Zelofchad's Daughters בנות צלפחד

(1) Then drew near 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. (2) And they stood before Moses, and before Eleazar the priest, and before the princes and all the congregation, at the door of the tent of meeting, saying: (3) ’Our father died in the wilderness, and he was not among the company of them that gathered themselves together against the LORD in the company of Korah, but he died in his own sin; and he had no sons.

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

(5) And Moses brought their cause before the LORD. (6) And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying: (7) ’The 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. (8) And 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. (9) And if he have no daughter, then ye shall give his inheritance unto his brethren. (10) And if he have no brethren, then ye shall give his inheritance unto his father’s brethren. (11) And 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.’

It was taught: The daughters of Zelophehad were exceedingly wise, knew well how to expound Scripture, and were perfectly virtuous. They were exceedingly wise since they chose to speak at the right time; for just then ... Moses our teacher was engaged in interpreting the section on levirate marriage. So they said, "If in levirate marriage our status is like that of sons [ie, it is only relevant if a father dies without sons or daughters], , then give us, like a son a possession in the land. If not, then our Mother should be subjected to a levirate marriage. At once, "Moses brought their cause before the Lord." The daughters also knew well how to expound Scripture [learn from the Torah] for they said, "If our father had a son, we would not have spoken, or even if that son had a daughter, we would not have spoken." They were also perfectly virtuous, since they married only men who were worthy of them."

(1) And the heads of the fathers’houses of the family of the children of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, of the families of the sons of Joseph, came near, and spoke before Moses, and before the princes, the heads of the fathers’houses of the children of Israel; (2) and they said: ‘The LORD commanded my lord to give the land for inheritance by lot to the children of Israel; and my lord was commanded by the LORD to give the inheritance of Zelophehad our brother unto his daughters. (3) And if they be married to any of the sons of the other tribes of the children of Israel, then will their inheritance be taken away from the inheritance of our fathers, and will be added to the inheritance of the tribe whereunto they shall belong; so will it be taken away from the lot of our inheritance. (4) And when the jubilee of the children of Israel shall be, then will their inheritance be added unto the inheritance of the tribe whereunto they shall belong; so will their inheritance be taken away from the inheritance of the tribe of our fathers.’

(5) And Moses commanded the children of Israel according to the word of the LORD, saying: ‘The tribe of the sons of Joseph speaketh right. (6) This is the thing which the LORD hath commanded 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. (7) 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. (8) And every daughter, that possesseth an inheritance in any tribe of the children of Israel, shall be wife unto one of the family of the tribe of her father, that the children of Israel may possess every man the inheritance of his fathers. (9) So shall no inheritance remove from one tribe to another tribe; for the tribes of the children of Israel shall cleave each one to its own inheritance.’ (10) Even as the LORD commanded Moses, so did the daughters of Zelophehad. (11) For Mahlah, Tirzah, and Hoglah, and Milcah, and Noah, the daughters of Zelophehad, were married unto their father’s brothers’sons. (12) 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.