Numbers 27:3

3 “Our father died in the wilderness. He was not among Korah’s followers, who banded together against the LORD, but he died for his own sin and left no sons.

Numbers 27:3 in Other Translations

3 Our father died in the wilderness, and he was not in the company of them that gathered themselves together against the LORD in the company of Korah; but died in his own sin, and had no sons.

3 "Our father died in the wilderness. He was not among the company of those who gathered themselves together against the LORD in the company of Korah, but died for his own sin. And he had no sons.

3 “Our father died in the wilderness,” they said. “He was not among Korah’s followers, who rebelled against the LORD ; he died because of his own sin. But he had no sons.

3 "Our father died in the wilderness. He wasn't part of Korah's rebel anti-God gang. He died for his own sins. And he left no sons.

3 "Our father died in the wilderness, but he was not among Korah's followers, who gathered together against the Lord. Instead, he died because of his own sin, and he had no sons.

Numbers 27:3 Meaning and Commentary

Numbers 27:3

Our father died in the wilderness
As all the generation of the children of Israel did, that came out of Egypt, who were twenty years old and upwards, excepting Joshua and Caleb:

and he was not in the company of them that gathered themselves together
against the Lord in the company of Korah;
which is observed, not so much to obtain the favour and good will of Moses as to clear the memory of their father from any reproach upon it, he dying in the wilderness; and chiefly to show that the claim of his posterity to a share in the land was not forfeited, he not being in that rebellion, nor in any other; so that he and his were never under any attainder:

but died in his own sin;
which though common to all men, every man has his own peculiar way of sinning, and is himself only answerable for it, ( Isaiah 53:6 ) ( Ezekiel 18:4 ) he sinned alone, had no partner or confederate, whom he had drawn into any notorious and public sin, as mutiny to the prejudice of the state, and the rulers in it; so the Targum of Jonathan adds,

``and he did not cause others to sin,''

so Jarchi; some take him to be the sabbath breaker, ( Numbers 15:32 ) , others that he was one of those that went up the hill, ( Numbers 14:44 Numbers 14:45 ) , most likely his sin was that of unbelief, disbelieving the spies that brought the good report of the land, and giving credit to those that brought an ill report of it; and so with the rest of the people murmured, for which his carcass, with others, fell in the wilderness, and entered not into the good land, through unbelief: a sin not punished in their children:

and had no sons.
which was the reason of this application.

Numbers 27:3 In-Context

1 The daughters of Zelophehad son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Makir, the son of Manasseh, belonged to the clans of Manasseh son of Joseph. The names of the daughters were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milkah and Tirzah. They came forward

2 and stood before Moses, Eleazar the priest, the leaders and the whole assembly at the entrance to the tent of meeting and said,

3 “Our father died in the wilderness. He was not among Korah’s followers, who banded together against the LORD, but he died for his own sin and left no sons.

4 Why should our father’s name disappear from his clan because he had no son? Give us property among our father’s relatives.”

5 So Moses brought their case before the LORD,

Cross References

• 1. Numbers 26:65
• 2. Numbers 16:2
• 3. Numbers 26:33