Numbers 36 explained: Keeping Land Within the Tribe

Clan leaders raise a worry (vv. 1-3)

Earlier in Numbers, Zelophehad died without sons, and his five daughters were given the right to inherit his land. The leaders of his clan accept that ruling but point out that if the daughters marry men from another tribe, the land would pass to that tribe, since children were counted as belonging to their father's tribe.

Why the Jubilee matters (v. 4)

Every fiftieth year, in the Year of Jubilee, land that had been sold went back to its original family. Land passed on through marriage had not been sold, so the Jubilee would not return it, and the loss would become permanent.

The ruling on heiresses (vv. 5-9)

Moses, speaking for the LORD, agrees and rules that daughters who inherit land must marry within their father's clan, though they may choose any husband there. The aim was to keep each tribe's share whole, because the land had been handed out by drawing lots and was seen as God's own allotment.

The daughters follow it (vv. 10-12)

Mahlah, Tirzah, Hoglah, Milkah and Noah, named once more, marry cousins on their father's side. Their land stays in the clan, and the question raised by their inheritance is settled.

End of the book (v. 13)

This verse closes the book of Numbers by summing up the laws given while Israel camped east of the Jordan River, across from Jericho. The people are now waiting on the edge of the land they expect to enter.

Key verse: Numbers 36:7

Something to think about

When a rule that makes things fairer for some people creates new problems for a wider group, how do you think the two should be weighed?