Numbers 36:1-8

1 And the princes of the fathers of the families of the sons of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, of the families of the sons of Joseph, came near and spoke before Moses and before the princes, the heads of the fathers of the sons of Israel,
2 and they said, The LORD commanded my lord to give the land for an inheritance by lot to the sons of Israel; and my lord was also commanded by the LORD to give the inheritance of Zelophehad, our brother unto his daughters.
3 And if they become married to any of the sons of the other tribes of the sons of Israel, then their inheritance shall be taken from the inheritance of our fathers and shall be put to the inheritance of the tribe unto which they are received; so shall it be taken from the lot of our inheritance.
4 And when the jubilee of the sons of Israel shall come, then shall their inheritance be put unto the inheritance of the tribe unto which they are received; so shall their inheritance be taken away from the inheritance of the tribe of our fathers.
5 Then Moses commanded the sons of Israel according to the word of the LORD, saying, The tribe of the sons of Joseph has spoken well.
6 This is the thing which the LORD commands concerning the daughters of Zelophehad, saying, Let them marry as they desire; but they shall marry only within the family of the tribe of their father
7 so that the inheritance of the sons of Israel shall not be passed from tribe to tribe; for each one of the sons of Israel shall cleave to the inheritance of the tribe of his fathers.
8 And any daughter, that possesses an inheritance in any tribe of the sons of Israel, shall marry one of the family of the tribe of her father so that each man of the sons of Israel may possess the inheritance of his fathers.

Numbers 36:1-8 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO NUMBERS 36

This chapter gives an account of an application made by the heads of the tribe of Manasseh, concerning the inheritances of the daughters of Zelophehad, which, should they marry into other tribes, would be removed thither, and so be a loss to theirs, Nu 36:1-4, which case was judged worthy of regard; and to remedy this inconvenience, they were ordered to marry into the family of their father's tribe, and this was to be a law to all heiresses for the future in other tribes, Nu 36:5-9 and accordingly the daughters of Zelophehad married their father's brothers' sons, Nu 36:10-13.

The Jubilee Bible (from the Scriptures of the Reformation), edited by Russell M. Stendal, Copyright © 2000, 2001, 2010