Zelophehad took three parts for inheritance; the part of their father, who was with them that came out of Egypt, and his part with his brethren in the goods of Hepher, and because he was the firstborn he was to take two parts:''

and though this strict command was given to Moses, yet it does not respect him personally, who lived not to enter into the land to see it divided; but him who should be his successor, and chief magistrate at the time of the division of it, which was Joshua, and of whom these ladies claimed their part, and had it, ( Joshua 17:3 Joshua 17:4 ) ,

and thou shalt cause the inheritance of their father to pass unto them;
that is, that part which would have fallen to him by lot, had he been living, these were to take, they standing in his place; and so the portion of the land he would have had was to be divided between these live daughters of his.


FOOTNOTES:

F21 (Ntt Ntn) "dando dabis", Pagninus, Montanus.
F23 Bava Bathra, c. 8. sect. 3.

Numbers 27:7 In-Context

5 So Moses brought their case before the LORD .
6 And the LORD replied to Moses,
7 “The claim of the daughters of Zelophehad is legitimate. You must give them a grant of land along with their father’s relatives. Assign them the property that would have been given to their father.
8 “And give the following instructions to the people of Israel: If a man dies and has no son, then give his inheritance to his daughters.
9 And if he has no daughter either, transfer his inheritance to his brothers.
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