Joel M Bradshaw

3Now Zelophehad the son of Hepher, son of Gilead, son of Machir, son of Manasseh, had no sons, but only daughters, and these are the names of his daughters: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. 4They approached Eleazar the priest and Joshua the son of Nun and the leaders and said, “The LORD commanded Moses to give us an inheritance along with our brothers.” So according to the mouth of the LORD he gave them an inheritance among the brothers of their father.–Joshua 17

This situation posed key questions that had to be answered:

1. Could daughters inherit like sons?
2. If they could, does this mean they could not marry?
3. If they could, does this mean they could marry anyone they wanted?

These questions were not motivated by sexism, but rather pragmatism. When a woman married a man, she moved onto his estate. If a woman already had an inherited portion of land and married a man it would also become his. So if a woman inherited a portion of land from Ephraim and married a man from Reuben, then Reuben would also have a claim to land given to Ephraim. This would have brought both confusion and dissension among the tribes.

We first meet Zelophehad and his daughters in Numbers 26. Their case is settled by God in chapter 27…

8“Say to the Israelites, ‘If a man dies and leaves no son, give his inheritance to his daughter. 9If he has no daughter, give his inheritance to his brothers. 10If he has no brothers, give his inheritance to his father’s brothers. 11If his father had no brothers, give his inheritance to the nearest relative in his clan, that he may possess it. This is to have the force of law for the Israelites, as the Lord commanded Moses.’ ”

So daughters could marry like sons. Think of what this communicated in the ancient patriarchal world. God is pro women. By Numbers chapter 36, questions two and three arose concerning what happens to their inheritance of they marry. God dealt with that one, too.

 6This is what the Lord commands for Zelophehad’s daughters: They may marry anyone they please as long as they marry within their father’s tribal clan. 7No inheritance in Israel is to pass from one tribe to another, for every Israelite shall keep the tribal inheritance of their ancestors. 8Every daughter who inherits land in any Israelite tribe must marry someone in her father’s tribal clan, so that every Israelite will possess the inheritance of their ancestors. 9No inheritance may pass from one tribe to another, for each Israelite tribe is to keep the land it inherits.”

God has led us to our unique situations and so we trust him to lead us through them. Zelophehad had no sons, but his daughters helped change the very society around them. Their situation gave God an opportunity to show both clarity and compassion and to protect the vulnerable. God cared about these women. God also cared about the land staying within the tribes he had given it to.–JMB