Numbers 27:1

_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._ Then came the daughters of Zelophehad. They were of the seventh generation....

1._Then came the daughters of Zelophehad. _A narrative is here introduced respecting the daughters of Zelophehad, of the family of Machir, who demanded to be admitted to a share of its inheritance; and the decision of this question might have been difficult, unless all doubt had been removed by the sentence of God Himself. For, since in the law no name is given to women, it would seem that no account of them was to be taken in the division of the land. And, in fact, God laid down this as the general rule; but a special exception is here made, _i.e., _that whenever a family shall be destitute of male heirs, females should succeed, for the preservation of the name. I am aware that this is a point which is open to dispute, since there are obvious arguments both for and against it, but let the decree that God pronounced suffice for us. Although (the daughters of Zelophehad) plead before Mose...

1-11 The five daughters of Zelophehad considered themselves as left destitute, having neither father nor brother to inherit any land. Their believing expectation that the word of the Lord would be performed in due season, and their desire of an interest in the promised inheritance; and the modest, candid manner in which they asked, without secret murmurs or discontents, are a good example. They ask for a possession in the land of Canaan. Herein they discovered, 1. Strong faith in the power and promise of God, concerning the giving of the land of Canaan to Israel. 2. And earnest desire of a place and name in the land of promise, which was a type of heaven. 3. Respect and honour for their father, whose name was dear to them now he was gone. He never had done any thing that might bar his children's claim. It is a comfort to parents when they come to die, if though they have smarted for the...

CHAPTER XXVII _The daughters of Zelophehad claim their inheritance_, 1-4. _Moses brings their case before the Lord_, 5. _He allows their claim_, 6, 7; _and a law is made to regulate the inheritance of daughters_, 8-11. _Moses is commanded to go up to Mount Abarim, and view the_ _promised land_, 12; _is apprised of his death_, 13; _and because he did not sanctify God at the waters of_ Meribah, _he_ _shall not enter into it_, 14. Moses requests the Lord to appoint a person to supply his pl

Women in Israel had not, up to the present time, enjoyed any distinct right of inheritance. Yet a father, whether sons had been born to him or not, had the power, either before or at his death, to cause part of his estate to pass to a daughter; in which case her husband married into her family rather than she into his, and the children were regarded as of the family from which the estate had come. Thus, Machir, ancestor of Zelophehad, although he had a son Gilead, left also, as is probable, an inheritance to his daughter, the wife of Hezron of the tribe of Judah, by reason of which their descendants, among whom was Jair, were reckoned as belonging to the tribe of Manasseh (Numbers 32:41; 1 Chronicles 2:21 ff)....

EXPOSITION THE DAUGHTERS OF ZELOPHEHAD (Numbers 27:1). NUMBERS 27:1 THE DAUGHTERS OF ZELOPHEHAD. The genealogy here given agrees with those in Numbers 26:29-4 and in Joshua 17:3. These women would appear to have been in the eighth generation from Jacob, which hardly accords with the 470 years required by the narrative; some links, however, may have been dropped. NUMBERS 27:2 BY...

THEN CAME THE DAUGHTERS OF ZELOPHEHAD,.... Who are mentioned among the families of Manasseh, under that of the Hepherites, Numbers 26:33, their father being dead, and they having no brethren, when they heard the land was to be divided among those that were numbered, and who were only males of twenty years old and upwards, were concerned, lest they should have no share in the division of the land; and therefore came, according to the Targum of Jonathan, to the house of judgment, or court of judicature, where Moses, the princes, c. were now sitting: the genealogy of Zelophehad is given HE WAS THE SON OF HEPHER, THE SON OF GILEAD, THE SON OF MACHIR, THE SON OF MANASSEH, THE SON OF JOSEPH; by which it appears he was of the tribe of Manasseh, and of the fourth generation from him: and these are the names of his daughters, Mahlah, Noah, ann Hoglah,

4. THE DAUGHTERS OF ZELOPHEHAD, THE DEATH OF MOSES AND HIS SUCCESSOR ANNOUNCED CHAPTER 27 _ 1. The daughters of Zelophehad (Numbers 27:1)_ 2. Moses' death announced and his request (Numbers 27:12) 3. Joshua appointed (Numbers 27:18) The question of the daughters of Zelophehad was concerning their inheritance. Their father had died in the wilderness and there were no sons. They expected and claimed a possession among the brethren of their father. They fully counted on the Lord and His goodness, though their case was not met by the previous instructions. “It is impossible for God to be like a poor man, who says, ‘You expect more good than I am prepared to bestow.' God could not m

THE RIGHT OF DAUGHTERS TO INHERIT, IN DEFAULT OF MALE ISSUE. To guard against the alienation of property from a family through the absence of male heirs by natural descent, the system of the Levirate marriage was instituted (Deuteronomy 25:5 *, p. 109); and that law, which assumed that only males could inherit, is here supplemented by another law allowing daughters, in default of sons, to become heirs. For a qualification of the present law, see Numbers 36; and for the fulfilment of the claim made by Zelophehad's daughters, see Joshua 17:3 f *. NUMBERS 27:3. The denial that Zelophehad (a Manassite) was implicated in the rebellion of Korah presumes that Korah led a movement of the secular tribes against the

DAUGHTERS. Compare Numbers 26:33.Joshua 17:3....