1 Then came the daughters of Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, of the families of Manasseh the son of Joseph: and these are the names of his daughters; Mahlah, Noah, and Hoglah, and Milcah, and Tirzah.

2And they stood before Moses, and before Eleazar the priest, and before the princes and all the congregation, by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, saying,

3Our father died in the wilderness, and he was not in the company of them that gathered themselves together against the LORD in the company of Korah; but died in his own sin, and had no sons.

4Why should the name of our father be done away from among his family, because he hath no son? Give unto us therefore a possession among the brethren of our father.

5And Moses brought their cause before the LORD.

6And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

7The daughters of Zelophehad speak right: thou shalt surely give them a possession of an inheritance among their father's brethren; and thou shalt cause the inheritance of their father to pass unto them.

8And thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If a man die, and have no son, then ye shall cause his inheritance to pass unto his daughter.

9And if he have no daughter, then ye shall give his inheritance unto his brethren.

10And if he have no brethren, then ye shall give his inheritance unto his father's brethren.

11And if his father have no brethren, then ye shall give his inheritance unto his kinsman that is next to him of his family, and he shall possess it: and it shall be unto the children of Israel a statute of judgment, as the LORD commanded Moses.

12And the LORD said unto Moses, Get thee up into this mount Abarim, and see the land which I have given unto the children of Israel.

13And when thou hast seen it, thou also shalt be gathered unto thy people, as Aaron thy brother was gathered.

14For ye rebelled against my commandment in the desert of Zin, in the strife of the congregation, to sanctify me at the water before their eyes: that is the water of Meribah in Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin.

15And Moses spake unto the LORD, saying,

16Let the LORD, the God of the spirits of all flesh, set a man over the congregation,

17Which may go out before them, and which may go in before them, and which may lead them out, and which may bring them in; that the congregation of the LORD be not as sheep which have no shepherd.

18And the LORD said unto Moses, Take thee Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is the spirit, and lay thine hand upon him;

19And set him before Eleazar the priest, and before all the congregation; and give him a charge in their sight.

20And thou shalt put some of thine honour upon him, that all the congregation of the children of Israel may be obedient.

21And he shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall ask counselfor him after the judgment of Urim before the LORD: at his word shall they go out, and at his word they shall come in, both he, and all the children of Israel with him, even all the congregation.

22And Moses did as the LORD commanded him: and he took Joshua, and set him before Eleazar the priest, and before all the congregation:

23And he laid his hands upon him, and gave him a charge, as the LORD commanded by the hand of Moses.

1 Then came the daughters of Zelophehad, the sonne of Hepher, the sonne of Gilead, the sonne of Machir, the sonne of Manasseh, of the families of Manasseh, the sonne of Ioseph; and these are the names of his daughters: Mahlah, Noah, and Hoglah, and Milcah, and Tirzah.

2And they stood before Moses, and before Eleazar the Priest, and before the Princes, and all the Congregation, by the doore of the Tabernacle of the Congregation, saying,

3Our father died in the wildernesse, and he was not in the company of them that gathered themselues together against the Lord in the company of Korah: but died in his owne sinne, and had no sonnes.

4Why should the name of our father be done away from among his family, because he hath no sonne? Giue vnto vs therefore a possession among the brethren of our father.

5And Moses brought their cause before the Lord.

6 And the Lord spake vnto Moses, saying,

7The daughters of Zelophehad speake right: thou shalt surely giue them a possession of an inheritance among their fathers brethren, and thou shalt cause the inheritance of their father to passe vnto them.

8And thou shalt speake vnto the children of Israel, saying, If a man die, and haue no sonne, then yee shall cause his inheritance to passe vnto his daughter.

9And if he haue no daughter, then yee shall giue his inheritance vnto his brethren.

10And if he haue no brethren, then yee shall giue his inheritance vnto his fathers brethren.

11And if his father haue no brethren, then ye shall giue his inheritance vnto his kinseman that is next to him of his family, and hee shall possesse it: And it shall be vnto the children of Israel a statute of iudgement, as the Lord commanded Moses.

12 And the Lord saide vnto Moses, Get thee vp into this mount Abarim, and see the land which I haue giuen vnto the children of Israel.

13And when thou hast seene it, thou also shalt be gathered vnto thy people, as Aaron thy brother was gathered.

14For ye rebelled against my Commandement (in the desart of Zin, in the strife of the Congregation) to sanctifie me at the water, before their eyes: that is the water of Meribah in Kadesh in the wildernesse of Zin.

15 And Moses spake vnto the Lord, saying,

16Let the Lord, the God of the spirits of all flesh, set a man ouer the Congregation,

17Which may goe out before them, and which may goe in before them, and which may lead them out, and which may bring them in, that the Congregation of the Lord bee not as sheepe which haue no shepheard.

18 And the Lord saide vnto Moses, Take thee Ioshua the sonne of Nun, a man in whom is the spirit, and lay thine hand vpon him.

19And set him before Eleazar the Priest, and before all the Congregation: and giue him a charge in their sight.

20And thou shalt put some of thine honour vpon him, that all the Congregation of the children of Israel may be obedient.

21And he shall stand before Eleazar the Priest, who shall aske counsell for him, after the iudgement of Urim before the Lord: at his word shal they goe out, and at his word they shal come in, both he, and al the children of Israel with him, euen all the Congregation.

22And Moses did as the Lord commanded him: and he tooke Ioshua and set him before Eleazar the Priest, and before all the Congregation.

23And hee layd his handes vpon him, and gaue him a charge, as the Lord commaunded by the hand of Moses.

I == Num 26:33 ; 36:1 , 11 ; Josh 17:3

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

III == Num 14:35 ; 16:1-2 ; 26:64-65

 

 

IV == Josh 17:4

 

 

 

V == Ex 18:15 , 19

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

XII == Num 33:47 ; Deut 3:27 ; 32:49 ; 34:1

 

XIII == Num 20:24 , 28 ; 31:2 ; Deut 10:6

XIV == Ex 17:7 ; Num 20:12 , 24 ; Deut 1:37 ; 32:51 ; Ps 106:32

 

 

 

XVI == Num 16:22 ; Heb 12:9

 

XVII == Deut 31:2 ; 1st Sam 8:20 ; 18:13 ; 1st Kings 22:17 ; 2nd Chr 1:10 ; Zech 10:2 ; Matt 9:36 ; Mark 6:34

XVIII == Gen 41:38 ; Deut 34:9 ; Judg 3:10 ; 11:29 ; 1st Sam 16:13 , 18

XIX == Deut 31:7

 

XX == Num 11:27-28 ; Josh 1:16-17 ; 1st Sam 10:6 , 9 ; 2nd Kings 2:15

XXI == Ex 28:30

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

XXIII == Deut 3:28 ; 31:7

 

1 Zelophehad, son of Hepher, son of Gilead, son of Machir, son of Manasseh, son of Joseph, had daughters named Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah and Tirzah. They came forward,

2 and standing in the presence of Moses, the priest Eleazar, the princes, and the whole community at the entrance of the meeting tent, said:

3 "Our father died in the desert. Although he did not join those who banded together against the LORD (in Korah's band), he died for his own sin without leaving any sons.

4 But why should our father's name be withdrawn from his clan merely because he had no son? Let us, therefore, have property among our father's kinsmen."

5 When Moses laid their case before the LORD,

6 the LORD said to him,

7 "The plea of Zelophehad's daughters is just; you shall give them hereditary property among their father's kinsmen, letting their father's heritage pass on to them.

8 Therefore, tell the Israelites: If a man dies without leaving a son, you shall let his heritage pass on to his daughter;

9 if he has no daughter, you shall give his heritage to his brothers;

10 if he has no brothers, you shall give his heritage to his father's brothers;

11 if his father had no brothers, you shall give his heritage to his nearest relative in his clan, who shall then take possession of it." This is the legal norm for the Israelites, as the LORD commanded Moses.

12 The LORD said to Moses, "Go up here into the Abarim Mountains and view the land that I am giving to the Israelites.

13 When you have viewed it, you too shall be taken to your people, as was your brother Aaron,

14 because in the rebellion of the community in the desert of Zin you both rebelled against my order to manifest my sanctity to them by means of the water." (This is the water of Meribah of Kadesh in the desert of Zin.)

15 Then Moses said to the LORD,

16 "May the LORD, the God of the spirits of all mankind, set over the community a man

17 who shall act as their leader in all things, to guide them in all their actions; that the LORD'S community may not be like sheep without a shepherd."

18 And the LORD replied to Moses, "Take Joshua, son of Nun, a man of spirit, and lay your hand upon him.

19 Have him stand in the presence of the priest Eleazar and of the whole community, and commission him before their eyes.

20 Invest him with some of your own dignity, that the whole Israelite community may obey him.

21 He shall present himself to the priest Eleazar, to have him seek out for him the decisions of the Urim in the LORD'S presence; and as he directs, Joshua, all the Israelites with him, and the community as a whole shall perform all their actions."

22 Moses did as the LORD had commanded him. Taking Joshua and having him stand in the presence of the priest Eleazar and of the whole community,

23 he laid his hands on him and gave him his commission, as the LORD had directed through Moses.

KEY EVENT: The choice of Joshua as Israel's new leader Num 27:15-23, Deut 34:9

v 1-11. Zelophehad who had died in the wilderness with the general deaths, had only daughters, Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah and Tirzah. Because of their petition, they were granted possession for their father. The Lord showed that in all such cases, if a man had no sons, inheritance would go to daughters. If no daughters, to his brethren, if none to his father’s brethren, and if none, then to next of kin to possess.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

v 12-14. Moses is commanded to prepare for death by going up Mt Abarim to view the land. Then because of his sin in striking the rock, Num. 20:11, he would die.

 

 

 

v 15-17. Moses is not concerned about his own departure, but that the Lord will set up another leader to lead the congregation.

 

 

 

v 18-23. At the lord’s command, Moses ordained Joshua before Eleazar the priest and all the congregation. He placed honor upon him and gave him a charge before all, so they would be obedient to his leadership. Joshua would rely upon Urim and Thumim instead of direct access to the Lord as Moses had. He would not take over leadership until Moses fulfills his responsibilities to the end of this book.