The Land of Zelophehad’s Daughters

36 Manasseh was Joseph’s son. Makir was Manasseh’s son. Gilead was Makir’s son. The leaders of Gilead’s family went to talk to Moses and the leaders of Israel’s family groups. ²They said, “Sir, the Lord commanded us to get our land by throwing lots.* And sir, the Lord commanded Zelophehad’s land be given to his daughters. Zelophehad was our brother. ³Maybe a man from one of the other family groups will marry one of Zelophehad’s daughters. Will that land leave our family? Will the people of that other family group get that land? Will we lose the land that we got by throwing lots? ⁴{People might sell their land. But} in the Jubilee year,* all of the land is returned to the family group that really owns it. At that time, who will get the land that belongs to Zelophehad’s daughters? Will our family lose that land forever?” ⁵Moses gave this command to the people of Israel. This command was from the Lord. “These men from Joseph’s family group are right! ⁶This is the Lord’s command to Zelophehad’s daughters: If you want to marry someone, then you must marry someone from your own family group. ⁷In this way, land will not be passed from family group to family group among the people of Israel. Each Israelite will keep the land that belonged to his own ancestors.* ⁸And if some woman gets her father’s land, then she must marry someone from her own family group. In this way, each person will keep the land that belonged to his ancestors. ⁹So, the land must not be passed from family group to family group among the people of Israel. Each Israelite will keep the land that belonged to his own ancestors.” ¹⁰Zelophehad’s daughters obeyed the Lord’s command to Moses. ¹¹So Zelophehad’s daughters—Mahlah, Tirzah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Noah—married their cousins on their father’s side of the family. ¹²Their husbands were from Manasseh’s family group, so their land continued to belong to their father’s family and family group. ¹³So those are the laws and commands that the Lord gave to Moses in the Jordan Valley in Moab by the Jordan River, across from Jericho.

lots Sticks, stones, or pieces of bone used like dice for making decisions. See Proverbs 16:33. Jubilee year See Lev. 25 for the rules the Jews were to follow during this special time. ancestors Literally, “fathers,” meaning a person’s parents, grandparents, and all the people they are descended from.