Numbers 36:5

Here is, I. The matter settled by express order from God between the daughters of Zelophehad and the rest of the tribe of Manasseh. The petition is assented to, and care taken to prevent the inconvenience feared: The tribe of the sons of Joseph hath said well, Num 36:5. Thus those that consult the oracles of God concerning the making of their heavenly inheritance sure shall not only be directed what to do, but their enquiries shall be graciously accepted, and they shall have not only their well done, but their well said, good and faithful servant. Now the matter is thus accommodated: these heiresses must be obliged to marry, not only within their own tribe of Manasseh, but within the particular family of the Hepherites, to which they did belong. 1. They are not determined to any particular persons; there was choice enough in the family of their father: Let them marry to whom they think best. As children must preserve the authority of their parents, and not marry against their minds, so parents must consult the affections of their children in disposing of them, and not compel them to marry such as they cannot love. Forced marriages are not likely to prove blessings. 2. Yet they are confined to their own relations, that their inheritance may not go to another family. God would have them know that the land being to be divided by lot, the disposal whereof was of the Lord, they could not mend, and therefore should not alter, his appointment. The inheritances must not remove from tribe to tribe (Num 36:7), lest there should be confusion among them, their estates entangled, and their genealogies perplexed. God would not have one tribe to be enriched by the straitening and impoverishing of another, since they were all alike the seed of Abraham his friend.

II. The law, in this particular case, was made perpetual, and to be observed whenever hereafter the like case should happen, Num 36:8. Those that were not heiresses might marry into what tribe they pleased (though we may suppose that, ordinarily, they kept within their own tribe), but those that were must either quit their claim to the inheritance or marry one of their own family, that each of the tribes might keep to its own inheritance, and one tribe might not encroach upon another, but throughout their generations there might remain immovable the ancient landmarks, set, not by their fathers, but by the God of their fathers.

III. The submission of the daughters of Zelophehad to this appointment. How could they but marry well, and to their satisfaction, when God himself directed them? They married their father's brothers' sons, Num 36:10-12. By this it appears, 1. That the marriage of cousin-germans is not in itself unlawful, nor within the degrees prohibited, for then God would not have countenanced these marriages. But, 2. That ordinarily it is not advisable; for, if there had not been a particular reason for it (which cannot hold in any case now, inheritances being not disposed of as then by the special designation of Heaven), they would not have married such near relations. The world is wide, and he that walks uprightly will endeavour to walk surely.

IV. The conclusion of this whole book, referring to the latter part of it: These are the judgments which the Lord commanded in the plains of Moab (Num 36:13), these foregoing, ever since ch. 26, most of which related to their settlement in Canaan, into which they were now entering. Whatever new condition God is by his providence bringing us into, we must beg of him to teach us the duty of it, and to enable us to do it, that we may do the work of the day in its day, of the place in its place.

Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

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.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

For the tribe could not have continued, if the inheritance which was the maintenance thereof should have been alienated to others.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

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, went to the nearest of the family kinsmen. Here was an instance of progressive legislation (see also Exo 18:27) in Israel, the enactments made being suggested by circumstances. But it is deserving of special notice that those additions to, or modifications of, the law were confined to civil affairs; while the slightest change was inadmissible in the laws relating to worship or the maintenance of religion.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

(5) And Moses commanded the children of Israel according to the word of the Lord.—In regard to the application made by the daughters of Zelophehad to Moses and Eleazar and the princes, it is said that “Moses brought their cause before the Lord” (Num_27:5). In the present case there is no express declaration made to the same effect; but there can be no doubt that the statement contained in this verse, that Moses commanded the children of Israel “according to the word of the Lord,” and that contained in Num_36:6, “This is the thing which the Lord doth command,” imply that Moses had committed this cause also to the Lord, and that he had received direction from Him.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And Moses commanded the children of Israel,.... 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.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Their plea is just and reasonable. God did not take particular care about every occurrence that happened, or might happen, but left divers things to be found out by human prudence, which being his own gift, it was meet there should be opportunities left for the exercise of it; and God thought fit to approve and ratify the prudent and profitable inventions of men by his own law or sanction; as in the case of Jethro, Exo 18, of Zelophehad’s daughter, Num 27, and here of their brethren. But it is observable, that God allowed this only in civil affairs, but never in the matters of his worship, where he utterly forbids it.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

5. Tribe of the sons of Joseph — Nominally there was no tribe of Joseph, but really two tribes, Ephraim and Manasseh; so that Joseph was treated as the firstborn, so far as the inheritance was concerned. Gen_48:5; 1Ch_5:2, note. The text specially refers to the tribe of Manasseh, to which these heiresses belonged.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The tribe of the sons of Joseph. "The tribe (matteh) of the Beni-Joseph." There were two, or rather in effect three, tribes of the Beni-Joseph; Moses referred, of course, to the one which had come before him.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The Regulation

v. 5. And Moses commanded the children of Israel according to the word of the Lord, which he had meanwhile received, saying, The tribe of the sons of Joseph hath said well.

v. 6. This is the thing which the Lord doth command concerning the daughters of Zeiophehad, saying, Let them marry, become wives, to whom they think best; only to the family of the tribe of their father shall they marry, that was the restriction to which they were bound. Moreover, this was to be a general rule.

v. 7. So shall not the inheritance of the children of Israel remove from tribe to tribe, not be transferred by marriages of this kind; for every one of the children of Israel shall keep himself to the inheritance of the tribe of his fathers, to avoid confusion.

v. 8. And every daughter that possesseth an inheritance in any tribe of the children of Israel, in the form of land or real estate, shall be wife unto one of the family of the tribe of her father, that the children of Israel may enjoy every man the inheritance of his fathers.

v. 9. Neither shall the inheritance remove from one tribe to another tribe; but every one of the tribes of the children of Israel shall keep himself to his own inheritance.

v. 10. Even as the Lord commanded Moses, so did the daughters of Zeiophehad;

v. 11. for Mahlah, Tirzah, and Hoglah, and Milcah, and Noah, the daughters of Zeiophehad, were married unto their father’s brothers’ sons, to their cousins, unless the Hebrew term is used in the wider sense.

v. 12. And they were married into the families, and thus also by marriage became members of the families, of the sons of Manasseh, the son of Joseph, and their inheritance remained in the tribe of the family of their father.

v. 13. These are the commandments and the judgments, the ordinances or statutes, which the Lord commanded by the hand of Moses unto the children of Israel in the Plains of Moab by Jordan, near Jericho. Thus Moses put his signature to the law-giving of the Plains of Moab, "though without in any way implying that the explanation, further development, and hortatory enforcement of the Law and its statutes and judgments, which follow in Deuteronomy, are not of Mosaic origin. " (Keil. )

Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

at Yahweh's word

"according to what Yahweh said"

Let them be married to whom they think best

This can be stated in active form. AT: "Let them marry whom they want" (See: Active or Passive)

they must marry only within the family of their father's tribe

This can be stated in active form. AT: "but they may only marry someone from their father's tribe" (See: Active or Passive)

translationWords

word

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.