Numbers 36:5

“And Moses commanded the children of Israel, etc.] Even all the tribes of Israel, whom the following law concerned, as well as the tribe of Manasseh: according to the word of the Lord; whom no doubt he consulted on this occasion, as he did when the daughters of Zelophehad applied unto him about the inheritance of their father: saying, the tribe of the sons of Joseph hath said well; in showing such a concern for the welfare of their tribe; the consideration of which would be of service to them all, and therefore was worthy of notice. Aben Ezra observes, that the heads of the fathers spoke for the sake of every tribe, what was for the good of them all, and therefore was well spoken.”

“Moses commanded the children of Israel according to the word of the Lord--The plea appeared just and reasonable; and, accordingly an enactment was made by which the daughters of Zelophehad, while left to the free choice of their husbands, were restricted to marry not only within their own tribe, but within the family of their father's tribe--that is, one of their cousins. This restriction, however, was imposed only on those who were heiresses. The law was not applicable to daughters in different circumstances (Ch1 23:22) --for they might marry into another tribe; but if they did so, they were liable to forfeit their patrimonial inheritance, which, on the death of their father or brothers,…”

“The daughters of Zelophehad had obtained an ordinance Numbers 28:6-11 which permitted the daughters of an Israelite dying without male issue to inherit their father’s property. The chiefs of the Machirites, of whom Zelophehad had been one, now obtain a supplemental enactment, directing that heiresses should marry within their own tribe. Numbers 36:4 Be taken away - i. e. be permanently taken away. The jubilee year, by not restoring the estate to the tribe to which it originally belonged, would in effect confirm the alienation. Numbers 36:11 Unto their father’s brothers’ sons - Or more generally, “unto the sons of their kinsmen.” return to 'Top of Page' Footnotes: Copyright Statement These…”

“36:5 The Lord readily provided the justice that the men of the tribe of Joseph (i.e., of the tribe of Manasseh, the son of Joseph) sought in their petition.”

“hath said well: Num 27:7; Deu 5:28 Numbers 36:6”

“Moses declared that what they had affirmed was right (כּן), and then, by command of Jehovah, he told the daughters of Zelophehad that they might marry whoever pleased them (the suffix ־הם, attached to בּעיני, for ־הן, as in Exo 1:21; Gen 31:9, etc.), but that he must belong to the family of their father's tribe, that is to say, must be a Manassite. For ( Num 36:7) the inheritance was not to turn away the Israelites from one tribe to another (not to be transferred from one to another), but every Israelite was to keep to the inheritance of his father's tribe, and no one was to enter upon the possession of another tribe by marrying an heiress belonging to that tribe. This is afterwards…”