The Faithfulness of the Daughters of Zelophehad (Numbers 36:5-12).
Analysis.
a The women are to marry whom they think fit but within the family of the tribe of their father (within the clan) (Numbers 36:5-6).
b Thus no inheritance will remove from tribe to tribe for the children of Israel will cleave every one to the tribe of his fathers (Numbers 36:7).
c Every woman who inherits land from her father shall be wife to one who is of the family of the tribe of her father (Numbers 36:8 a)
c This is so that the children of Israel may possess every man the inheritance of his fathers (Numbers 36:8 b).
b Thus no inheritance will remove from tribe to tribe for the children of Israel will cleave every one to the tribe of his fathers (Numbers 36:9).
a This was what the daughters of Zelophehad did, marrying their father's brothers sons, thus they were married to Manassites and the inheritance remained in the tribe of the family of their father (Numbers 36:10-12).
Moses Confirms The Essential Rightness of Their Position.
‘And Moses commanded the children of Israel according to the word of Yahweh, saying, “The tribe of the sons of Joseph speak what is right.”
The first point was an immediate acknowledgement about the rightness of their position. Let all the tribes know that what these sons of Joseph say is right. Their land is secured to them by Yahweh, and He will not allow any of it to be taken away from them.
“ This is the thing which Yahweh commands 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.”
So while the decision concerning the daughters of Zelophehad stood firm, it was incumbent on them to respond to Yahweh's goodness by marrying into their own clan. They had the right to choose whom they would, as long as it was within that clan.
“ 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.”
The result would be that no inheritance would remove from tribe to tribe, and the children of Israel would each cleave to that land originally given to them by lot.
“ And 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.”
So every daughter who possessed an inheritance in any tribe of the children of Israel would by this restriction to marrying within the family of the tribe of their fathers, ensure that the land remained in the clan. And this would ensure that every family in Israel would continually possess what Yahweh had originally given. Here was certainty indeed.
“ 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.”
And so verse 7 is repeated for emphasis. No inheritance will move from tribe to tribe, and each tribe would have all its allotted land as a permanent inheritance. What they were fighting for was guaranteed and unloseable.
‘Even as Yahweh commanded Moses, so did the daughters of Zelophehad. For Mahlah, Tirzah, and Hoglah, and Milcah, and Noah, the daughters of Zelophehad, were married to their father's brothers' sons.'
And then comes the final accolade. These faithful daughters of Zelophehad, whom all now knew by name, did precisely as Yahweh commanded Moses. They married their father's brothers' sons. They had believed in the fairness of Yahweh, they had braved the ordeal of the leading assembly of Israel, they had courageously stood firm to plead their cause in the face of all opposition, and now through their faithfulness and courage they had achieved their aim. And they had done so by strict obedience to Yahweh's commandment. Let them and their faithfulness be a final example to Israel in the light of the prospect of the battles ahead of what happens when men and women are faithful to Yahweh.
‘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.'
For they were married into the families of the sons of Manasseh, the son of Joseph, their own tribe, and thus ensured that their inheritance would remain in the tribe of the clan of their father, a shining example of faith, courage and obedience and all it would achieve. They had believed and possessed their land, and all land allocated would ultimately be safe to those to whom it would be given.
There could have been no higher note on which the book could end, for it stressed the importance of faith and obedience as the means of possessing the land.