Joel M Bradshaw

4Why should our father’s name disappear from his clan because he had no son? Give us property among our father’s relatives.”–Numbers 27

1. Big Z died with no male heirs in a world concerned with keeping family property with male heirs.
2. This will be a big tension in the later book of Ruth and why Boaz had to get involved as a kinsman redeemer.
3. The daughters weren’t concerned about their name, but rather their father’s name.
4. This therefore wasn’t about sexism or social justice, but rather about making sure a father’s legacy continued.
5. Big Z’s daughters actually make a bold request of faith here.
6. He already died with no legal heirs, and so the daughters ensured there would not be the double issue of his land passing to another unrelated man.
7. God rewarded the daughters’ faith with a new law on the books.–JMB