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Texts -- Numbers 27:1-17 (NET)

Context
Special Inheritance Laws
27:1 Then the daughters of Zelophehad son of Hepher , the son of Gilead , the son of Machir , the son of Manasseh of the families of Manasseh , the son Joseph came forward . Now these are the names of his daughters : Mahlah , Noah , Hoglah , Milcah , and Tirzah . 27:2 And they stood before Moses and Eleazar the priest and the leaders of the whole assembly at the entrance to the tent of meeting and said , 27:3 “Our father died in the wilderness , although he was not part of the company of those that gathered themselves together against the Lord in the company of Korah ; but he died for his own sin , and he had no sons . 27:4 Why should the name of our father be lost from among his family because he had no son ? Give us a possession among the relatives of our father .” 27:5 So Moses brought their case before the Lord . 27:6 The Lord said to Moses : 27:7 “The daughters of Zelophehad have a valid claim . You must indeed give them possession of an inheritance among their father’s relatives , and you must transfer the inheritance of their father 27:8 And you must tell the Israelites , ‘If a man dies and has no son , then you must transfer his inheritance to his daughter ; 27:9 and if he has no daughter , then you are to give his inheritance to his brothers ; 27:10 and if he has no brothers , then you are to give his inheritance to his father’s brothers ; 27:11 and if his father has no brothers , then you are to give his inheritance to his relative nearest to him from his family , and he will possess it. This will be for the Israelites a legal requirement , as the Lord commanded Moses .’”
Leadership Change
27:12 Then the Lord said to Moses , “Go up this mountain of the Abarim range, and see the land I have given to the Israelites . 27:13 When you have seen it, you will be gathered to your ancestors , as Aaron your brother was gathered to his ancestors. 27:14 For in the wilderness of Zin when the community rebelled against me, you rebelled against my command to show me as holy before their eyes over the water – the water of Meribah in Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin .” 27:15 Then Moses spoke to the Lord : 27:16 “Let the Lord , the God of the spirits of all humankind , appoint a man over the community , 27:17 who will go out before them, and who will come in before them, and who will lead them out , and who will bring them in, so that the community of the Lord may not be like sheep that have no shepherd .”

Pericope

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Bible Dictionary

  • Zelophehad

    [ebd] first-born, of the tribe of Manasseh, and of the family of Gilead; died in the wilderness. Having left no sons, his daughters, concerned lest their father's name should be "done away from among his family," made an appeal to...
    [isbe] ZELOPHEHAD - ze-lo'-fe-had (tslophchadh, meaning unknown): Head of a Manassite family who died without male issue (Nu 26:33; 27:1,7; 36:2,6,10,11; Josh 17:3; 1 Ch 7:15). His daughters came to Moses and Eleazar and successful...
    [smith] (first-born), son of Zepher, son of Gilead, son of Machir, son of Manasseh. (Joshua 17:3) (B.C. before 1450.) He was apparently the second son of Hepher. (1 Chronicles 7:15) Zelophehad came out of Egypt with Moses, but die...
    [nave] ZELOPHEHAD, grandson of Gilead. His daughters petition for his inheritance, Num. 27:1-11; 36; Josh. 17:3-6; 1 Chr. 7:15.

  • Women

    [nave] WOMEN Creation of, Gen. 1:27; 2:21, 22. Named, Gen. 2:23. Fall of, and curse upon, Gen. 3:1-16; 2 Cor. 11:3; 1 Tim. 2:14. Promise to, Gen. 3:15. Had separate apartments in dwellings, Gen. 24:67; 31:33; Esth. 2:9, 11. Ve...

  • WOMAN

    [isbe] WOMAN - woom'-an ('ishshah, "a woman" (feminine of 'ish, "a man"]; gune, "a woman" "wife"): I. IN THE CREATIVE PLAN II. IN OLD TESTAMENT TIMES 1. Prominence of Women 2. Social Equality 3. Marriage Laws 4. Inheritance 5. Dome...

  • Tirzah

    [isbe] TIRZAH - tur'-za (tirtsah; Thersa): (1) A royal city of the Canaanites, the king of which was slain by Joshua (12:24). It superseded Shechem as capital of the Northern Kingdom (1 Ki 14:17, etc.), and itself gave place in tur...
    [smith] (delight), youngest of the five daughters of Zelophehad. (Numbers 26:33; 27:1; 36:11; Joshua 17:3) (B.C. 1450.)
    [nave] TIRZAH 1. A daughter of Zelophehad, Num. 26:33; 36:11; Josh. 17:3. Special legislation in regard to the inheritance of, Num. 27:1-11; 36; Josh. 17:3, 4. 2. A city of Canaan. Captured by Joshua, Josh. 12:24. Becomes the re...

  • SHEPHERD

    [isbe] SHEPHERD - shep'-erd (ro`eh, ro`i; poimen, "a feeder"): The sheep owner frequently tends the flocks himself (Gen 4:4; 30:40; compare Ezek 34:12), but more often he delegates the work to his children (Gen 29:9; 1 Sam 16:19; 1...

  • RELATIONSHIPS, FAMILY

    [isbe] RELATIONSHIPS, FAMILY - re-la'-shun-ships: I. CONSANGUINITY 1. In General 2. Parents and Children 3. Brothers and Sisters 4. Uncles, Aunts, Cousins, Kinsmen II. AFFINITY 1. Husband and Wife 2. Father-in-Law, etc. 3. Brother-...

  • Property

    [nave] PROPERTY. In Real Estate Gen. 23:17, 18; 26:20. Rights in, violated, Gen. 21:25-30; 26:18-22. Dedicated, Lev. 27:16-25. See: Land. Dwellings. Alienated for debt, Lev. 25:29, 30; by absence, 2 Kin. 8:1-6; in villages, i...

  • PENTATEUCH, 2B

    [isbe] PENTATEUCH, 2B - 3. Answer to the Critical Analysis: (1) The Veto of Textual Criticism. The first great objection that may be made to the higher criticism is that it starts from the Massoretic text (MT) without investigation...

  • PATRIMONY

    [isbe] PATRIMONY - pat'-ri-mo-ni (ha-'abhoth, "the fathers"): A word occurring once in English Versions of the Bible (Dt 18:8), meaning literally, "the fathers," which, however, is obscure, probably by reason of abbreviation for so...

  • NUMBERS, BOOK OF

    [isbe] NUMBERS, BOOK OF - num'-berz: I. TITLE AND CONTENTS 1. Title 2. Contents II. LITERARY STRUCTURE 1. Alleged Grounds of Distribution 2. Objections to Same (1) Hypothesis Unproved (2) Written Record Not Impossible (3) No Book E...

  • Legislation

    [nave] LEGISLATION, class, forbidden, Ex. 12:49; Lev. 24:22; Num. 9:14; 15:15, 29; Gal. 3:28. Supplemental, concerning Sabbath-breaking, Num. 15:32-35; inheritance, Num. 27:1-11. See: Government; Law.

  • Land

    [nave] LAND Appeared on third creative day, Gen. 1:9. Original title to, from God, Gen. 13:14-17; 15:7; Ex. 23:31; Lev. 25:23. Bought and sold, Gen. 23:3-18; 33:19; Acts 4:34; 5:1-8. Sale and redemption of, laws concerning, Lev....

  • LAW OF MOSES

    [smith] It will be the object of this article to give a brief analysis of the substance of this law, to point out its main principles, and to explain the position which it occupies in the progress of divine revelation. In order to do...

  • Kadesh

    [ebd] holy, or Kadesh-Barnea, sacred desert of wandering, a place on the south-eastern border of Palestine, about 165 miles from Horeb. It lay in the "wilderness" or "desert of Zin" (Gen. 14:7; Num. 13:3-26; 14:29-33; 20:1; 27:14)...

  • Israel

    [nave] ISRAEL 1. A name given to Jacob, Gen. 32:24-32; 2 Kin. 17:34; Hos. 12:3, 4. 2. A name of the Christ in prophecy, Isa. 49:3. 3. A name given to the descendants of Jacob, a nation. Called also Israelites, and Hebrews, Gen. 4...

  • GENEALOGY, 1-7

    [isbe] GENEALOGY, 1-7 - je-na-al'-o-ji, jen-a-al'-o-ji: 1. Definition 2. Biblical References 3. Importance of Genealogies 4. Their Historical Value 5. Principles of Interpretation 6. Principles of Compilation 7. Sources 8. Principa...

  • GATE, EAST

    [isbe] GATE, EAST - The expressions are found in Ezekiel: "Even the gate that looketh toward the east" (43:1); "The gate whose prospect is toward the east" (43:4); but the idea of a gate on the eastern side as the principal entranc...

  • EXODUS, THE BOOK OF, 2

    [isbe] EXODUS, THE BOOK OF, 2 - II. Structure of the Book According to the Scriptures and According to Modern Analyses. In the following section (a) serves for the understanding of the Biblical text; (b) is devoted to the discussio...

  • Daughter

    [nave] DAUGHTER Forbidden to be wife of her mother's husband, Lev. 20:14. Sold in concubinage, Ex. 21:7-10. Given in marriage by parents, Judg. 1:12, 13; 1 Sam. 17:25; 18:20, 21. Property rights of, Num. 27:1-11; 36; Josh. 17:3-...

  • CHILDREN

    [smith] The blessing of offspring, but especially of the male sex, is highly valued among all eastern nations, while a the absence is regarded as one of the severest punishments. (Genesis 16:2; 7:14; 1 Samuel 1:6; 2 Samuel 6:23...

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Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

  • To formulate a statement that summarizes the teaching of this book it will be helpful to identify some of the major revelations in Numbers. These constitute the unique values of the book.The first major value of Numbers is th...
  • I. Experiences of the older generation in the wilderness chs. 1-25A. Preparations for entering the Promised Land from the south chs. 1-101. The first census and the organization of the people chs. 1-42. Commands and rituals t...
  • The focus of Numbers now changes from the older unbelieving generation of Israelites doomed to die in the wilderness to the younger generation that would enter the Promised Land."The parallels and contrasts between this narra...
  • The writer probably included this incident in the text because it resulted in a further definition of the laws governing inheritance in the land in a common situation. It also shows the faith of these women. They believed God...
  • The revelation of the laws of the division of the land just explained precipitated the incident that Moses recorded here. What would happen if the heiress to her father's property married someone from a different tribe? In th...
  • The context of this section is significant as usual. Verses 1-8 deal with people who ministered to Yahweh in various ways for the people, and verses 15-22 concern the delivery of God's revelations to His people. Verses 9-14 c...
  • The same day Moses gave his song to the Israelites God directed him to prepare for his death (v. 48; cf. Num. 27:12-14). Mt. Nebo is one of the peaks in the Abarim range that stands to the east of the Arabah northeast of the ...
  • In 1004 B.C. David became king of all Israel and Judah.50This was his third anointing (cf. 1 Sam. 16:13; 2 Sam. 2:4). The people acknowledged David's previous military leadership of all Israel as well as God's choice of him t...
  • A tabernacle, evidently the Mosaic tabernacle, and the Mosaic tabernacle's bronze altar still stood at Gibeon (lit. little hill; 1 Chron. 16:39-40; 21:28-29; 2 Chron. 1:3, 5-6). Gibeon was one of the so-called high places whe...
  • 22:20 The prophet spoke of Jerusalem as a young woman in this oracle. He called on her to go up on the surrounding mountains to bewail the loss of her lovers (political allies and pagan gods). The Lebanon mountains were to th...
  • This section summarizes the previous incidents that deal primarily with healing and prepares for Jesus' charge to His disciples. It is transitional providing a bridge from the condition of the people that chapter 9 revealed t...
  • Mark's account of this miracle plays an important role in his Gospel. The unusually long introduction provides the setting for this miracle. It stresses Jesus' humanity, and the miracle itself demonstrates His deity. Mark lat...
  • This teaching is quite similar to what the Synoptic evangelists recorded Jesus giving in His parables, but there is a significant difference. John called this teaching a figure of speech (Gr. paroimian) rather than a parable ...
  • The key to the apostles' successful fulfillment of Jesus' commission was their baptism with and consequent indwelling by the Holy Spirit. Without this divine enablement they would only have been able to follow Jesus' example,...
  • The writer put his readers' sufferings in perspective so they might not overestimate the difficulty they faced in remaining faithful to God."Suffering comes to all; it is part of life, but it is not easy to bear. Yet it is no...
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