The Daughters of Zelophehad
1 Then 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 came near. These are the names of his daughters: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. 2 They stood before Moses, 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. He was not among the company of those who gathered themselves together against Yahweh in the company of Korah, but he died in his own sin. He had no sons. 4 Why should the name of our father be taken away from among his family, because he had no son? Give to us a possession among the brothers of our father.” 5 Moses brought their cause before Yahweh. 6 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 7 “The daughters of Zelophehad speak right. You shall surely give them a possession of an inheritance among their father’s brothers. You shall cause the inheritance of their father to pass to them. 8 You shall speak to the children of Israel, saying, ‘If a man dies, and has no son, then you shall cause his inheritance to pass to his daughter. 9 If he has no daughter, then you shall give his inheritance to his brothers. 10 If he has no brothers, then you shall give his inheritance to his father’s brothers. 11 If his father has no brothers, then you shall give his inheritance to his kinsman who is next to him of his family, and he shall possess it. This shall be a statute and ordinance for the children of Israel, as Yahweh commanded Moses.’”
Five women bring a case the law does not cover, and the ruling in their favor becomes a statute for everyone.
Five sisters walk to the door of the Tent of Meeting and stand before Moses, before Eleazar the priest, and before the princes and all the congregation Numbers 27:2.
That is the highest court in Israel, in full session, and they have no advocate. Their names are recorded — Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah and Tirzah Numbers 27:1 — and they are recorded twice more in Scripture, which is more than most of the princes standing there receive.
Their argument is short and it is careful. They begin by clearing their father's name: he was not among the company of those who gathered themselves together against Yahweh in the company of Korah, but he died in his own sin Numbers 27:3.
That distinction matters, because Korah's people had forfeited everything, and the sisters know they must establish that their father's death was ordinary before they can claim anything through him.
Then the question, and the grievance in it is not primarily economic: why should the name of our father be taken away from among his family, because he had no son? Numbers 27:4.
They ask on his behalf. A family with no male heir simply disappeared from the register, and what they are objecting to is erasure. The request for land comes second.
Moses does not rule. Moses brought their cause before Yahweh Numbers 27:5 — the fourth time in the Pentateuch that a gap in the law is met with a referral rather than an improvisation Leviticus 24:12 Numbers 9:8 Numbers 15:34.
And the answer begins with three words that are unusual in this book: the daughters of Zelophehad speak right Numbers 27:7.
They are not merely accommodated. They are told they are correct, and the ruling goes beyond their case: if a man dies, and has no son, then you shall cause his inheritance to pass to his daughter Numbers 27:8, followed by a full order of succession.
Five women without standing brought a question to the highest court in the nation, and the law of inheritance for everyone was rewritten in their favor. The case is reopened later by their tribe Numbers 36:1–12, and their right is upheld again with one qualification about whom they marry.
settled What this mark means