And Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, had no sons, but daughters; and these are the names of his daughters Mahlah, and Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah.
The survey of Manasseh's land pauses here to name a man who had no son, and then names his five daughters one by one. Their case raises a large question: what happens to a family portion when the normal line of inheritance runs out?
Under Israel's law, only sons inherited. Zelophehad died without a son, so his name and his portion should have disappeared. One writer sees God stepping in where the rule left a gap.
Before Israel entered the land, the daughters of Zelophehad claimed their father's inheritance. Through that claim God proves the sovereignty of grace. He makes provision in a case where the law made none... But Zelophehad had no sons, and none to carry on the family name... By the law only sons could inherit. Is this inheritance to be lost, swallowed up by others? No — grace gives these daughters the inheritance of their father, and grace made it a "statute of judgment." Already we are given, in shadow, the great truth that in Christ Jesus there is neither male nor female. All believers are sons, heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ.
Scripture names these same five women again and again. One writer notes that repetition, and also why their father had no son.
The Bible mentions them five times (Num. 26:33; Num. 27:1-11; Num. 36:3-12; Joshua 17:3-6; 1 Chron. 7:15), proof of the important place they occupy in God's thoughts. Not one of their names is forgotten... They recognized that their unusual situation came from their father's sin. He was not among those who joined Korah's rebellion against the LORD. Still, he died in the wilderness, and he died for his own sin. That was why he had no sons... Even so, his five daughters want to carry on their father's name. As true daughters of Israel they value their family line, and so their inheritance.
By nature these women had no case. Their father was dead. No brother stood in his place.
Here were those daughters of Joseph — for so we must call them. They had lost their father. As nature sees it, they were helpless and alone. Death had snapped the link that seemed to tie them to the inheritance of God's people. What then? Were they content to give up?... They were sure there was a portion for them in the promised land. Neither death nor anything that happened in the wilderness could ever take it from them.
One writer follows the sisters from their marriages to their claim.
They had married their uncles' sons, as the LORD had directed (Num. 36:11). Now they ask to receive their inheritance. "The LORD commanded Moses to give us an inheritance along with our brothers," they say, relying on God's word alone. For them, this was enough to settle everything, even in a case that went beyond the usual order of the law. What is more, their faith and their confidence in the LORD's command to Moses led all Manasseh to adopt the same rule for female descendants, even beyond the Jordan. "The daughters of Manasseh received an inheritance along with his sons" (v. 6). So the rule given to a few became the privilege of all.
The same writer weighs the other side of such boldness.
The faith of the daughters was most lovely. But there was a danger. Their faith had lifted them to a high place, and there they might forget the claims of others and move the landmarks that guarded the inheritance of their fathers... We need to be guarded on every side, so that faith and the testimony keep their integrity. However strong our faith may be, we are not to carry things with a high hand and a strong will. We must always be ready to yield ourselves to the adjusting power of the whole truth of God.
One writer carries the case forward to the believer's portion, and marks a limit at the same time.
Five daughters of one man, Zelophehad, received the inheritance that would have been their father's if he had not died. Moses had promised them this (Num. 27:1-11), and now in boldness of faith they claim the inheritance (vs. 3-4). And believing women are just as fully entitled to a spiritual inheritance in heavenly places as men are. This blessing for them is wonderful. Of course it does not set aside God's order for the different places and responsibilities of the man and the woman in the church or in public testimony.
- Loss — Zelophehad died with no son, so by the ordinary rule his name and portion in the land were gone.
- Grace — God met the case the law had not covered, and gave the daughters their father's inheritance.
- Faith — They refused to let death cancel a promised portion, and asked for what they could not yet see.
- Word — Their entire claim rested on one thing: what the LORD had commanded Moses.
- Reach — What five women asked for became a settled right for all Manasseh, and it pointed on to an inheritance shared by every believer.
And they came near before Eleazar the priest, and before Joshua the son of Nun, and before the princes, saying, Jehovah commanded Moses to give us an inheritance among our brethren. And he gave them according to the commandment of Jehovah an inheritance among the brethren of their father.
Joshua 17 divides the land west of the Jordan among the families of Manasseh. In the middle of the boundary lists, five sisters step forward. Their father died without sons, yet they ask for land among the men of their family. The whole case turns on one thing: what God had already said to Moses.
They bring no argument of their own. Their whole case is what God told Moses:
The daughters of Zelophehad had married their uncles' sons according to the Lord's directions (Num. 36:11). Now they ask to receive their inheritance. "The LORD commanded Moses to give us an inheritance along with our brothers," they say, relying on God's word alone. For them, this was enough to settle everything, even in a case that went beyond the usual order of the law. Their faith and their confidence in the LORD's command to Moses led all Manasseh, even beyond the Jordan, to adopt the same rule for female descendants. So the rule given to a few became the privilege of all.
They do not bring the case to one man. A priest and a leader together oversee the dividing of the land, and every hard case comes to them both:
At this new point in their history Eleazar takes his place beside Joshua, to divide the land at the door of the tabernacle… When difficulties arose, as with the daughters of Zelophehad, they came before Eleazar the priest and Joshua the son of Nun for a settlement… As for the tribe of Levi, they had no portion among the people, for the priesthood of the LORD is their inheritance.
This is not the first time Scripture tells their story. One writer reads the repeat as praise, and counts what their courage added to the tribe:
Even the women of Manasseh show the courage of faith, and gain an inheritance with their brothers. Scripture repeats their story here, to their praise. We do well to long for the portion God has given us. There is abundance for all. Enjoying it to the full will only enrich others, never impoverish them. So Manasseh gains ten portions. The single portion of Zelophehad grows into five through the inheritance of his daughters.
The sisters asked for one thing: land among their father's relatives. What came back was larger:
They fully counted on the Lord and His goodness, though the earlier instructions did not cover their case. "It is impossible for God to be like a poor man, who says, 'You expect more good than I am ready to give.' God could not make such an answer. He always gives more. Whatever faith asks for, the answer of grace never fails to go beyond it." The answer given to Moses was that they were surely to receive their inheritance.
That widening shows up in the chapter itself. Rossier observes in the passage quoted above that the ruling for these five became the settled practice for the whole tribe: "the rule given to a few became the privilege of all."
Had they stayed quiet, the loss would not have been theirs alone:
Suppose they had listened to the voice of fear and unbelief. Suppose they had refused to come forward before the whole congregation and press the claims of faith. Then they would have lost their own inheritance and blessing — and every future daughter of Israel in the same position would have lost her portion too. Instead they acted in the precious energy of faith. They kept their inheritance; they got the blessing; they received testimony from God; their names shine in the pages of Scripture; and their conduct gave, by divine authority, a precedent for all future generations.
One writer turns their example toward us, and toward every reader who holds a better inheritance:
The five daughters of Zelophehad greatly valued the inheritance that belonged to their father's house, even though their father was dead and they did not yet hold the land… Not only did these young women receive it at the mouth of the LORD, but they received something of far greater value — their names written in the Holy Scriptures… I wish believers today would copy the zeal of these sisters, for God has made them heirs of a much better inheritance. How eager we should be to learn the riches of the glory of God's inheritance in His saints, the inheritance in heaven, and the wonderful heritage we have in the Scriptures and the truth of God. The sisters were also to marry with the inheritance in view, and not to marry those who had no real interest in it.
- Word — Their whole case was what God had already told Moses. That alone settled a matter the ordinary law did not cover.
- Place — They brought it to Eleazar the priest and Joshua. These two men settled every hard case in the dividing of the land.
- More — The answer came back larger than the asking. Grace never fails to go beyond what faith asks.
- Reach — Their boldness became the rule for the whole tribe, and a precedent for later generations. Had they stayed silent, other daughters of Israel would have lost their portion too.
- Gain — They received the land, and their names in Scripture. Their portion enlarged the tribe instead of robbing it, for there is abundance for all.