Chapter 36

Inheritance by Marriage

1 aAnd the heads of the fathers’ households of the family of the sons of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, of the families of the sons of Joseph, came near and spoke before Moses and before the leaders, the heads of the fathers’ households of the sons of Israel,

2 and they said, “The Lord commanded my lord to give the land by lot to the sons of Israel as an inheritance, and my lord awas commanded by the Lord to give the inheritance of Zelophehad our brother to his daughters.

3 “But if they 1marry one of the sons of the other tribes of the sons of Israel, their inheritance will be withdrawn from the inheritance of our fathers and will be added to the inheritance of the tribe to which they belong; thus it will be withdrawn from our allotted inheritance.

4 “When the ajubilee of the sons of Israel 1comes, then their inheritance will be added to the inheritance of the tribe to which they belong; so their inheritance will be withdrawn from the inheritance of the tribe of our fathers.”

5 Then Moses commanded the sons of Israel according to the 1word of the Lord, saying, “The tribe of the sons of Joseph are right in their statements.

6 “aThis is 1what the Lord has commanded concerning the daughters of Zelophehad, saying, ‘Let them marry 2whom they wish; only they must marry within the family of the tribe of their father.’

7 “Thus ano inheritance of the sons of Israel shall 1be transferred from tribe to tribe, for the sons of Israel shall each 2hold to the inheritance of the tribe of his fathers.

8 “aEvery daughter who comes into possession of an inheritance of any tribe of the sons of Israel shall be wife to one of the family of the tribe of her father, so that the sons of Israel each may possess the inheritance of his fathers.

9 “Thus no inheritance shall 1be transferred from one tribe to another tribe, for the tribes of the sons of Israel shall each 2hold to his own inheritance.”

10 Just as the Lord had commanded Moses, so the daughters of Zelophehad did:

11 aMahlah, Tirzah, Hoglah, Milcah and Noah, the daughters of Zelophehad married their uncles’ sons.

12 They married those from the families of the sons of Manasseh the son of Joseph, and their inheritance 1remained with the tribe of the family of their father.

13 aThese are the commandments and the ordinances which the Lord commanded to the sons of Israel through Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan opposite Jericho.