CHAPTER 36
Now the family
heads
of the clan
of Gilead
son
of Machir
son
of Manasseh,
one of the clans
of Joseph,
approached
and addressed
Moses
and the leaders
who were the heads
of the Israelite
families,
saying,
“When the LORD
commanded
my lord
to give
the land
as an inheritance
to the Israelites
by lot,
He
also commanded
him
to give
the inheritance
of our brother
Zelophehad
to his daughters.
But if they marry
any of the men
from the other tribes
of Israel,
their inheritance
will be withdrawn
from the portion
of our fathers
and added
to
the tribe
into which
they marry.
So our
allotted
inheritance
would be taken away.
And when
the Jubilee
for the Israelites
comes,
their inheritance
will be added
to
the tribe
into which
they marry
and
taken away
from the tribe
of our fathers.”
So at
the word
of the LORD,
Moses
commanded
the Israelites:
“The tribe
of the sons
of Joseph
speaks
correctly.
This
is what
the LORD
has commanded
concerning the daughters
of Zelophehad:
They may marry
anyone they please,
provided
they marry
within a clan
of the tribe
of their father.
No
inheritance
in Israel
may be transferred
from tribe
to
tribe,
because
each
of the Israelites
is to retain
the inheritance
of the tribe
of his fathers.
Every
daughter
who possesses
an inheritance
from any Israelite
tribe
must marry
within a clan
of the tribe
of her father,
so that
every
Israelite
will possess
the inheritance
of his fathers.
No
inheritance
may be transferred
from one tribe
to another,
because
each
tribe
of Israel
must retain
its inheritance.”
Mahlah,
Tirzah,
Hoglah,
Milcah,
and Noah,
the daughters
of Zelophehad,
were married
to cousins on their
father’s side.
They married
within the clans
of the descendants
of Manasseh
son
of Joseph,
and their inheritance
remained
within
the tribe
of their father’s
clan.
These
are the commandments
and ordinances
that
the LORD
gave
to the Israelites
through
Moses
on the plains
of Moab
by
the Jordan
across from Jericho.