Worthy.Bible » Parallel » Numbers » Chapter 36 » Verse 1-13

Numbers 36:1-13 King James Version (KJV)

1 And the chief fathers of the families of the children of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, of the families of the sons of Joseph, came near, and spake before Moses, and before the princes, the chief fathers of the children of Israel:

2 And they said, The LORD commanded my lord to give the land for an inheritance by lot to the children of Israel: and my lord was commanded by the LORD to give the inheritance of Zelophehad our brother unto his daughters.

3 And if they be married to any of the sons of the other tribes of the children of Israel, then shall their inheritance be taken from the inheritance of our fathers, and shall be put to the inheritance of the tribe whereunto they are received: so shall it be taken from the lot of our inheritance.

4 And when the jubilee of the children of Israel shall be, then shall their inheritance be put unto the inheritance of the tribe whereunto they are received: so shall their inheritance be taken away from the inheritance of the tribe of our fathers.

5 And Moses commanded the children of Israel according to the word of the LORD, saying, The tribe of the sons of Joseph hath said well.

6 This is the thing which the LORD doth command concerning the daughters of Zelophehad, saying, Let them marry to whom they think best; only to the family of the tribe of their father shall they marry.

7 So shall not the inheritance of the children of Israel remove from tribe to tribe: for every one of the children of Israel shall keep himself to the inheritance of the tribe of his fathers.

8 And every daughter, that possesseth an inheritance in any tribe of the children of Israel, shall be wife unto one of the family of the tribe of her father, that the children of Israel may enjoy every man the inheritance of his fathers.

9 Neither shall the inheritance remove from one tribe to another tribe; but every one of the tribes of the children of Israel shall keep himself to his own inheritance.

10 Even as the LORD commanded Moses, so did the daughters of Zelophehad:

11 For Mahlah, Tirzah, and Hoglah, and Milcah, and Noah, the daughters of Zelophehad, were married unto their father's brothers' sons:

12 And they were married into the families of the sons of Manasseh the son of Joseph, and their inheritance remained in the tribe of the family of their father.

13 These are the commandments and the judgments, which the LORD commanded by the hand of Moses unto the children of Israel in the plains of Moab by Jordan near Jericho.


Numbers 36:1-13 King James Version with Strong's Concordance (STRONG)

1 And the chief H7218 fathers H1 of the families H4940 of the children H1121 of Gilead, H1568 the son H1121 of Machir, H4353 the son H1121 of Manasseh, H4519 of the families H4940 of the sons H1121 of Joseph, H3130 came near, H7126 and spake H1696 before H6440 Moses, H4872 and before H6440 the princes, H5387 the chief H7218 fathers H1 of the children H1121 of Israel: H3478

2 And they said, H559 The LORD H3068 commanded H6680 my lord H113 to give H5414 the land H776 for an inheritance H5159 by lot H1486 to the children H1121 of Israel: H3478 and my lord H113 was commanded H6680 by the LORD H3068 to give H5414 the inheritance H5159 of Zelophehad H6765 our brother H251 unto his daughters. H1323

3 And if they be married H802 to any H259 of the sons H1121 of the other tribes H7626 of the children H1121 of Israel, H3478 then shall their inheritance H5159 be taken H1639 from the inheritance H5159 of our fathers, H1 and shall be put H3254 to the inheritance H5159 of the tribe H4294 whereunto they are received: so shall it be taken H1639 from the lot H1486 of our inheritance. H5159

4 And when the jubile H3104 of the children H1121 of Israel H3478 shall be, then shall their inheritance H5159 be put H3254 unto the inheritance H5159 of the tribe H4294 whereunto they are received: so shall their inheritance H5159 be taken away H1639 from the inheritance H5159 of the tribe H4294 of our fathers. H1

5 And Moses H4872 commanded H6680 the children H1121 of Israel H3478 according to the word H6310 of the LORD, H3068 saying, H559 The tribe H4294 of the sons H1121 of Joseph H3130 hath said H1696 well.

6 This is the thing H1697 which the LORD H3068 doth command H6680 concerning the daughters H1323 of Zelophehad, H6765 saying, H559 Let them marry H802 to whom they think H5869 best; H2896 only to the family H4940 of the tribe H4294 of their father H1 shall they marry. H802

7 So shall not the inheritance H5159 of the children H1121 of Israel H3478 remove H5437 from tribe H4294 to tribe: H4294 for every one H376 of the children H1121 of Israel H3478 shall keep H1692 himself to the inheritance H5159 of the tribe H4294 of his fathers. H1

8 And every daughter, H1323 that possesseth H3423 an inheritance H5159 in any tribe H4294 of the children H1121 of Israel, H3478 shall be wife H802 unto one H259 of the family H4940 of the tribe H4294 of her father, H1 that the children H1121 of Israel H3478 may enjoy H3423 every man H376 the inheritance H5159 of his fathers. H1

9 Neither shall the inheritance H5159 remove H5437 from one tribe H4294 to another H312 tribe; H4294 but every one H376 of the tribes H4294 of the children H1121 of Israel H3478 shall keep H1692 himself to his own inheritance. H5159

10 Even as the LORD H3068 commanded H6680 Moses, H4872 so did H6213 the daughters H1323 of Zelophehad: H6765

11 For Mahlah, H4244 Tirzah, H8656 and Hoglah, H2295 and Milcah, H4435 and Noah, H5270 the daughters H1323 of Zelophehad, H6765 were married H802 unto their father's H1730 brothers' sons: H1121

12 And they were married H802 into the families H4940 of the sons H1121 of Manasseh H4519 the son H1121 of Joseph, H3130 and their inheritance H5159 remained in the tribe H4294 of the family H4940 of their father. H1

13 These are the commandments H4687 and the judgments, H4941 which the LORD H3068 commanded H6680 by the hand H3027 of Moses H4872 unto the children H1121 of Israel H3478 in the plains H6160 of Moab H4124 by Jordan H3383 near Jericho. H3405


Numbers 36:1-13 American Standard (ASV)

1 And the heads of the fathers' `houses' of the family of the children of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, of the families of the sons of Joseph, came near, and spake before Moses, and before the princes, the heads of the fathers' `houses' of the children of Israel:

2 and they said, Jehovah commanded my lord to give the land for inheritance by lot to the children of Israel: and my lord was commanded by Jehovah to give the inheritance of Zelophehad our brother unto his daughters.

3 And if they be married to any of the sons of the `other' tribes of the children of Israel, then will their inheritance be taken away from the inheritance of our fathers, and will be added to the inheritance of the tribe whereunto they shall belong: so will it be taken away from the lot of our inheritance.

4 And when the jubilee of the children of Israel shall be, then will their inheritance be added unto the inheritance of the tribe whereunto they shall belong: so will their inheritance be taken away from the inheritance of the tribe of our fathers.

5 And Moses commanded the children of Israel according to the word of Jehovah, saying, The tribe of the sons of Joseph speaketh right.

6 This is the thing which Jehovah doth command concerning the daughters of Zelophehad, saying, Let them be married to whom they think best; only into the family of the tribe of their father shall they be married.

7 So shall no inheritance of the children of Israel remove from tribe to tribe; for the children of Israel shall cleave every one to the inheritance of the tribe of his fathers.

8 And every daughter, that possesseth an inheritance in any tribe of the children of Israel, shall be wife unto one of the family of the tribe of her father, that the children of Israel may possess every man the inheritance of his fathers.

9 So shall no inheritance remove from one tribe to another tribe; for the tribes of the children of Israel shall cleave every one to his own inheritance.

10 Even as Jehovah commanded Moses, so did the daughters of Zelophehad:

11 for Mahlah, Tirzah, and Hoglah, and Milcah, and Noah, the daughters of Zelophehad, were married unto their father's brothers' sons.

12 They were married into the families of the sons of Manasseh the son of Joseph; and their inheritance remained in the tribe of the family of their father.

13 These are the commandments and the ordinances which Jehovah commanded by Moses unto the children of Israel in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho.


Numbers 36:1-13 Young's Literal Translation (YLT)

1 And the heads of the fathers of the families of the sons of Gilead, son of Machir, son of Manasseh, of the families of the sons of Joseph, come near, and speak before Moses, and before the princes, heads of the fathers of the sons of Israel,

2 and say, Jehovah commanded my lord to give the land for inheritance by lot to the sons of Israel, and my lord hath been commanded by Jehovah to give the inheritance of Zelophehad our brother to his daughters.

3 `And -- they have been to one of the sons of the `other' tribes of the sons of Israel for wives, and their inheritance hath been withdrawn from the inheritance of our fathers, and hath been added to the inheritance of the tribe which is theirs, and from the lot of our inheritance it is withdrawn,

4 and if it is the jubilee of the sons of Israel, then hath their inheritance been added to the inheritance of the tribe which is theirs, and from the inheritance of the tribe of our fathers is their inheritance withdrawn.'

5 And Moses commandeth the sons of Israel, by the command of Jehovah, saying, `Rightly are the tribe of the sons of Joseph speaking;

6 this `is' the thing which Jehovah hath commanded concerning the daughters of Zelophehad, saying, To those good in their eyes let them be for wives; only, to a family of the tribe of their fathers let them be for wives;

7 and the inheritance of the sons of Israel doth not turn round from tribe unto tribe; for each to the inheritance of the tribe of his fathers, do the sons of Israel cleave.

8 `And every daughter possessing an inheritance, of the tribes of the sons of Israel, is to one of the family of the tribe of her father for a wife, so that the sons of Israel possess each the inheritance of his fathers,

9 and the inheritance doth not turn round from `one' tribe to another tribe; for each to his inheritance do they cleave, the tribes of the sons of Israel.'

10 As Jehovah hath commanded Moses, so have the daughters of Zelophehad done,

11 and Mahlah, Tirzah, and Hoglah, and Milcah, and Noah, daughters of Zelophehad, are to the sons of their fathers' brethren for wives;

12 `to men' of the families of the sons of Manasseh, son of Joseph, they have been for wives, and their inheritance is with the tribe of the family of their father.

13 These `are' the commands and the judgments which Jehovah hath commanded, by the hand of Moses, concerning the sons of Israel, in the plains of Moab, by Jordan, `near' Jericho.


Numbers 36:1-13 Darby English Bible (DARBY)

1 And the chief fathers of 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 chief fathers of the children of Israel:

2 and they said, Jehovah commanded my lord to give the land for an inheritance by lot to the children of Israel; and my lord was commanded by Jehovah to give the inheritance of Zelophehad our brother to his daughters.

3 Now if they be married to any of the sons of the [other] tribes of the children of Israel, then shall their inheritance be taken from the inheritance of our fathers, and shall be added to the inheritance of the tribe to which they shall belong; and it shall be taken from the lot of our inheritance.

4 And when the jubilee of the children of Israel shall come, then shall their inheritance be added to the inheritance of the tribe to which they shall belong; and their inheritance shall be taken away from the inheritance of the tribe of our fathers.

5 And Moses commanded the children of Israel according to the word of Jehovah, saying, The tribe of the sons of Joseph hath said well.

6 This is the thing which Jehovah hath commanded concerning the daughters of Zelophehad, saying, Let them marry whom they please; only they shall marry one of the tribe of their father,

7 that no inheritance of the children of Israel pass from tribe to tribe; for every one of the children of Israel shall keep to the inheritance of the tribe of his fathers.

8 And every daughter that possesseth an inheritance among the tribes of the children of Israel, shall be married to one of the family of the tribe of her father, that the children of Israel may possess every one the inheritance of his fathers,

9 and the inheritance shall not pass from one tribe to another tribe; for each of the tribes of the children of Israel shall keep to his inheritance.

10 Even as Jehovah had commanded Moses, so did the daughters of Zelophehad;

11 and Mahlah, Tirzah, and Hoglah, and Milcah, and Noah, the daughters of Zelophehad, were married unto their uncles' sons.

12 To those that were of the families of the sons of Manasseh the son of Joseph were they married; and their inheritance remained in the tribe of the family of their father.

13 These are the commandments and the ordinances which Jehovah commanded through Moses to the children of Israel, in the plains of Moab, by the Jordan of Jericho.


Numbers 36:1-13 World English Bible (WEB)

1 The heads of the fathers' [houses] of the family of the children 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' [houses] of the children of Israel:

2 and they said, Yahweh commanded my lord to give the land for inheritance by lot to the children of Israel: and my lord was commanded by Yahweh to give the inheritance of Zelophehad our brother to his daughters.

3 If they be married to any of the sons of the [other] tribes of the children of Israel, then will their inheritance be taken away from the inheritance of our fathers, and will be added to the inheritance of the tribe whereunto they shall belong: so will it be taken away from the lot of our inheritance.

4 When the jubilee of the children of Israel shall be, then will their inheritance be added to the inheritance of the tribe whereunto they shall belong: so will their inheritance be taken away from the inheritance of the tribe of our fathers.

5 Moses commanded the children of Israel according to the word of Yahweh, saying, The tribe of the sons of Joseph speaks right.

6 This is the thing which Yahweh does command concerning the daughters of Zelophehad, saying, Let them be married to whom they think best; only into the family of the tribe of their father shall they be married.

7 So shall no inheritance of the children of Israel remove from tribe to tribe; for the children of Israel shall cleave everyone to the inheritance of the tribe of his fathers.

8 Every daughter, who possesses an inheritance in any tribe of the children of Israel, shall be wife to one of the family of the tribe of her father, that the children of Israel may possess every man the inheritance of his fathers.

9 So shall no inheritance remove from one tribe to another tribe; for the tribes of the children of Israel shall cleave everyone to his own inheritance.

10 Even as Yahweh commanded Moses, so did the daughters of Zelophehad:

11 for Mahlah, Tirzah, and Hoglah, and Milcah, and Noah, the daughters of Zelophehad, were married to their father's brothers' sons.

12 They were married into the families of the sons of Manasseh the son of Joseph; and their inheritance remained in the tribe of the family of their father.

13 These are the commandments and the ordinances which Yahweh commanded by Moses to the children of Israel in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho.


Numbers 36:1-13 Bible in Basic English (BBE)

1 Now the heads of the families of the children of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, of the families of the sons of Joseph, came to Moses, the chiefs and the heads of families of the children of Israel being present,

2 And said, The Lord gave orders to my lord to make distribution of the land as their heritage to the children of Israel: and my lord was ordered by the Lord to give the heritage of Zelophehad, our brother, to his daughters.

3 Now if they get married to any of the sons of other tribes of the children of Israel, then their property will be taken away from the heritage of our fathers, and become part of the heritage of the tribe into which they get married: and their heritage will be taken away from the heritage of our tribe.

4 And at the time of the Jubilee of the children of Israel, their property will be joined to the heritage of the tribe of which they are part and will be taken away from the heritage of the tribe of our fathers.

5 So by the direction of the Lord, Moses gave orders to the children of Israel, saying, What the tribe of the sons of Joseph have said is right.

6 This is the order of the Lord about the daughters of Zelophehad: The Lord says, Let them take as their husbands whoever is most pleasing to them, but only among the family of their father's tribe.

7 And so no property will be handed from tribe to tribe among the children of Israel; but every one of the children of Israel will keep the heritage of his father's tribe.

8 And every daughter owning property in any tribe of the children of Israel is to be married to one of the family of her father's tribe, so that every man of the children of Israel may keep the heritage of his fathers.

9 And no property will be handed from one tribe to another, but every tribe of the children of Israel will keep its heritage.

10 So the daughters of Zelophehad did as the Lord gave orders to Moses:

11 For Mahlah, Tirzah, and Hoglah, and Milcah, and Noah, the daughters of Zelophehad, took as their husbands the sons of their father's brothers:

12 And were married into the families of the sons of Manasseh, the son of Joseph, and their property was kept in the tribe of their father's family

13 These are the laws and the orders which the Lord gave to the children of Israel by Moses, in the lowlands of Moab by Jordan at Jericho.

Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Keil & Delitzsch Commentary » Commentary on Numbers 36

Commentary on Numbers 36 Keil & Delitzsch Commentary


Verses 1-3

The occasion for this law was a representation made to Moses and the princes of the congregation by the heads of the fathers' houses ( האבות for בּית־האבות , as in Exodus 6:25, etc.) of the family of Gilead the Manassite, to which Zelophehad (Numbers 26:33) belonged, to the effect that, by allotting an hereditary possession to the daughters of Zelophehad, the tribe-territory assigned to the Manassites would be diminished if they should marry into another tribe. They founded their appeal upon the command of Jehovah, that the land was to be distributed by lot among the Israelites for an inheritance (Numbers 36:2 compared with Numbers 26:55-56, and Numbers 33:54); and although it is not expressly stated, yet on the ground of the promise of the everlasting possession of Canaan (Genesis 17:8), and the provision made by the law, that an inheritance was not to be alienated ( Leviticus 25:10, Leviticus 25:13, Leviticus 25:23.), they understood it as signifying that the portion assigned to each tribe was to continue unchanged to all generations. (The singular pronoun, my Lord, in Numbers 36:2, refers to the speaker, as in Numbers 32:27.) Now, as the inheritance of their brother, i.e., their tribe-mate Zelophehad, had been given to his daughters (Numbers 27:1), if they should be chosen as wives by any of the children of the (other) tribes of Israel, i.e., should marry into another tribe, their inheritance would be taken away from the tribe-territory of Manasseh, and would be added to that of the tribe into which they were received. The suffix להם (Numbers 36:3) refers ad sensum to מטּה , the tribe regarded according to its members.


Verse 4

And when the year of jubilee came round (see Leviticus 25:10), their inheritance would be entirely withdrawn from the tribe of Manasseh. Strictly speaking, the hereditary property would pass at once, when the marriage took place, to the tribe into which an heiress married, and not merely at the year of jubilee. But up to the year of jubilee it was always possible that the hereditary property might revert to the tribe of Manasseh, either through the marriage being childless, or through the purchase of the inheritance. But in the year of jubilee all landed property that had been alienated was to return to its original proprietor or his heir (Leviticus 25:33.). In this way the transfer of an inheritance from one tribe to another, which took place in consequence of a marriage, would be established in perpetuity. And it was in this sense that the elders of the tribe of Manasseh meant that a portion of the inheritance which had fallen to them by lot would be taken away from their tribe at the year of jubilee.


Verses 5-9

Moses declared that what they had affirmed was right ( כּן ), and then, by command of Jehovah, he told the daughters of Zelophehad that they might marry whoever pleased them (the suffix ־הם , attached to בּעיני , for ־הן , as in Exodus 1:21; Genesis 31:9, etc.), but that he must belong to the family of their father's tribe, that is to say, must be a Manassite. For (Numbers 36:7) the inheritance was not to turn away the Israelites from one tribe to another (not to be transferred from one to another), but every Israelite was to keep to the inheritance of his father's tribe, and no one was to enter upon the possession of another tribe by marrying an heiress belonging to that tribe. This is afterwards extended, in Numbers 36:8 and Numbers 36:9, into a general law for every heiress in Israel.


Verses 10-12

In Numbers 36:10-12 it is related that, in accordance with these instructions, the five daughters of Zelophehad, whose names are repeated from Numbers 26:33 and Numbers 27:1 (see also Joshua 17:3), married husbands from the families of the Manassites, namely, sons of their cousins (? uncles), and thus their inheritance remained in their father's tribe ( על היה , to be and remain upon anything).


Verse 13

The conclusion refers not merely to the laws and rights contained in Num 33:50-36:13, but includes the rest of the laws given in the steppes of Moab (ch. 25-30), and forms the conclusion tot he whole book, which places the lawgiving in the steppes of Moab by the side of the lawgiving at Mount Sinai (Leviticus 26:46; Leviticus 27:34) and bring sit to a close, though without in any way implying that the explanation ( בּאר , Deuteronomy 1:5), further development, and hortatory enforcement of the law and its testimonies, statutes, and judgments (Deuteronomy 1:5; Deuteronomy 4:44., Numbers 12:1.), which follow in Deuteronomy , are not of Mosaic origin.