Numbers 36:1-2

Women and Land Inheritance

36:1 Then the heads of the family groups ¹  of the Gileadites, the descendant of Machir, the descendant of Manasseh, who were from the Josephite families, approached and spoke before Moses ²  and the leaders who were the heads of the Israelite families. ³  36:2 They said, “The Lord commanded my lord to give ⁴  the land as an inheritance by lot to the Israelites; and my lord was commanded by the Lord to give the inheritance of our brother Zelophehad to his daughters.

Psalms 68:5

68:5 He is a father to the fatherless

and an advocate for widows. ⁵ 

God rules from his holy palace. ⁶ 

Jeremiah 49:11

49:11 Leave your orphans behind and I will keep them alive.

Your widows too can depend on me.” ⁷ 

Galatians 3:28

3:28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave ⁸  nor free, there is neither male nor female ⁹  – for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.

[36:1]  ¹ tn The expression is “the heads of the fathers by the family of the Gileadites.”

[36:1]  ² tn The Greek and the Syriac add “and before Eleazar the priest.”

[36:1]  ³ tn Heb “heads of the fathers.”

[36:2]  ⁴ tn The infinitive construct “to give” serves here as the complement or object of the verb, answering what the Lord had commanded Moses.

[68:5]  ⁵ sn God is depicted here as a just ruler. In the ancient Near Eastern world a king was responsible for promoting justice, including caring for the weak and vulnerable, epitomized by the fatherless and widows.

[68:5]  ⁶ tn Heb “God [is] in his holy dwelling place.” He occupies his throne and carries out his royal responsibilities.

[49:11]  ⁷ tn Or “Their children and relatives will all be destroyed. And none of their neighbors will say, ‘Leave your orphans with me and I’ll keep them alive. Your widows can trust in me.’” This latter interpretation is based on a reading in a couple of the Greek versions (Symmachus and Lucian) and is accepted by a number of the modern commentaries, (J. Bright, J. A. Thompson, W. L. Holladay, and G. L. Keown, P. J. Scalise, T. G. Smothers). However, the majority of modern English versions do not follow it and lacking any other Hebrew or versional evidence it is probable that this is an interpretation to explain the mitigation of what appears as a prophecy of utter annihilation. There have been other cases in Jeremiah where a universal affirmation (either positive or negative) has been modified in the verses that follow. The verb in the second line תִּבְטָחוּ (tivtakhu) is highly unusual; it is a second masculine plural form with a feminine plural subject. The form is explained in GKC 127-28 §47.k and 160-61 §60.a, n. 1 as a pausal substitution for the normal form תִּבְטַחְנָה (tivtakhnah) and a similar form in Ezek 37:7 cited as a parallel.

[3:28]  ⁸ tn See the note on the word “slave” in 1:10.

[3:28]  ⁹ tn Grk “male and female.”