Then the daughters of Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, of the families of Manasseh the son of Joseph came near. These are the names of his daughters: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. They stood before Moses, before Eleazar the priest, and before the princes and all the congregation, at the door of the Tent of Meeting, saying, “Our father died in the wilderness. He was not among the company of those who gathered themselves together against Yahweh in the company of Korah, but he died in his own sin. He had no sons. Why should the name of our father be taken away from among his family, because he had no son? Give to us a possession among the brothers of our father.”
Moses brought their cause before Yahweh. Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, “The daughters of Zelophehad speak right. You shall surely give them a possession of an inheritance among their father’s brothers. You shall cause the inheritance of their father to pass to them. You shall speak to the children of Israel, saying, ‘If a man dies, and has no son, then you shall cause his inheritance to pass to his daughter. If he has no daughter, then you shall give his inheritance to his brothers. If he has no brothers, then you shall give his inheritance to his father’s brothers. If his father has no brothers, then you shall give his inheritance to his kinsman who is next to him of his family, and he shall possess it. This shall be a statute and ordinance for the children of Israel, as Yahweh commanded Moses.’ ”
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv3, 5, 11 According as all men die, for as much as…
According as all men die, for as much as they are sinners.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv3, 4, 7, 11 Num 27:3 Our father died in the wilderness, and…
Num 27:3 Our father died in the wilderness, and he was not in the company of them that gathered themselves together against the LORD in the company of Korah; but died in his own sin, and had no sons.
Ver. 3. But died in his own. sin.] i.e., By a natural and an ordinary death; not by a special plague, as that arch-rebel Korah. Death is the just hire of the least sin. {Rom 6:23} But some evildoers God doth not only put to death, but also hangs them up in gibbets, as it were, for public notice and admonition.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 10, 11 Perceiving that the males only were numbered, and that…
Perceiving that the males only were numbered, and that the land was to be divided to them only, they put in their claim for a share in their father’s inheritance.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain On v1 Mention is made of the case of these daughters…
Mention is made of the case of these daughters of Zelophehad in the chapter before, v. 33. It should seem, by the particular notice taken of it, that it was a singular case, and that the like did not at this time occur in all Israel, that the head of a family had no sons, but daughters only. Their case is again debated (Num 36:1-13) upon another article of it; and, according to the judgments given in their case, we find them put in possession, Jos 17:3, Jos 17:4. One would suppose that their personal character was such as added weight to their case, and caused it to be so often taken notice of.
Here is, I. Their case stated by themselves, and their petition upon it presented to the highest court of judicature, which consisted of Moses as king, the princes as lords, and the congregation, or elders of the people who were chose their representatives, as the commons, Num 27:2. This august assembly sat near the door of the tabernacle, that in difficult cases they might consult the oracle. To them these young ladies made their application; for it is the duty of magistrates to defend the fatherless, Psa 82:3. We find not that the had any advocate to speak for them, but they managed their own cause ingeniously enough, which they could do the better because it was plain and honest, and spoke for itself. Now observe,
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1. What it is they petition for: That they might have a possession in the land of Canaan, among the brethren of their father, Num 27:4. What God had said to Moses (Num 26:53) he had faithfully made known to the people, that the land of Canaan was to be divided among those that were now numbered; these daughters knew that they were not numbered, and therefore by this rule must expect no inheritance, and the family of their father must be looked upon as extinct, and written childless, though he had all these daughters: this they thought hard, and therefore prayed to be admitted heirs to their father, and to have an inheritance in his right. If they had had a brother, they would not have applied to Moses (as one did to Christ, Luk 12:13) for an order to inherit with him. But, having no brother, they beg for a possession. Herein they discovered, (1.) A strong faith in the power and promise of God concerning the giving of the land of Canaan to Israel. Though it was yet unconquered, untouched, and in the full possession of the natives, yet they petition for their share in it as if it were all their own already. See Psa 60:6, Psa 60:7, God has spoken in his holiness, and the Gilead is mine, Manasseh is mane. (2.) An earnest desire of a place and name in the land of promise, which was a type of heaven; and if they had, as some think, an eye to that, and by this claim laid hold on eternal life, they were five wise virgins indeed; and their example should quicken us with all possible diligence to make sure our title to the heavenly inheritance, in the disposal of which, by the covenant of grace, no difference is made between male and female, Gal 3:28. (3.) A true respect and honour for their father, whose name was dear and precious to them now that he was gone, and they were therefore solicitous that it should not be done away from among his family. There is a debt which children owe to the memory of their parents, required by the fifth commandment: Honour thy father and mother.
2. What their plea is: That their father did not die under any attainder which might be thought to have corrupted his blood and forfeited his estate, but he died in his own sin (Num 27:3), not engaged in any mutiny or rebellion against Moses, particularly not in that of Korah and his company, nor in any way concerned in the sins of others, but chargeable only with the common iniquities of mankind, for which to his own Master he was to stand or fall, but laid not himself open to any judicial process before Moses and the princes. He was never convicted of any thing that might be a bar to his children's claim. It is a comfort to parents, when they come to die, if, though they smart themselves for their own sin, yet they are not conscious to themselves of any of those iniquities which God visits upon the children.
II. Their case determined by the divine oracle. Moses did not presume to give judgment himself, because, though their pretensions seemed just and reasonable, yet his express orders were to divide the land among those that were numbered, who were the males only; he therefore brings their cause before the Lord, and waits for his decision (Num 27:5), and God himself gives the judgment upon it. He takes cognizance of the affairs, not only of nations, but of private families, and orders them in judgment, according to the counsel of his own will. 1. The petition is granted (Num 27:7): They speak right, give them a possession. Those that seek an inheritance in the land of promise shall have what they seek, and other things shall be added to them. These are claims which God will countenance and crown. 2. The point is settled for all future occasions. These daughters of Zelophehad consulted, not only their own comfort and the credit of their family, but the honour and happiness of their sex likewise; for on this particular occasion a general law was made that, in case a man had no son, his estate should go to his daughters (Num 27:8); not to the eldest, as the eldest son, but to them all in copartnership, share and share alike. Those that in such a case deprive their daughters of their right, purely to keep up the name of their family, unless a valuable consideration be allowed them, may make the entail of their lands surer than the entail of a blessing with them. Further directions are given for the disposal of inheritances, Num 27:9-11. "If a man have no issue at all, his estate shall go to his brethren; if no brethren, then to his father's brethren; and, if there be no such, then to his next kinsman." With this the rules of our law exactly agree: and though the Jewish doctors here will have it understood that if a man have no children his estate shall go to his father, if living, before his brethren, yet there is nothing of that in the law, and our common law has an express rule against it, That an estate cannot ascend lineally; so that if a person purchase lands in fee-simple, and die without issue in the life-time of his father, his father cannot be his heir. See how God makes heirs, and in his disposal we must acquiesce.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv1–11 Then came the daughters of Zelophehad,.... Who are mentioned…
Then came the daughters of Zelophehad,.... Who are mentioned among the families of Manasseh, under that of the Hepherites, Num 26:33, their father being dead, and they having no brethren, when they heard the land was to be divided among those that were numbered, and who were only males of twenty years old and upwards, were concerned, lest they should have no share in the division of the land; and therefore came, according to the Targum of Jonathan, to the house of judgment, or court of judicature, where Moses, the princes, &c. were now sitting: the genealogy of Zelophehad is given:
he was the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, the son of Joseph; by which it appears he was of the tribe of Manasseh, and of the fourth generation from him:
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and these are the names of his daughters, Mahlah, Noah, ann Hoglah, and Milcah, and Tirzah; in the same order their names are given in Num 26:33, but in Num 36:11, it is a little altered, Noah and Tirzah change places, which Jarchi says shows they were upon an equality one with another.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 3, 4, 10, 11 The case of Zelophehad's daughters determined, ver. 1-11. Notice…
The case of Zelophehad's daughters determined, ver. 1-11. Notice given to Moses of his death, ver. 12-14. His successor provided. ver. 15-23.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv1, 7 The daughters of Zelophehad claim their inheritance, 1-4.
CHAPTER XXVII
The daughters of Zelophehad claim their inheritance, 1-4.
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Moses brings their case before the Lord, 5.
He allows their claim, 6, 7;
and a law is made to regulate the inheritance of daughters,
8-11.
Moses is commanded to go up to Mount Abarim, and view the
promised land, 12;
is apprised of his death, 13;
and because he did not sanctify God at the waters of Meribah, he
shall not enter into it, 14.
Moses requests the Lord to appoint a person to supply his place
as leader of th Israelites, 15-17.
God appoints a Joshua, commands Moses to lay his hands upon him,
to set him before Eleazar the priest, and give him a charge in
the sight of the people, 18-20.
Eleazar shall ask counsel for him by Urim, and at his command
shall the Israelites go out and come in, 21.
Moses does as the Lord commanded him, and consecrates Joshua,
22, 23.
NOTES ON CHAP. XXVII
Verse 1. The daughters of Zelophehad] The singular case of these women caused an additional law to be made to the civil code of Israel, which satisfactorily ascertained and amply secured the right of succession in cases of inheritance. The law, which is as reasonable as it is just, stands thus:
1. On the demise of the father the estate goes to the sons;
2. If there be no son, the daughters succeed;
3. If there be no daughter, the brothers of the deceased inherit;
4. If there be no brethren or paternal uncles, the estate goes to the brothers of his father;
5. If there be no grand uncles or brothers of the father of the deceased, then the nearest akin succeeds to the inheritance.
Beyond the fifth degree the law does not proceed, because as the families of the Israelites were kept distinct in their respective tribes, there must always be some who could be called kinsmen, and were really such, having descended without interruption from the patriarch of the tribe.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv2, 3, 4, 7, 10 Num 27:2. Before the princes — By princes, it…
Num 27:2. Before the princes — By princes, it seems, are meant the heads of the tribes, or the highest of the judges appointed Exo 18:25, called there the heads of the people; and by all the congregation is intended the seventy elders or representatives of the people, Num 11:24. At the head of all these sat Moses, and next to him the high-priest. By the door of the tabernacle — Nigh unto which, it appears, was the place where Moses and the chief rulers assembled for the administration of public affairs. This was very convenient, because they had frequent occasion of having recourse to God for his direction.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv1–4 Women in Israel had not, up to the present…
Women in Israel had not, up to the present time, enjoyed any distinct right of inheritance. Yet a father, whether sons had been born to him or not, had the power, either before or at his death, to cause part of his estate to pass to a daughter; in which case her husband married into her family rather than she into his, and the children were regarded as of the family from which the estate had come. Thus, Machir, ancestor of Zelophehad, although he had a son Gilead, left also, as is probable, an inheritance to his daughter, the wife of Hezron of the tribe of Judah, by reason of which their descendants, among whom was Jair, were reckoned as belonging to the tribe of Manasseh (Num 32:41; 1Ch 2:21 ff).
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv1, 3, 4, 9, 11 Salphaad, a descendant of Joseph, had departed this life…
Salphaad, a descendant of Joseph, had departed this life in the desert, being one of those who sinned, by murmuring, at Cades-barne. See chap. xiv., and xv. 32. (Calmet) --- He only left these five daughters behind him; and, as many others might be under the same predicament, their case deserved the attention of the legislator, who referred it to God. (Haydock)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures 1864 · Public Domain On v1 The Preservation of the family Life, and the elevation…
FOURTH SECTION
The Preservation of the family Life, and the elevation of Woman by the establishment of the rights of Female Heirs (the Daughters of Zelophehad)
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Num_27:1-11
1Then came the daughters of Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, of the families of Manasseh the son of Joseph: and these are the names of his daughters; Mahlah, Noah, and Hoglah, and Milcah, and Tirzah. 2And they stood before Moses, and before Eleazar the priest, and before the princes and all the congregation, by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, saying, 3Our father died in the wilderness, and he was not in the company of them that gathered themselves together against the Lord in the company of Korah; but died in his own sin, and had no sons. 4Why should the name of our father be 1done away from among his family, because he hath no son? Give unto us therefore a possession among the brethren of our father. 5And Moses brought their cause before the Lord.
6And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 7The daughters of Zelophehad speak right: thou shalt surely give them a possession of an inheritance among their father’s brethren; and thou shalt cause the inheritance of their father to pass unto them. 8And thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If a man die, and 9have no son, then ye shall cause his inheritance to pass unto his daughter. And 10if he have no daughter, then ye shall give his inheritance unto his brethren. And if he have no brethren, then ye shall give his inheritance unto his father’s brethren. 11And if his father have no brethren, then ye shall give his inheritance unto his kinsman that is next to him of his family, and he shall possess it: and it shall be unto the children of Israel a statute of judgment, as the Lord commanded Moses.
TEXTUAL AND GRAMMATICAL
[Num_27:4. Lange: extinguished. Keil: out off, cease. Bunsen: withdrawn—A. G.]
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
The section finds its legal enlargement and completion in chap. 36. As the inalienable character and security of the separate tribes is established in the previous section, so here the sure fixed continuity in the tribe branches or families. But in all, the dominant and fundamental thought, is the personal dignity and worth of the imperishable personal name. In a conditional sense Canaan shall belong to the people forever, for the sake of the name of Israel; the heritage of Judah because of the name Judah; and so also every branch of each tribe’s inheritance, for the sake of the name of the ancestral house, or father’s house. The daughters of Zelophehad understand the direction in this way, and speak not for themselves particularly, but that the memory of their father Zelophehad may be preserved in a corresponding inheritance.
Yet in so doing they act indirectly for themselves, i. e., for their own womanly dignity. They establish the claim that a family name could be preserved through a female generation merely—that in a conditional method female heirs could represent and take the place of male. They thus secured the law with respect to the inheritance of daughters, and with it a significant elevation of woman in her social dignity; although it did not amount to an equality with man. Their common and confident appearance before Moses, before the high-priest, the elders and the whole congregation, was itself an act of true moral elevation, which must have had a lasting effect, and therefore they well deserved to have their names rescued from oblivion, by a double record here and in Num_36:10 : Mahlah, Noah, and Hoglah, and Milcah, and Tirzah.
That the law of inheritance was still in a forming state was owing doubtless to the fact, that in the so-called father-houses the patriarchal customs, the right of destination exercised by the patriarchal family head, modified perhaps by the views of the family council, were still to a large extent preserved. Thus here there is nothing said as to the right of inheritance of daughters when there are sons also; and the contingency of a daughter carrying her inheritance over into another tribe is left unprovided for, until the restrictions and limitations are fixed in chap. 36. The very question whether there was any right of inheritance for females was still so novel that even Moses felt constrained to seek a special decision upon it from the Lord (Num_27:5). These daughters surely had the purpose to preserve the memory of their father’s house through their possessions, i. e., by taking husbands only on the condition that the sons who might be born should be designated as descendants of their father Zelophehad. The provision, however, in chap. 36. seems to prove that this was not the universal custom, as Keil, Knobel [Bible Com.: suppose, citing as practical examples of it Jarha (1Ch_2:34), Jair (Num_32:41; Deu_3:14), Barzillai (Ezr_2:61; Neh_7:63). The fuller explication of the law, however, as to the inheritance of daughters, which, as an ordinance of God, fixed definitely the status of the right, truly led to this custom. If the sire of a house die without sons, his inheritance passed to his daughters. But in what sense the following regulations reveal: the heir next in succession shall be his brother, etc. In any case the inheritance must remain in the tribe. [Bible Com.: “A father, whether sons had been born to him or not, had the power, either before or at his death, to cause part of his estate to pass to a daughter; in which case her husband married into her family rather than she into his, and the children were regarded as of the family from which the estate had come. Thus Machir, ancestor of Zelophehad, although he had a son Gilead, left also, as is probable, an inheritance to his daughter, the wife of Hezron, of the tribe of Judah, by reason of which their descendants, among whom was Jair, were reckoned as belonging to the tribe of Manasseh (1Ch_2:21 sq.). Thus Sheshan also, who had no sons, married his daughter to his Egyptian servant Jarha, and so had by them a long line of posterity (1Ch_2:34 sq.). Other earlier nations had like customs. The daughters of Laban complain of “having no portion or inheritance in their father’s house” (Gen_31:14), intimating apparently that Laban might have given them such had he so pleased, and thus bound their husband by ties which would have prevented them from leaving his father-in-law. So of the daughters of Job it is specially noted that “their father gave them inheritance among their brethren” (Job_42:15).—A. G.]
The daughters of Zelophehad based their demand upon their father’s right, which he had not forfeited. He was not in the company of Korah, but died in his own sin [i. e., the sin which he had committed with others in the wilderness, and for which he died without entering the land of promise.—A. G.] His destruction with the company of Korah would have forfeited his heritable right, but since he died in his own sin, i.e., from the universal connection between sin and death, he was on the same level with all the others. Had the daughters of Zelophehad intended to hint even, that he had through special transgressions hastened his death, they still knew well that that had involved a curse which rested upon his race. Indeed these daughters of Zelophehad possessed a fair faculty for doctrinal discriminations. Death without sin going before it, was for them at any rate inconceivable. For the law of inheritance among other Oriental nations see Knobel, p. 161; and J. Selden, de success. ad leges Hebr. in bona defunctorum, Frankfort, 1645 [also Keil, Archæol., § 142, Vol. II., pp. 212, 213; and Wines, Laws of the Hebrews.—A. G.].
DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL
The vindication of the right of inheritance for daughters shows not only the elevation in dignity and honor of women in Israel, but also the great value of continued and preserved genealogies, the dynamic force of the consecrated family tree, of a moral nobility.
[Wordsworth: Regard these women as striking examples of faith. They believe that the promised land would be inherited by Israel; and also of the working of God’s grace perfecting itself in human weakness, and cherishing the “weak things of this world to confound the mighty.”—A. G.]
HOMILETICAL HINTS
Their renown. Woman also shall stand up for her rights, and have them recognized. The ignoring of these rights, as also their exaggeration. The elevation of the female sex in the Old Testament. Its complete restitution in the New Testament. The dignity and glory of woman consists in the inviolableness of her domestic destination. [“They discovered: 1. A strong faith in the power and promise of God. 2. An earnest desire for a place and name in the land of promise, which was a type of heaven. 3. A true respect and honor for their father.” Henry.]
Footnotes:
[1]Heb. diminished.
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures (Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical), ed. John Peter Lange, English translation edited by Philip Schaff (1864–1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On v4 Give unto us a possession among the brethren of…
Give unto us a possession among the brethren of our father--Those young women perceived that the males only in families had been registered in the census. Because there were none in their household, their family was omitted. So they made known their grievance to Moses, and the authorities conjoined with him in administering justice. The case was important; and as the peculiarity of daughters being the sole members of a family would be no infrequent or uncommon occurrence, the law of inheritance, under divine authority, was extended not only to meet all similar cases, but other cases also--such as when there were no children left by the proprietor, and no brothers to succeed him. A distribution of the promised land was about to be made; and it is interesting to know the legal provision made in these comparatively rare cases for preserving a patrimony from being alienated to another tribe. (See on Num 36:5).
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv1, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8 ZELOPHEHAD’S DAUGHTERS — LAW OF INHERITANCE, Num_27:1-11.
ZELOPHEHAD’S DAUGHTERS — LAW OF INHERITANCE, Num_27:1-11.
The Hebrew law of inheritance, in common with the usage of most Oriental nations, endowed the sons only, the eldest having a double portion, the daughters all being supposed to be married and cared for by their husbands. Up to this time no provision had been made for daughters in case of failure of male issue, nor for perpetuating the father’s name. The supplementary legislation in this chapter and in xxxvi, in striking resemblance to Athenian laws, endows the brotherless daughter till she marries a near relative and brings forth a son, who bears the name, not of his father, but of his maternal grandfather, and inherits his mother’s portion. These heiresses married their “father’s brother’s sons,” and their inheritance remained in the tribe of their father. Num_36:11-12; Jos_17:4. For the intermingling of legislation with the narrative, see Introduction, (1.)
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1, 2. The five daughters of Zelophehad, discovering the defect in the order for the division of Canaan given in the last chapter, by which they were disinherited, sons only being named, (see Gen_31:14,) confident in the justice of their claim, with commendable enterprise determined to appeal to the highest human tribunal. Their appearance at the door of the tabernacle, before the supreme court of their nation, pleading the rights of their sex, presents a scene worthy the brush of the historical painter. It is the first woman’s rights convention on record. Their success justifies the efforts of their successors in modern times to secure a removal of all disabilities which are oppressive to their sex, and illustrates the nobility of the law-making sex, who have but to be clearly shown the injustice of any of their statutes in order to be moved to a rectification of the wrong.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv1, 3, 8, 11 1. Since Manasseh is a tribe, and Machir and…
1. Since Manasseh is a tribe, and Machir and Gilead are tribal divisions, and Hepher (Num_26:32, 1Ki_4:10) is a family, it is probable that Zelophehad and his five ‘daughters’ are all names taken from smaller divisions or clans, settled in particular towns in Gilead. See Num_26:28-33 with Gray’s notes. But the incident here related is regarded as an historical occurrence in the life of individuals. Its purpose is to introduce the law of inheritance.
1–11. A law on the inheritance of property. The Hebrews always adhered firmly to the principle that landed property must not be alienated from the tribe or family to which it belonged. In early days, inheritance by daughters was not contemplated. If a man died without children, his widow might be married to his brother in order to bear sons who should inherit the property (Deu_25:5-10; cf. Mat_22:24). Or if a man wished to sell land, his next-of-kin had the first right of purchase (Jer_32:8). And the same principle underlies the law of the Jubile (Lev_25:10; Lev_25:31). The present law is also based upon the principle, but marks a new departure in the privileges accorded to women.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv7–8 (7) Thou shalt surely give them . . .…
(7) Thou shalt surely give them . . . —The pronoun them is in the masculine gender in the Hebrew. Either the reference must be to the sons of Zelophehad’s daughters, or the daughters must be regarded in the light of sons.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. H. Mackintosh 1880 · Public Domain On v1 Numbers 27
Numbers 27
The conduct of the daughters of Zelophehad, as recorded in the opening section of this chapter, presents a striking and beautiful contrast to the unbelief on which we have just been commenting. They, most assuredly, belonged not to the generation of those who are ever ready to abandon divine ground, lower the divine standard, and forego the privileges conferred by divine grace. No; those five noble women had no sympathy with such. They were determined, through grace, to plant the foot of faith on the very highest ground, and, with holy yet bold decision, to make their own of that which God had given. Let us read the refreshing record.
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"Then came the daughters of Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, of the families of Manasseh the son of Joseph: and these are the names of his daughters, Mahlah, Noah, and Hoglah, and Milcah, and Tirzah, and they stood before Moses, and before Eleazar the priest, and before the princes and all the congregation, by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, saying, Our father died in the wilderness, and he was not in the company of them that gathered themselves together against the Lord, in the company of Korah; but died in his own sin, and had no sons. Why should the name of our father be done away from among his family because he hath no son? Give unto us, therefore, a Possession among the brethren of our father." Verses 1-4.
This is uncommonly fine. It does the heart good to read such words as these at a time like the present, when so little is made of the proper standing and portion of God’s people, and when so many are content to go on from day to day, and year to year, without caring even to inquire into the things which are freely given to them of God. Nothing is more sad than to see the carelessness, the utter indifference, with which many professing Christians treat such great and all important questions as the standing, walk, and hope of the believer and the Church of God. It is not, by any means, our purpose to go into these questions here. We have done so repeatedly in the other volumes of the series of "Notes." We merely desire to call the reader’s attention to the fact, that it is at once sinning against our own rich mercies, and dishonouring the Lord, when we! evince a spirit of indifferentism in reference to any one point of divine revelation as to the position and portion of the Church, or of the individual believer. If God in the aboundings of His grace, has been pleased to bestow upon us precious privileges, as Christians, ought we not to seek earnestly to know what these privileges are? Ought we not to seek to make them our own, in the artless simplicity of faith? Is it treating our God and His revelation worthily, to be indifferent as to whether we are servants or sons - as to whether we have the Holy Ghost dwelling in us or not - as to whether we are under law or under grace - whether ours is a heavenly or an earthly calling?
Surely not. If there be one thing plainer than another in scripture, it is this, that God delights in those who appreciate and enjoy the provision of His love - those who find their joy is Himself. The inspired volume teams with evidence on this point. Look at the case now before as in our chapter. Here were those daughters of Joseph - for such we must call them - bereaved of their father - helpless and desolate, as viewed from nature’s standpoint. Death had snapped the apparent link which connected them with the proper inheritance of God’s people. What then? Were they content to give up? - to fold their arms, in cold indifference? Was it nothing to them whether or not they were to have a place and a portion with the Israel of God? Ah! no, reader; these illustrious women exhibit something totally different from all this - something which we may well study and seek to imitate - something which, we are bold to say, refreshed the heart of God. They were sure there was a portion for them in the land of promise, of which neither death nor anything that happened in the wilderness could ever deprive them. "Why should the name of our father be done away from among his people because he hath no son?" Could death - could failure of male issue-could anything - frustrate the goodness of God? Impossible. "Give unto us: therefore, a possession among the brethren of our father."
Noble words! words that went right up to the throne and to the heart of the God of Israel. It was a most powerful testimony delivered in the ears of the whole congregation. Moses was taken aback. Here was something beyond the range of the Lawgiver. Moses was a servant, and a blessed and honoured servant too. But, again and again, in the course of this marvellous Book of Numbers, this wilderness volume, questions arise with which he is unable to deal, as for example, the defiled men in chapter 9, and the daughters of Zelophehad in the section before us.
"And Moses brought their cause before the Lord. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, The daughters of Zelophehad speak right: thou shalt surely give them a possession of an inheritance among their father’s brethren; and thou shalt cause the inheritance of their father to pass unto them." Verses 5-7.
Here was a glorious triumph, in the presence of the whole assembly. A bold and simple faith is always sure to be rewarded. It glorifies God, and God honours it. Need we travel from section to section, and from page to page of the holy volume to prove this? Need we turn to the Abrahams, the Hannahs, the Deborahs, the Rahabs, the Ruths of Old Testament times? or to the Marys, the Elizabeths, the centurions, and the Syro-phoenicians of The New Testament times? Wherever we turn, we learn the same great practical truth that God delights in a bold and simple faith - a faith that artlessly seizes and tenaciously holds all that He has given - that positively refuses, even in the very face of nature’s weakness and death, to surrender a single hair’s breadth of the divinely given inheritance. What though Zelophehad’s bones lay mouldering in the dust of the wilderness; what though no male issue appeared to sustain his name? faith could rise above all these things, and count on God’s faithfulness to make good all that His word had promised.
"The daughters of Zelophehad speak right." They always do so. Their words are words of faith, and, as such, are always right in the judgement of God, it is a terrible thing to limit "the Holy One of Israel." He delights to be trusted and used. It is utterly impossible for faith to overdraw its account in God’s bank. God could no more disappoint faith than He could deny Himself. He can never say to faith, "You have miscalculated; you take too lofty - too bold a stand; so lower down, and lessen your expectations." Ah! no; the only thing in all this world that truly delights and refreshes the heart of God is the faith that can simply trust him; and we may rest assured of this, that the faith that can trust Him is also the faith that can love Him, and serve Him, and praise Him.
Hence, then, we are deeply indebted to the daughters of Zelophehad. They teach us a lesson of inestimable value. And more than this, their acting gave occasion to the unfolding of a fresh truth which was to form the basis of a divine rule for all future generations. The Lord commanded Moses, saying, "If a man die, and have no son, then ye shall cause his inheritance to pass unto his daughter."
Here we have a great principle laid down, in reference to the question of inheritance, of which, humanly speaking, we should have heard nothing had it not been for the faith and faithful conduct of these remarkable women. If they had listened to the voice of timidity and unbelief - if they had refused to come forward, before the whole congregation in the assertion of the claims of Faith; then, not only would they have lost their own inheritance and blessing, but all future daughters of Israel, in a like position, would have been deprived of their portion likewise. Whereas, on the contrary, by acting in the precious energy of faith, they preserved their inheritance; they got the blessing; they received testimony from God; their names shine on the page of inspiration; and their conduct furnished, by divine authority, a precedent for all future generations.
Thus much as to the marvellous results of faith. But then we must remember that there is moral danger arising out of the very dignity and elevation which faith confers on those who, through grace, are enabled to exercise it; and this danger must be carefully guarded against. This is strikingly illustrated in the further history of the daughters of Zelophehad, as recorded in the last chapter of our book. "And the chief fathers of the families of the children of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, of the families of the sons of Joseph, came near, and spake before Moses, and before the princes, the chief fathers of The children of Israel: and they said, The Lord commanded my lord to give the land for an inheritance by lot to the children of Israel: and my lord was commanded by the Lord to give the inheritance of Zelophehad our brother unto his daughters. And if they be married to any of the sons, of the other tribes of the children of Israel, then shall their inheritance be taken from the inheritance of our fathers, and shall be put to the inheritance of the tribe whereunto they were received: so shall it be taken from the lot of our inheritance. And when the jubilee of the children of Israel shall be, then shall their inheritance be put unto the inheritance of the tribe whereunto they are received: so shall their inheritance be taken away from the inheritance of the tribe of our fathers. And Moses commanded the children of Israel according to the word of the Lord, saying, "The tribe of the sons of Joseph hath said well." Numbers 36: 1-5.
The "fathers" of the house of Joseph must be heard as well as the "daughters." The faith of the latter was most lovely; but there was just a danger lest, in the elevation to which that faith had raised them, they might forget the claims of others, and remove the landmarks which guarded the inheritance of their fathers. This had to be thought of and provided for. It was natural to suppose what the daughters of Zelophehad. would marry; and moreover it was possible they might form an alliance outside the boundaries of their tribe; and thus in the year of jubilee - that grand adjusting institution instead of adjustment, there would be confusion, and a permanent breach in the inheritance of Manasseh. This would never do; and therefore the wisdom of those ancient fathers is very apparent. we need to be guarded on every side, in order that the integrity of faith and the testimony may be duly maintained. We are not to carry things with a high hand and a strong will, though we have ever such strong faith, but be ever ready to yield ourselves to the adjusting power of the whole truth of God.
"This is the thing which the Lord doth command concerning the daughters of Zelophehad, saying, Let them marry to whom they think best, only to the family of the tribe of their father shall they marry; so shall not the inheritance of the children of Israel remove from tribe to tribe; for every one of the children of Israel shall keep himself to the inheritance of the tribe of his fathers........ Even as the Lord commanded Moses, so did the daughters of Zelophehad; for they [the five daughters] were married unto their father’s brothers’ sons. And they were married into the families of the sons of Manasseh, the son of Joseph; and their inheritance remained in the tribe of the family of their father." Verses 6-12.
Thus all is settled. The activities of faith are governed by the truth of God, and individual claims are adjusted in harmony with the true interests of all; while, at the same time, the glory of God is so fully maintained, that at the time of the jubilee, instead of any confusion in the landmarks of Israel, the integrity of the inheritance is secured according to the divine grant.
Nothing can be more instructive than this entire history of the daughters of Zelophehad. May we really profit by it!
The closing paragraph of our chapter is full of deep solemnity. The governmental dealings of God are displayed before our eyes in a manner eminently calculated to impress the heart. "The Lord said unto Moses, Get thee up into this mount Abarim and see the land which I have given unto the children of Israel. And when thou hast seen it, thou also shalt be gathered unto thy people, as Aaron thy brother was gathered. For ye rebelled against my commandment in the desert of Zin, in the strife of the congregation, to sanctify me at the water before their eyes: that is the water of Meribah in Kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin." verses 12-14.
Moses must not go over Jordan. It is not only that he cannot officially bring the people over, but he cannot even go himself. Such was the enactment of the government of God. But, on the other hand, we see grace shining out, with uncommon lustre, in the fact that Moses is conducted, by God’s own hand, to the top of Pisgah, and from thence he sees the land of promise, in all its magnificence, not merely as Israel afterwards possessed it, but as God had originally given it.
Now, this was the fruit of grace, and it comes out more fully in the close of Deuteronomy, where we are also told that God buried His dear servant. This is wonderful. Indeed there is nothing like it in the history of the saints of God. we do not dwell upon this subject here, having done so elsewhere;* but it is full of the deepest interest. Moses spake unadvisedly with his lips, and for that he was forbidden to cross the Jordan. This was God in government. But Moses was taken up to Pisgah, there, in company with Jehovah, to get a full view of the inheritance; and then Jehovah made a grave for His servant and buried him therein. This was God in grace - marvellous, matchless grace! grace that has ever made the eater yield meat and the strong sweetness. How precious to be the subjects of such grace! May our souls rejoice in it more and more, in the eternal fountain whence it emanates, and in the channel through which it flows!
{*See an article entitled "Grace and Government" in "Things New and Old," Vol., 4. p. 111. G, Morrish, 20, Paternoster Square.}
We shall close this section by a brief reference to the lovely unselfishness of Moses in the matter of appointing a successor. That blessed man of God was ever characterised by a most exquisite spirit of self-surrender - that rare and admirable grace. we never find him seeking his own things; on the contrary, again and again, when opportunity was afforded him of building up his own fame and fortune, he proved, very distinctly, that the glory of God and the good of His people so occupied and filled his heart that there was no room for a single selfish consideration.
Thus it is in the closing scene of our chapter. When Moses hears that he is not to go over Jordan, instead of being occupied in regrets as to himself, he only thinks of the interests of the congregation. "And Moses spake unto the Lord saying, Let the Lord, the God of the spirits of all flesh, set a man over the congregation, which may go out before them, and which may go in before them, and which may lead them out, and which may bring them in; that the congregation of the Lord be not as sheep which have no shepherd."
Whet unselfish breathings are here How grateful they must have proved to the heart of that One who so loved and cared for His People! Provided that Israel’s need were met Moses was content. If only the work was done he cared not who did it. self, his interest, and his destinies, he could calmly leave all in the hand of God. He would take care of him, but oh! his loving heart yearns over the beloved people of God; and the very moment he sees Joshua ordained as their leader, he is ready to depart and be at rest forever. Blessed servant! Happy man! Would there were even a few amongst us characterised, in some small degree, by his excellent spirit of self-abnegation, and jealous care for God’s glory and His people’s good. But alas! alas! we have to repeat, with deepening emphasis, the words of the apostle, "All seek their own, not the things that are Jesus Christ’s." O Lord, stir up all our hearts to desire a more earnest consecration of ourselves, in spirit, soul, and body, to thy blessed service! May we, in good truth, learn to live, not unto ourselves, but unto Him who died for us - who came from heaven to earth about our sins; and is gone back from earth to heaven about our infirmities; and who is coming again for our eternal salvation and glory.
C. H. Mackintosh, Notes on the Pentateuch — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 11 THE DAUGHTERS OF ZELOPHEHAD (verses Num_26:29-33 and in Jos_17:3.…
THE DAUGHTERS OF ZELOPHEHAD (verses Num_26:29-33 and in Jos_17:3. These women would appear to have been in the eighth generation from Jacob, which hardly accords with the 470 years required by the narrative; some links, however, may have been dropped.
Vers. 1-11. The certainty of the promised inheritance.
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The case of Zelophehad"s daughters is no doubt in keeping with that favourable consideration of women, as capable of claiming rights and holding a position of their own, which certainly distinguished the Mosaic legislation, and affected for good the Jewish character. But the one thing which we may spiritually discern here is the security of the heavenly inheritance and the faithfulness with which it is Divinely reserved for them that have received the promise. Zelophehad died, and that through sin, but since he was not of the disinherited, therefore his name did not cease, neither was his portion taken away from among the people of the Lord. Consider, therefore
I THAT ZELOPHEHAD, AS ONE OF THE YOUNGER GENERATION, HAD A PROMISE OF AN INHERITANCE IN CANAAN TO BE HIS (i.e., HIS FAMILY"S) FOR EVER. Even so we, in that we belong to "this generation", (cf. Mat_24:34) which has received the promise of eternal life, and a kingdom which cannot be moved, (Heb_12:28) are without question heirs of salvation, and look forward to a portion amongst the faithful.
II THAT ZELOPHEHAD HIMSELF DIED IN THE WILDERNESS, AND THAT BY REASON OF SOME SIN WE KNOW NOT WHAT. Even so we die without having received the promised glory; in all probability we shall all so die; and death is the wages of sin, and the body is turned to corruption because of sin.
III THAT THE DEATH OF ZELOPHEHAD SEEMED TO BAR Ills CLAIM TO ANY INHERITANCE AMONGST HIS BRETHREN, SEEING HE HAD NO SON TO TAKE HIS PLACE AND NAME. Even so death seems at first sight, and in the eyes of the unwise, to cut off hope and to separate from the living, and to deprive those that "are not" of the reward to which they looked. And this was thought to be the case even by them that believed in the first days. (1Th_4:13, sq.)
IV THAT BY THE WILL OF GOD, HIS NAME AND INHERITANCE WERE PRESERVED IN ISRAEL BY MEANS OF HIS DAUGHTERS. Even so, neither death nor failure in this world will be permitted to deprive us of that inheritance in a better world which the mercy of God reserves for us, not because we have deserved it, but because he has promised it.
Consider again, with respect to the daughters of Zelophehad
I THAT THEY RECEIVED THE REWARD OF FAITH, IN THAT THEY DOUBTED NOT THAT THE LORD"S PEOPLE WOULD RECEIVE EVERY MAN HIS PORTION IN THE LAND OF PROMISE; although they were yet on the other side of Jordan. It is in perfect faith of the fulfillment of God"s promises that we must so ask as to receive.
II THAT THEY RECEIVED THE REWARD OF COURAGE, IN THAT THEY BEING WOMEN WITHOUT ANY NATURAL PROTECTOR, BROUGHT THEIR CAUSE OPENLY BEFORE MOSES, AND SO BEFORE GOD. It is with boldness, not confounded by our own weakness, that we are to make our requests known unto God, (Eph_3:12 Heb_10:19) assured that no one is unimportant with him, and no cause disregarded by him.
HOMILIES BY D. YOUNG Vers. 1-11. The disabilities of sex.
I THE POSSIBLE INJUSTICE CONSEQUENT ON A STRICT ADHERENCE TO SOCIAL TRADITIONS. Try to imagine how this appeal of the daughters of Zelophehad arises. Canaan is now very near, the borders of it visible across the flood; and God has just told Moses the great general principles on which it is to be allotted. Thus the minds of the people are naturally filled with the thoughts of the inheritance. They can no longer complain of being in desolate places. There was good land even before they crossed Jordan, (Nu 32) and so Canaan was looked forward to with great expectations. In such circumstances, every family would be on the look-out to anticipate and assert its share. The disciples after they had heard Jesus discoursing so frequently and earnestly on the coming kingdom of heaven, fell to in hot rivalry as to who should be greatest in the kingdom. So here we may well suppose that the sons of Hepher were only too ready to reckon the daughters of their brother Zelophehad as outside any right to the land that would fall to Hepher"s children. Natural relations are only too easily trampled on in the greed of gain. Disputes over the division of property breed and sustain deadly quarrels among kindred. (Luk_12:13) Very possibly the brothers of Zelophehad told their nieces that they had no claim to inherit, it being the settled custom that inheritances were to go to sons. Let them be satisfied with marriage into some other family. But the daughters felt pride in their father"s name. They do not claim great things for him, feeling that such a claim would not accord with the lot of one who belonged to the doomed generation; but at all events they can say that he died in his own sin; he was free from the taint of that great rebellion which left so deep an impression on Israel"s mind. Why then should his name perish from among his family, because he had no son? The answer which we are led to infer is very simple; very worldly also, it is true, but all the more conceivable because of that, "We cleave to our customs; we cannot even give way to feelings which are so creditable to daughters." This perhaps openly then in their own hearts they would add, "They are only women; they can do nothing.
II A BOLD REVOLT AGAINST THE ARTIFICIAL DISABILITIES OF SEX We have imagined an actual refusal to let these women share in the possession. But even if it were not actual, they have a shrewd idea of what will happen, and come appealing to Moses, in the most public manner, so that they may have his weighty authority to settle the matter before he goes. They were but women, yet they had all a man"s decision and courage and more than belongs to most men to break away from all conventional notions rather than tamely submit to injustice. Paul"s disapproval of women speaking in the churches was of course very good as pointing out a general rule, but probably he would have allowed, on a prudent occasion for allowing it, that it was a rule not without exceptions. He may have reckoned it well at the time, for reasons drawn from the state of a particular church, to make the injunctions express and decided. Who were to speak for these women, if not they themselves? When the downtrodden find no sufficient advocate among spectators, it is time for them to raise their own voices. Is it not plain that these women were the best judges of their own position? So in the pressure of modern social life, is it not very inconsistent with the maintenance of liberty and truth, to hinder women from asserting their claims in whatever way they deem best? They may indeed be unfit for many fields of labour which they profess their fitness and anxiety to occupy, but at all events let them discover the unfitness for themselves. Has it not been said beforehand of many achieved and glorious facts that they were impossible of attainment? Modern history abounds with such disgraced predictions. Paul said, "Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind," which is surely every whit as needful and every whit as serviceable for the woman as the man.
III THE ACTION OF THESE WOMEN WAS JUSTIFIED BY THE RESULT. God approves their action, as they gain from him the authoritative laying down of a general principle, applied indeed to property, but surely of equal application to all disabilities of sex which arise in other ways than from the impassable limits of nature. God has written for the woman, in her own nature, certain laws she must not transgress, but he never gave man the right to construe these laws, certainly not after the domineering fashion he so frequently adopts. It is undoubtedly true that God made the woman for the man; human nature finds here its completeness, derives hence the means of its continuance, and that diversity of personality and character which constitute so much of the peculiar riches of humanity. But man is not therefore to settle the woman"s sphere with his strong and irresponsible hand. Is it not a thing almost certain that many disabilities of sex have arisen through man being from the first the stronger? In the days when might made rightHe took advantage of his strength to be First in the field.
There is a parallel between much in man"s treatment of woman and his treatment of the Sabbath. Christ had to free the Sabbath, in his day, from Pharisees. It had been so fettered up by opinionated, obstinate clingers to the traditions of the fathers, as to have become useless for its original purposes, a burden and a terror more than anything else. He freed it by the great declaration that the Sabbath was made for man, and now we have those who rush to the other extreme, and quote his words for purposes utterly alien from his own. So there are the two extremes in judging the place of woman and the scope of her life and service. Some, blindly wedded to custom, would shut woman up in strict limitations, which though not as degrading as those of a Turkish harem, are quite as unjust and injurious in their own way. Others there are who seem inclined to claim for women more than nature in its utmost kindliness will ever yield. Women, who know their own nature best, can be the only true judges, ever under the guidance of God himself, as to the capabilities of their sex. Paul pleading for oneness in Christ Jesus, says, that in relation to him, as there is neither Jew nor Greek, bond nor free, so there is neither male nor female. The woman is on the same level as the man in the sight of Christ. To Christ she is directly responsible, bound to serve him with the fullness of her powers. Hence to take the highest ground, that of allegiance to Christ, it is unfaithfulness to him to put even the smallest obstacles in the way of women acting as their own hearts tell them they may best serve their Master.
IV WE SEE A GOD OF EQUITY SHOWING HIS DISREGARD FOR MERE LEGAL RIGHTS. Nowhere is it shown more clearly than in the Scriptures that law is one thing and equity another. How should a world ignorant of the righteousness of God, and full of the selfish and domineering, make laws such as he will sanction and uphold? "We have law with us," the uncles may have said. Possibly so; but not the law of him who spoke from Sinai. Any law of men which contradicts the law of love to God, and love to the neighbour, is doomed in the very making of it. And is it not a blessed thing that such laws get broken and ultimately destroyed by the energy of an expanding life which cannot be contained within them? Y. (Mat_9:10-13 Mat_12:1-13 Mat_15:1-20 Mat_19:8-9 Mat_22:34-40 Rom_14:5 Gal_3:28)
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On v1 The daughters of Zelophehad.
Num_27:1-11
The daughters of Zelophehad.
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Womens rights--a parable
I want to use this incident for a twofold purpose.
I. In respect to its general teaching.
1. I would exhibit for your imitation the faith which these five young women, the daughters of Zelophehad, possessed with regard to the promised inheritance.
2. There was this feature, too, about the faith of these five women--they knew that the inheritance was only to be won by encountering great difficulties.
3. I commend the faith of these women to you because, believing in the land, and believing that it would be won, they were not to be put about by the ill report of some who said that it was not a good land.
4. Being thus sure of the land, and feeling certain about that, we must next commend them for their anxiety to possess a portion in it. Why did they think so much about it? I heard some one say the other day, speaking of certain young people, I do not like to see young women religious; they ought to be full of fun and mirth, and not have their minds filled with such profound thoughts. Now, I will be bound to say that this kind of philosophy was accredited in the camp of Israel, and that there were a great many young women there who said, Oh, there is time enough to think about the good land when we get there; let us be polishing up the mirrors; let us be seeing to our dresses; let us understand how to put our fingers upon the timbrel when the time comes for it; but as for prosing about a portion among those Hivites and Hittites, what is the good of it? We will not bother ourselves about it. But such was the strength of the faith of these five women that it led them to feel a deep anxiety for a share in the inheritance. They were not such simpletons as to live only for the present. These women were taken up with prudent anxious thoughts about their own part in the land. And let me say that they were right in desiring to have a portion there, when they recollected that the land had been covenanted to their fathers. They might well wish to have a part in a thing good enough to be a covenant-blessing.
5. But I must commend them yet again for the way in which they set about the business. I do not find that they went complaining from tent to tent that they were afraid that they had no portion. Many doubters do that; they tell their doubts and fears to others, and they get no further. But these five women went straight away to Moses. He was at their head; he was their mediator ; and then it is said that Moses brought their cause before the Lord. You see, these women did not try to get what they wanted by force. They did not say, Oh, we will take care and get our share when we get there. They did not suppose that they had any merit which they might plead, and so get it; but they went straight away to Moses, and Moses took their cause, and laid it before the Lord. Dost thou want a portion in heaven, sinner? Go straight away to Jesus, and Jesus will take thy cause, and lay it before the Lord.
II. With a view of giving the whole incident a particular direction--
1. Does it not strike you that there is here a special lesson for our unconverted sisters? Here are five daughters, I suppose young women, certainly unmarried, and these five were unanimous in seeking to have a portion where God had promised it to His people. Have! any young women here who would dissent from that? I am afraid I have! Do you not desire a portion in the skies? Have you no wish for glory? Can you sell Christ for a few hours of mirth? Will you give Him up for a giddy song or an idle companion? Those are not your friends who would lead you from the paths of righteousness.
2. Has it not a loud voice, too, to the children of godly parents? I like these young women saying that their father did not die with Korah, but that he only died the ordinary death which fell upon others because of the sin of the wilderness; and also, their saying, Why should the name of our father be done away from among his family because he had no son? It is a good thing to see this respect to parents, this desire to keep up the honour of the family. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
The request of the daughters of Zelophehad; the rights of women
I. The request of the daughters of Zelophehad.
1. Was presented in an orderly and becoming manner. They stood before Moses and before Eleazar the priest, &c. (Num_27:2). The made their request a regular manner, and to the proper authorities!
2. Was eminently fair and reasonable While their father, by reason of sin, was, in common with the generation to which he belonged, excluded from the promised land, yet he had not done anything for which his children should be deprived of an inheritance therein.
3. Indicated becoming respect for their father. They vindicate him from the guilt of sharing in any of the rebellions except the general one; and they evince an earnest desire for the perpetuation of his name and family.
4. Implied faith in the promise of God to give Canaan to the Israelites.
5. Implied an earnest desire for a portion in the promised land.
II. The Divine answer to their request.
1. Was given by Jehovah to Moses in response to his inquiries. Notice here--
(1) The humility of Moses. He does not presume to decide the case himself, &c.
(2) The direction which God grants to the humble. The meek will He guide in judgment, &c.
2. Commended the cause of the daughters of Zelophehad. The daughters of Zelophehad speak right.
3. Granted the request of the daughters of Zelophehad. Thou shalt surely give them a possession, &c. (Num_27:7).
4. Included a general law of inheritance. And thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel, &c. (Num_27:8-11). Thus a great benefit accrued to the nation from the request of the daughters of Zelophehad. (W. Jones.)
The daughters of Zelophehad
1. The rectification of things that are wrong sometimes seems to come from man and not from God. Look at this case. It was the women themselves who began the reform. Providence did not stir first. The five women gave this reform to the economy of Israel. So it would seem on the face of the story, and many people look at the face and go no farther, and so they blunder. Suggestions are from God. The very idea,, which we think our own is not our own, but Gods. He is Lord of all, of all good ideas, noble impulses, holy inspirations, sudden movements of the soul upward into higher life and broader liberty. This is His plan of training men. He seems to stand aside, and to take no part in some obviously good movements, and men say, This is a human movement, a political movement, a non-religious movement, not knowing what they are talking about, forgetting that the very idea out of which it all sprang came down from the Father of lights, that the very eloquence by which it is supported is Divinely taught, that the very gold which is its sinew is His: they do not go far enough back in their investigation into the origin of things, or they would find God in movements which are often credited to human genres alone.
2. Everywhere the Bible is full of the very spirit of justice. It is the Magna Charta of the civilised world. This is the spirit that gives the Bible such a wonderful hold upon the confidence of mankind. Look at this case as an example. The applicants were women. All the precedents of Israel might have been pointed to as the answer to their appeal. Why create a special law for women? Why universalise a very exceptional case? Why not put these people down as sensational reformers? Yet, the case was heard with patience, and answered with dignity. Oh, women, you should love the Bible! It is your friend. It has done more for you than all other books put together. Wherever it goes it claims liberty for you, justice for you, honour for you.
3. Every question should become the subject of social sympathy and matter of religious reference. These women were heard patiently. It is something to get a hearing for our grievances. Sometimes those grievances perish in the very telling; sometimes the statement of them brings unexpected help to our assistance. This case is what may be called a secular one; it is about land and name and inheritance; and even that question was made in Israel simply a religious one. In ancient Israel, with its priestly system, men had to go to the leader and the priest first; in Christianity we can go straight to God; we have no priesthood but Christ; the way to the throne is open night and day. Oh, wronged and suffering woman, tell thy case to the Father! Oh, man, carrying a burden too heavy for thy declining strength, speak to God about the weight, and He will help thee with His great power. (J. Parker, D. D.)
A rightful claim
It does the heart good to read such words as these at a time like the present, when so little is made of the proper standing and portion of Gods people, and when so many are content to go on from day to day, and year to year, without caring even to inquire into the things which are freely given to them of God. Nothing is more sad than to see the carelessness with which many professing Christians treat such allimportant questions of the standing, walk, and hope of the believer and the Church of God. If God, in the aboundings of His grace, has been pleased to bestow upon us precious privileges, as Christians, ought we not to seek earnestly to know what these privileges are? Ought we not to seek to make them our own, in the artless simplicity of faith? Is it treating our God and His revelation worthily, to be indifferent as to whether we are servants or sons--as to whether we have the Holy Ghost dwelling in us or not--as to whether we are under law or under grace--whether ours is a heavenly or an earthly calling? Surely not. If there be one thing plainer than another in Scripture, it is this, that God delights in those who appreciate and enjoy the provision of His love--those who find their joy in Himself. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, The daughters of Zelophehad speak right: thou shalt surely give them a possession of an inheritance among their fathers brethren; and thou shalt cause the inheritance of their father to pass unto them (Num_27:5-7). Here was a glorious triumph, in the presence of the whole assembly. A bold and simple faith is always sure to be rewarded. It glorifies God, and God honours it. Need we travel from section to section, and from page to page of the holy volume to prove this? Need we turn to the Abrahams, the Hannahs, the Deborahs, the Rahabs, the Ruths of Old Testament times? or to the Marys, the Elizabeths, the centurions, and the Syro-phoenicians of the New Testament times? Wherever we turn, we learn the same great practical truth that God delights in a bold and simple faith--a faith that artlessly seizes and tenaciously holds all that He has given--that positively refuses, even in the very face of natures weakness and death, to surrender a single hairs breadth of the Divinelygiven inheritance. Hence, then, we are deeply indebted to the daughters of Zelophebad. They teach us a lesson of inestimable value. And more than this, their acting gave occasion to the unfolding of a fresh truth which was to form the basis of a Divine rule for all future generations. The Lord commanded Moses, saying, If a man die, and have no son, then ye shall cause his inheritance to pass unto his daughter. Here we have a great principle laid down, in reference to the question of inheritance, of which, humanly speaking, we should have heard nothing had it not been for the faith and faithful conduct of these remarkable women. If they had listened to the voice of timidity and unbelief--if they had refused to come forward, before the whole congregation, in the assertion of the claims of faith; then, not only would they bare lost their own inheritance and blessing, but all future daughters of Israel, in a like position, would have been deprived of their portion likewise. Whereas, on the contrary, by acting in the precious energy of faith, they preserved their inheritance; they got the blessing; they received testimony from God; their names shine on the page of inspiration; and their conduct furnished, by Divine authority, a precedent for all future generations. Thus much as to the marvellous results of faith. But then we must remember that there is moral danger arising out of the very dignity and elevation which faith confers on those who, through grace, are enabled to exercise it; and this danger must be carefully guarded against. This is strikingly illustrated in the further history of the daughters of Zelophehad, as recorded in the last chapter of our book. And the chief fathers, &c. (Num_36:1-5). The fathers of the house of Joseph must be heard as well as the daughters. The faith of the latter was most lovely; but there was just a danger lest, in the elevation to which that faith had raised them, they might forget the claims of others, and remove the landmarks which guarded the inheritance of their fathers. This had to be thought of and provided for. It was natural to suppose that the daughters of Zelophehad would marry; and moreover it was possible they might form an alliance outside the boundaries of their tribe; and thus in the year of jubilee--that grand adjusting institution--instead of adjustment, there would be confusion, and a permanent breach in the inheritance of Manasseh. This would never do; and therefore the wisdom of those ancient fathers is very apparent. We need to be guarded on every side, in order that the integrity of faith and the testimony may be duly maintained. (C. H. Mackintosh.)
Woman is the conscience of the world
Now, to live as one wishes, is said to be the rule of children. To live as one ought is the rule of men. And it is the office of woman in the world to assist men to live as they ought; to lift them to those higher levels of moral attainment, moral beauty, and power, which of themselves they will not gain. Woman has been said to be the conscience of the world, and there is a profound truth in that. Her moral intuition is clearer, her moral affection is apt to be sweeter and more powerful. It was the startled conscience of a Roman woman that almost held Pilate back from his transcendent crime. It was the conscience of Blanche of Castile which melted the noblest king France ever had, Louis IX. It was the sense of righteousness in the Scotch, in the Dutch, in the French, in the German women which upheld the Reformation and would not let it sink and die. It was the conscience of the American women which was the one invulnerable, irresistible, unsilenced enemy of American slavery. Whatever statesmen might plan about it, whatever political economists might think about it, whatever merchants might dream about it, every womans heart knew, that was not blighted and overshadowed by the influence of the present system, that it rested on a lie, and it was that conscience in the American women sending half a million of men out, its instruments and ministers, on the bloody field, which finally overcame and swept from existence that detestable system. That conscience of woman is the tower which society will always need to have developed and regnant within it, and there is no other office so great. I do not care what philosopher is expanding his vast system of philosophic thought; I do not care what statesman is planning for his countrys future; I do not care what architect is lifting the edifice into the air or is strewing the canvas with the splendour of his own spirit, there is no other office so grand on earth as that committed to woman--Christianly culture, in fellowship with God, of bringing up her acute and dominant moral sense into contact with the minds of men, that ultimate and supremest law of the universe, the law of righteousness, for which the planets and the stars were builded; she glorifies herself and she glorifies God in that sublime ministry. (R. S. Storrs, D. D.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain On v1 The request made by the daughters of Zelophehad arose…
CRITICAL AND EXPLANATORY NOTES
The request made by the daughters of Zelophehad arose naturally out of the census, which was taken with a view to the distribution of the land amongst the people, and the Divine directions for the distribution, both of which are recorded in the previous chapter.
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Num_27:1 (comp. Num_26:29; Num_26:33).
Num_27:2. All the congregation “denotes the college of elders, which represented the congregation and administered its affairs.”
The door of the tabernacle, i.e., where the elders met in solemn assembly.
Num_27:3. Died in his own sin. Zelophehad had not taken part in any of the rebellions which had been avenged by special judgments, but had died “under the general sentence of exclusion from the land of promise passed on all the older generation.”
Num_27:12. This mount Abarim (see notes on Num_21:20).
Num_27:13 (see Num_20:23-29.
Num_27:14 (see Num_20:7-13).
Num_27:16 (comp. Num_16:22).
Num_27:18. In whom is the spirit, i.e., “The spiritual endowment requisite for the office he was called to fill.”
Num_27:20. Of thine honour; “i.e. of thy dignity and authority. Joshua was constituted forthwith vice-leader under Moses, by way of introduction to his becoming chief after Moses’s death.”—Speaker’s Comm.
Num_27:21. He shall stand before Eleazar, &c. In this respect Joshua did not enjoy the exalted privilege of Moses (comp. Num_12:6-8; Deu_34:10).
The judgment of Urim, &c. Rather, “the judgment of the Urim before Jehovah.” “Urim is an abbreviation for Urim and Thummim, and denotes the means with which the high priest was instructed of ascertaining the Divine will and counsel in all the important business of the congregation.”—Keil and Del. What these means were we do not know. “ ‘Light and perfection’ would probably be the best English equivalent” for the words Urim and Thummim. See an excellent article on the subject by Professor Plumptre in Dr. Smith’s Dict. of the Bible.
THE REQUEST OF THE DAUGHTERS OF ZELOPHEHAD: THE RIGHTS OF WOMEN
(Num_27:1-11)
Consider—
I. The request of the daughters of Zelophehad.
1. Was presented in an orderly and becoming manner. “They stood before Moses and before Eleazar the priest,” &c. (Num_27:2). They made their request in a regular manner, and to the proper authorities.
2. Was eminently fair and reasonable. While their father, by reason of sin, was in common, with the generation to which he belonged, excluded from the Promised Land, yet he had not done anything for which his children should be deprived of an inheritance therein. And it certainly does not seem reasonable that they should be so deprived because they were all daughters—that they should be disqualified because of their sex. (a)
3. Indicated becoming respect for their father. They vindicate him from the guilt of sharing in any of the rebellions except the general one; and they evince an earnest desire for the perpetuation of his name and family. If no inheritance were granted to them as his heirs, then his name would cease from among his family. But if a possession among the brethren of their father were granted to them, then his name would be preserved: for when an heiress of landed property became a wife, her husband married into her family rather than she into his, and “the sons who inherited the maternal property were received through this inheritance into the family of their mother, i.e., of their grandfather on the mother’s side.” We have examples of this in the case of Jair, who was reckoned a Manassite, though his father was a descendant of Judah (Num_32:41; Deu_3:14; 1Ch_2:21-22), and in the case of Jarha and his wife, the daughter of Sheshan (1Ch_2:34-35).
4. Implied faith in the promise of God to give Canaan to the Israelites. Though the Canaanites were in full possession of the land, and the Israelites had not even entered therein, yet they ask for their portion as if the land were already possessed by their people.
5. Implied an earnest desire for a portion in the Promised Land.
II. The Divine answer to their request.
1. Was given by Jehovah to Moses in response to his enquiries. “And Moses brought their cause before the Lord. And the Lord spake unto Moses,” &c. Notice here—
(1) The humility of Moses. He does not presume to decide the case himself, &c.
(2) The direction which God grants to the humble. “The meek will He guide in judgment,” &c.
2. Commended the cause of the daughters of Zelophehad. “The daughters of Zelophehad speak right.”
3. Granted the request of the daughters of Zelophehad. “Thou shalt surely give them a possession, &c.” (Num_27:7). (b)
4. Included a general law of inheritance. “And thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel,” &c. (Num_27:8-11). Thus a great benefit accrued to the nation from the request of the daughters of Zelophehad.
ILLUSTRATIONS
(a) Some disabilities still accrue to woman, especially in respect to property, and just payment for her labour. Tasks that she is fully competent to every way, public opinion and false custom will not let her do, cruelly telling her she shall sooner starve; and for work that she actually does as well and as rapidly as her companion, man, she receives only a quarter of his wages; both of which are wrongs that Christianity rebukes as clearly as it does slavery or defalcation, and wrongs that Christian men must speedily remedy, or else cease to be Christians, and well-nigh cease to be men.
For the wrongs that remain to her position, and the disabilities that man’s too selfish and partially Christianized nature has not yet removed, let her not, in the name of all that is lovely and all that is skilful, go to separatist conventions, nor to the platform, nor to the novel schemes of political economy, or social re-organization; out to that moral tribunal, where she is as sure to win her cause at last as the sunlight is to compel a summer. Let her take up and wield the spiritual sovereignty that is her everlasting birthright. Let her understand—what so few of her sex have been willing to learn to this hour—the power lodged in her whole spirit and voice and look and action for or against the kingdom of Heaven. Let her be content with the possession and exercise of power, in all its higher forms, without that appendage which unhallowed pride is for ever insisting on—the name of it. Let her unfold every nobler faculty that our imperfect social state invites; and then be sore that the social state will ripen into more perfect humanities, and full justice come at last. Let her be the brave domestic advocate of every virtue, the silent but effectual reformer of every vice, the unflinching destroyer of falsehood, the generous patroness of intelligence, the watcher by slandered innocence, the guardian of childhood, the minister of Heaven to home, the guide of orphans, the sister of the poor, the disciple of Christ’s holy Church. On Jesus of Nazareth,—all fails except for this,—on the Saviour’s heart, let her rest her unchangeable and unassailable hope, her unquestioning trust, her unconquerable love.—F. D. Huntington, D.D.
(b) Is it nothing for woman to remember, when her sex is made the type and tabernacle of Love, that we have ascribed the loftiest glory even to the Almighty Father when we have said that His name is Love? Is it nothing to her that her place in society and her powers in the world correspond to her character? That while she shares with man, in honourable and often equal measure, certainly in these modern times, every intellectual privilege, literary accomplishment, and public function—authorship, the chair of science, the throne of state—she yet has a realm all her own, sacred to her peculiar ministry, where she reigns by a still diviner right? Is it nothing that it is her face which first bends over the breathing child, looks into his eyes, welcomes him to life, steadies his uncertain feet until they walk firmly on the planet? Suppose man were the natural enemy of woman; consider that from his birth, for the first ten years of his life, he is put into her hands, with scarcely a reservation or exception, to be impressed, moulded, fashioned into what she will,—so that, if he were born a wild tiger, her benignity would have its opportunity to tame him; consider that it has been historically demonstrated that scarcely a single hero, reformer statesman, saint, or sage, has ever come to influence or adorn his age, from Jacob to Washington, who was not reared by a remarkable mother that shaped his mind; and then ask whether it is not equal folly for woman to claim the name of power, and for man to deny her the possession.
There is hardly a walk of public or private life where female talent is not heartily honoured, and does not command its deserved success. The fine arts, the sciences, classical learning, social reform, philosophy, education, empire,—all are represented at this day by accomplished women. Do they suffer detriment, or loss of influence, because they are women? Is Mrs. Somerville, or Miss Mitchell, less esteemed among the scientific minds of the age for her sex? Does not the whole British kingdom learn a heightened regard for woman from the womanly character it beholds in its Queen? Is there a department of knowledge from which woman is now, by our modern systems of education, shut out? Must it not be very soon true that her power shall be proportioned to her energy, and her influence be measured only by her merit? Probably the larger proportion of scholarship and public enterprise will still be with men—the providential constitution of the sexes justifies that expectation; but when exceptions appear, the demand of Christian liberty is, that they be welcomed, recognised and rewarded.—Ibid.
THE SERVANT OF GOD SUMMONED HOME
(Num_27:12-14)
The intimation here given to Moses of his approaching death suggests the following observations:—
I. That sin is an evil of the greatest gravity.
The Lord here informs the great leader of Israel that he must shortly relinquish his charge and lay down his bodily life. But why must Moses die at this time? Not because he was worn out either physically or mentally: “his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated;” and his splendid valedictory charge to the people shows that his mind had lost nothing either of force or of fire. Nor has he to die at this time because he has outlived his usefulness, he is still the most useful man of all the thousands of Israel. He has to die because of his sin “at the water of Meribah.” “Ye rebelled against my commandment in the desert of Zin, in the strife of the congregation, to sanctify Me at the water before their eyes” (comp. Num_20:2-13, and see pp. 372, 373). Moses besought the Lord that he might be permitted to enter “the good land that is beyond Jordan;” but the Lord “would not hear” him (Deu_3:23-27). Thus God manifests His abhorrence of sin, and testifies to its heinousness. (a)
II. That God is the absolute Sovereign of human life.
This great truth is strikingly illustrated in the death of Moses. Neither from disease, nor from the exhaustion of the vital forces, nor from accident, nor from external violence, does the great and good man die; but because God wills his death. To the man who recognises and obeys God’s laws, and seeks to live in harmony with His will, death cannot come either prematurely or accidentally. “Is there not an appointed time to man upon earth?” “His days are determined, the number of his months are with Thee, Thou hast appointed his bounds that he cannot pass.” “All the days of my appointed time will I wait till my change come.” “Thou prevailest for ever against him, and he passeth,” &c. “Thou hast made my days as an hand-breath.” “Thou turnest man to destruction,” &c. “My times are in Thy hand.” (b)
This sovereignty of God over our life should—
1. Lead us to seek for conformity to His will. Manifestly it is both our duty and interest so to do.
2. Encourage us in the prosecution of worthy aims. “Man is immortal till his work is done.”
III. That inspiring visions are often granted to the good as they approach the close of their earthly career.
“The Lord said unto Moses, Get thee up into this mount Abarim, and see the land which I have given unto the children of Israel.” It was in mercy that God permitted him to survey the goodly land. Vast and splendid was the prospect from the heights of Nebo. “Even the city of Heshbon itself, stood upon so commanding an eminence, that the view extended at least thirty English miles in all directions, and towards the south probably as far as sixty miles.” As to Moses it was granted to behold the extent and beauty of the Promised Land before his death (Deu_34:1-4), so the most glorious spiritual prospects are often vouchsafed to godly souls as they draw near the close of their pilgrimage. This was the case with Stephen: “he being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up steadfastly into heaven,” &c. (Act_7:55-60). And with Paul: “I am now ready to be offered,” &c. (2Ti_4:6-8). See p. 419. (c)
IV. That through the gates of death the good enter upon scenes of congenial social life.
“And when thou hast seen it, thou also shalt be gathered unto thy people, as Aaron thy brother was gathered.” See p. 379. (d)
ILLUSTRATIONS
(a) When Moses, instead of giving prompt and cheerful obedience to the command of God, yielded in an evil moment to the peevishness and the pettishness of his own temper, not only did he come short of the Divine purpose, and fail to glorify God in the sight of His people, but He became subject to serious privation and peculiar loss. As the punishment of his disobedience, he was precluded from entering the Promised Land. Though permitted to come to its very border, and though, from Pisgah’s proud and lofty height, he was allowed to cast his eye over its fair and enchanting scenery, his feet never pressed its sacred soil, and ere his favoured nation had taken possession of the long-looked-for inheritance, his eyes were closed in death. Nothing is more natural than to suppose that after the toils and the strifes—the struggles and the sufferings of an arduous and devoted life, his heart thrilled with delight in the prospect of the earthly Canaan, and that it would have added much to the happiness of his old age had he been suffered to enter the good land, and there to have found a home and a grave. But this was denied to Him.—R. Ferguson, LL.D.
It seems certain that this death on Pisgah, and this sight of the Promised Land, was designed partly to humble and partly to gratify Moses; partly as a mortification, and partly as an honour; partly as a punishment and partly as a pleasure. It must have mortified him somewhat to be brought to the verge of the object of his long ambition and deep-felt desire, and then to have it removed out of his sight; to say to himself, “Not a child in all that camp, but is more favoured than I: never shall I cross that Jordan, or visit those sacred spots where my fathers lived, worshipped and died: I alone, amongst these millions, am denied this privilege.” But, on the other hand, while Aaron was not permitted to behold that land, but died with the great and terrible wilderness around him, Moses saw its beauty, felt a breeze wafted from its balmy air upon his dying brow, and expired while embracing it, as it were in the arms of his love and admiration. He saw, too, on the other hand, his people compacted into a powerful community, girt and armed for the contest; pawing like a lion ere setting their terrible feet upon the enemies’ soil, led by a man and warrior after his own heart, with the tabernacle of God in their midst, and the cloud of the pillar hovering over them, and this sight serves to give an additional consolation and joy to his departing spirit. What an honour, too, to be watched over and tended so carefully by the Most High! Moses stripped off Aaron a garments, and Eleazar assisted him; but the whole circumstances of the scene at Pisgah were arranged by the hand of God. He breathed on His servant and gave him death.—G. Gilfillun, M.A.
(b) For an illustration on this point, see on p. 381, 382. (b)
(c) Privilege as well as punishment is often connected with the death of God’s people, and He often proves how precious in His sight is the death of His saints, by giving them in their last moments bursts of insight and glimpses of glory. Moses was alone on the mount at the time, and perhaps he was the only man, at all events the only eminent saint of God, who on the literal Pisgah ever died. But the path to the spiritual Pisgah is well worn, and many a pious soul has found it a Mount Clear, and seen from it a little of the “glory of the land.” … Words of rapture, of calm and sober yet profound and thrilling joy, have come forth from the lips of the departing children of God. Biography teems with these. How the martyred reformers and covenanters died, each of them with some cheering Scripture word, like a scroll of glory, on his lips, such as, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit;” “Come, Lord Jesus; come quickly;” “I have a desire to depart, and be with Christ;” “None but Christ; none but Christ.” The famous Thomas Halyburton lay for weeks on his death-bed, and it seemed to have been uplifted by the hands of angels nearer to heaven as he lay upon it, and breathed out his ardent soul in words of ecstasy. In later times we find a Payson speaking of the “Sun of Righteousness becoming larger, brighter, and broader to his soul as he was drawing nigh it;” a Hall crying, “I have a humble hope, which I would not exchange for all worlds;” the young and lovely Mrs. Shepherd, whose interest in his salvation almost melted the heart of Byron himself, saying, as she lay a dying, “God’s happiness, God’s happiness,” words which seemed to mean, “That is the only happiness deserving the name, and I am going to inherit it above;” and the great Coleridge, who amidst many aberrations of intellect and life died at last a meek disciple of Jesus, and dictated on his death-bed these lines as his epitaph:—
“Mercy for praise—to be forgiven for fame, He asked and hoped through Christ—do thou the same.”
These persons were verily in their last hours exalted to one or other of the peaks of Pisgah, and received extraordinary testimonies of the presence and favour of God.—Ibid.
For additional illustrations on this point, see p. 420. (b)
(d) For an illustration on this point, see p. 382. (e)
A MODEL ORDINATION SERVICE
(Num_27:15-23)
In this paragraph there are several things which deserve notice.
i. The solicitude of Moses for the carrying on of God’s work. This was his great concern when he knew that the time of his departure was at hand. “Moses spake unto the Lord saying, Let the Lord, the God of the spirits,” &c. (Num_27:15-17).
ii. The noble unselfishness of Moses. He does not seek the appointment of one of his sons as his successor. Already the high priesthood has been settled in the family of Aaron, and it would have been a very natural thing if Moses had asked that one of his sons might succeed him in his office; but he leaves the appointment entirely with the Lord.
iii. The directions of the Lord for the ordination of the successor of Moses (Num_27:18-21).
iv. The carrying out of these directions by Moses (Num_27:22-23).
Although the ordination of Joshua was to the office of chief magistrate, yet we may regard it as illustrating a Model Ordination Service to the Christian Ministry. What an interesting ordination service this was! With Canaan so near, and the great leader so soon to pass away, and the recollections of the sinful strife at Meribah and of his sin there, which caused his passing away at this time, so clear—this service must have been deeply impressive. What a charge Moses would give! And how solemn would it be to Joshua as he pondered on the reason why Moses was leaving them then! And how full of instruction and warning to the congregation!
In our day an ordination is regarded by some as merely a thing of ecclesiastical etiquette; and by others as a kind of religious banquet, at which able men will preach eloquent sermons, and an intellectual and emotional feast will be provided. Let us correct such notions by the consideration of this ordination, the directions for which were given by God. This ordination suggests—
I. That the person ordained should be chosen of God for his work.
Moses asked the Lord to “set a man over the congregation,” &c. (Num_27:16-17). “And the Lord said unto Moses, Take thee Joshua,” &c. So now the Christian minister should be—
1. Called by God to His work. (a)
2. Appointed by God to his sphere of work. As the Head of the Church, Christ is deeply concerned in the selection and appointment of its ministers. He both calls His under-shepherds, and appoints them their spheres. The minister himself should feel that he holds his commission and appointment from the Lord. Such a conviction will be to Him an inspiration and strength, &c.
There is one distinguishing characteristic in every man whom God calls; they are all, like Joshua, men “in whom is the Spirit.” They are endowed by God with the spiritual qualifications for the discharge of their sacred duties. The Divine call and the Divine qualification are invariably associated. (b)
II. That the ordination is to the most important work.
Joshua was ordained to preside over the Israelites and direct them in all their affairs. “Set a man over the congregation, which may go out before them,” &c.
How unspeakably important are the duties of the Christian minister! It is his to publish the glad tidings, to instruct the people of his charge, to counsel, to warn, to rebuke, to encourage, &c. (c)
“’Tis not a cause of small import
The pastor’s care demands;
But what might fill an angel’s heart,
And filled a Saviour’s hands.”
—Doddridge.
III. That the ordination should be conducted by tried men.
Joshua was ordained by Moses alone. But in the ordination of Timothy, Paul was assisted by the elders of the Church (1Ti_4:14). The cases were different. Joshua was to be chief magistrate; but Timothy was ordained to a purely spiritual ministry. The forms of government also were much altered. Moses’s time joined on to the days of patriarchal government; but it was far otherwise in Paul’s day. But in both cases they were proved men, men of experience and of good reputation, holy and honoured men. So should it ever be in ordinations to the Christian ministry.
IV. The ordination should be accompanied with the imposition of hands.
“Take thee Joshua … and lay thine hand upon him.” This was done as a sign of the transference of the government to him, and of the conference of the Holy Ghost upon him. “Joshua was full of the spirit of wisdom; for Moses had laid his hands upon him” (Deu_34:9). The imposition of hands is a natural and impressive form for the expression of benediction; and seems to have been so used in all ages (comp. Gen_48:14; Mat_19:13; Mat_19:15; Act_6:6; Act_8:17; Act_9:17; 1Ti_4:14; 1Ti_5:22; 2Ti_1:6. (d)
V. That the ordination should include a charge to the ordained.
“Give him a charge.” The duties and responsibilities of the office should be laid before those who are being set apart to it; and the experience of godly and approved men should be made available for the direction of the inexperienced. What wise and inspiring things Moses would say to Joshua in this charge! What sage counsels drawn from his ripe experience, &c.! Nothing is more natural and becoming than to give a charge to any one entering upon new and solemn relationships and duties. The parent gives a charge to his son as he goes forth from home to the battle and burden of life, &c. The veteran who has been in many a battle is well able to counsel the recent recruit, who is about to gird on the armour for the first time.
VI. That the ordination should be conducted in the presence of the people.
“Set him before Eleazar the priest, and before all the congregation, and give him a charge in their sight.” The Christian minister should be ordained in the presence of the congregation, because the office to which he is being set apart is one involving mutual obligations. Moreover, such an arrangement—
1. Is more impressive to the person being ordained. There present with him are the immortal souls for whom he has to live and labour.
2. Tends to influence the people beneficially. As they hear of the important duties and solemn responsibilities of their minister, they should be awakened to deeper solicitude and more earnest prayer on his behalf, and to heartier co-operation with him. (e)
VII. The ordination should confer honour upon the person ordained.
“Thou shalt put some of thine honour upon him, that all the congregation of the children of Israel may be obedient” (comp. Deu_34:9).
To serve God in the ministry of redemptive truth is a great honour, even to the holiest and ablest of men—to be an “ambassador for Christ,” &c. (f) But in addition to this, when a number of experienced and honoured ministers, who know the person they are about to “lay hands on,” unite to ordain him “before all the congregation,” by that act they declare that they, knowing him, regard him as a fit and proper person for the holy office of the Christian minister; and so they put of their honour upon him, that the people of his charge may have ampler ground for respecting and trusting him. For this reason, those who take the chief duties in an ordination service should be personally acquainted with him whom they ordain.
VIII. That a person so chosen of God, should seek special direction from Him, and seeking, shall obtain it.
“And he shall stand before Eleazar the priest,” &c. (Num_27:21). The general principle here suggested we take to be this,—that every man who is called of God to special responsibilities, should seek and shall obtain special help to fit him for those responsibilities. That such was the case with the Apostles, we see from Mat_28:18-20; Joh_14:26; and Joh_16:12-13. This should serve—
1. As a warning against self-sufficiency. The great Apostle of the Gentiles writes, “Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything as of ourselves,” &c. (2Co_3:5-6). Again he asks, “Who is sufficient for these things?”
2. As a source of encouragement and strength. We have access to the infinite resources of the Most High God. “If any man lack wisdom, let him ask of God,” &c. “Our sufficiency is of God,” &c. (g).
ILLUSTRATIONS
(a) For illustrations on this point, see pp. 23 (a), 50 (c), and 326 (a).
(b) For illustrations on ministerial qualifications, see pp. 328, 329.
(c) For illustrations on this point, see p. 62 (a) and (b).
(d) The laying-on of hands had been, from the time when Moses was directed to lay hands upon Joshua, the regular recognized manner of appointing to an office in the Church of God; and it was just adopted by the Christian Church from having prevailed by God’s own command in the Jewish. It is of course a significant appointment; an appointment signifying the delegation of authority to do that which the person appointing is empowered thus to appoint another to perform. Further than that we cannot say respecting it. It is accompanied always with prayer: and the laying on of hands would probably be considered to denote that that which was applied for in the prayer was granted to the prayer and conveyed to the person appointed. That would seem to be the explanation of the gesture in thus appointing, in the simplicity of the primitive Church.—H. Alford, D.D.
(e) It is a popular error to suppose that a gig can go on one wheel. The minister most have the co-operation of his hearers. They must be workers together. The minister cannot beg, and organize, and visit, and preach, and preside—get up bazaars, establish societies, collect for chapel debts, tell anecdotes at sewing meetings, and reconcile all the differences which arise between two-and-ninepence and half-a-crown. He is called to preach the Gospel—work enough for the strongest powers! Let him be encouraged and honoured in his holy vocation.—Joseph Parker, D.D.
(f) Let those who sustain the character of Christian ministers, think what a Master they serve, and in how great a work they are engaged! How little all the titles which the princes of this world can give must appear, when compared with that of the ministers of Jesus, and a servant of God, in the salvation of souls! How low the employments of secular life are, even those in which the nobles and kings of the earth are engaged, in comparison with theirs!—Philip Doddridge, D.D.
(g) Brothers! “our sufficiency is of God.” Let us betake ourselves to the “throne of the heavenly grace,” for our strength must be maintained by prayer. The suppliant leaves the altar clothed with power; the breath of his own prayer is returned into his spirit as an inspiration from heaven. The hope of the ministry is in PRAYER. To the devout mind, the sacred page is lighted with unearthly splendour; on the prayerful intellect, the noblest thoughts alight in their descent from the Eternal Intelligence; on the contrite heart, God bestows the most enriching bliss. Minister of Christ! wouldst thou study profitably? Pray much. Wouldst thou preach with soul-arousing energy? PRAY MUCH. Wouldst thou edify the believer, reclaim the wanderer, abash the blasphemer, and thrill the indifferent? PRAY MUCH. “Them that honour Me I will honour.” The pulpit of the prayerful minister will be the scene of most brilliant conquest,—from it will stream the banner of glorious triumph; and instead of appropriating the honour to himself, the minister will exclaim, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”—Joseph Parker, D.D.
“THE GOD OF THE SPIRITS OF ALL FLESH.”[2]
[2] For another homiletic sketch and illustrations on this text see pp. 302–305
(Num_27:16)
“The God of the spirits of all flesh.”
Various ways in which we become impressed by Scripture with a sense of the value of the soul—histories of Scripture—promises of Scripture—great transactions of Scripture—Redemption. Now let us learn the same lesson by contemplating the powers of the soul itself, especially in its connection with God.
Our text brings God and man together—spirits and the God of spirits.
I. The affecting view here furnished of the agency and dominion of God in connection with the human mind.
It is affecting. The power of other agents extends chiefly to the body. The oppressor holds the body bound; but knows not what a range the spirit takes unconscious of a chain.
1. God imparts the powers of the spirit. We have nothing self-derived. “Thou hast granted me life and favour, and Thy visitation hath preserved my spirit.” But what is spirit? Of its essence we know nothing—only its properties. We know only the properties and attributes of matter,—hard, soft; hot, cold; wet, dry; resistance, &c. So of the spirit—by its properties, powers, affections. I see that God has made it like Himself—a being of intellectual order; capable of knowledge, wisdom, devotion; and, like its Author, capable of communicating its own happiness and impressions; and especially, like its Author, capable of purity.
2. He claims the affections of the spirit.
3. He heals the disorders and sympathises with the sorrows of the spirit.
4. He alone can constitute the happiness of the spirit.
5. He will decide upon the future destiny of the spirit.
II. The moral uses of these contemplations.
1. Let them teach you reverence for the human mind.
2. Let them impress you with thoughts of the vast importance of personal religion.
3. Let it inspire you with practical efforts to benefit and bless society. By education—by missions, &c.
4. Let it kindle hope for the prospects of the human race.—Samuel Thodey.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
J. R. Dummelow 1909 · Public Domain On v1 The Law of the Inheritance of Daughters. Joshua appointed…
The Law of the Inheritance of Daughters. Joshua appointed as the Success or of Moses
1-11. According to Num_26:53 (Cp. Num_27:2) the land was to be apportioned to the males. Zelophehad, of the tribe of Manasseh, had died leaving no sons (Num_26:33); and his daughters, fearing that they would have no inheritance, request that they and their sons should succeed to the inheritance of their father, and thus perpetuate his name. Their claim is pronounced to be just, and it is enacted that daughters should inherit where there are no sons, and, failing daughters, the nearest relatives of the father. It was afterwards further enacted (Numbers 36) that daughters succeeding to an inheritance must marry within their own tribe, in order that the property should remain in that tribe and not be alienated to another.
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3. Died in his own sin] These words have led Jewish commentators to identify Zelophehad with the man who was stoned for sabbath breaking (Num_15:32-36). But their meaning rather is that Zelophehad had not forfeited his inheritance by any specially heinous act of transgression, but had died the common death of all men (cp. Num_16:29).
12-23. Moses receives intimation of his approaching death, and Joshua is appointed leader in his place.
12. This command is repeated in Deu_32:48,. and its fulfilment related in Deuteronomy 34. In the interval before his death, Moses delivered the concluding laws contained in the book of Numbers and the addresses in the book of Deuteronomy. The conquest of the Midianites seems also to have taken place in this interval, if at least the order of the narrative corresponds to the actual order of events (see Numbers 31). Mount Abarim] see on Num_23:24.
13. Gathered unto thy people] see on Num_20:24;
14. To sanctify me] see on Num_20:12.
15. Moses stifles his personal feelings of disappointment and grief, and thinks only of the flock he is leaving behind. This noble selfeffacement was conspicuous on other occasions: see Exo_32:32; Num_11:29; Num_14:12-13; If the work goes on, he is content that God should bury the workman: cp. Rom_9:1-3; Php_1:18.
17. To lead out (to pasture) and to bring in (to the fold) is the work of the shepherd: cp. Joh_10:3, Joh_10:4.
18. The spirit] i.e. the necessary qualification: see on Exo_28:3; Exo_31:4. Joshua had no doubt learned much from his close association with Moses as his attendant: see Exo_24:13; Exo_32:17; Exo_33:11; Num_11:28. He had also some experience as leader of the army of Israel (Exo_17:9). Moreover, he had given evidence of his faith and courage at Kadesh, being the only one save Caleb who was prepared to go forward in reliance on the divine promises and help (Num_14:6). Lay thine hand upon him] in token of consecration: cp. Act_6:6; Act_13:3; 1Ti_4:14; 2Ti_1:6. Observe that the three marks of a regularly consecrated minister of God are present here, viz. the call of God, the necessary gifts, and a public and solemn ordination to office.
19. Give him a charge] see Deu_31:7-8, Deu_31:23.
21. Urim] see on Exo_28:30.
J. R. Dummelow, A Commentary on the Holy Bible (Macmillan, 1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Arno C. Gaebelein 1922 · Public Domain On v1 4. The Daughters of Zelophehad, the Death of Moses…
4. The Daughters of Zelophehad, the Death of Moses and His Successor Announced
CHAPTER 27
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1. The daughters of Zelophehad (Num 27:1-11)
2. Moses’ death announced and his request (Num 27:12-17)
3. Joshua appointed (Num 27:18-23)
The question of the daughters of Zelophehad was concerning their inheritance. Their father had died in the wilderness and there were no sons. They expected and claimed a possession among the brethren of their father. They fully counted on the Lord and His goodness, though their case was not met by the previous instructions. “It is impossible for God to be like a poor man, who says, ‘You expect more good than I am prepared to bestow.’ God could not make such an answer. He always gives more. Whatever may be the petition of faith, the answer of grace never fails to go beyond it.” The answer given to Moses was that they were surely to receive their inheritance.
Moses’ departure is announced by Jehovah. He cannot go over Jordan on account of his sin. But the Lord graciously permits him to go upon the mountain and view the land of promise in all its glory. Beautiful is Moses’ answer to Jehovah. He does not speak of himself, nor does he think of his own interest. The people of God and their need are upon his heart. If they are taken care of he is satisfied and content with his own lot. What a blessed spirit of unselfishness he manifested! Joshua is the appointed successor, who is to lead the people into the land as Moses had led them out of Egypt. Moses and Joshua are both the types of Christ. Verse 21 is the key to understand the typical significance. “And he (Joshua) shall stand before Eleazar, the priest, who shall ask counsel for him.” Aaron’s priesthood, as we learned in Exodus and Leviticus, is the type of Christ in His sacrificial work on the cross. Eleazar, his successor, typifies the resurrection--heavenly priesthood of Christ. Moses is in different ways the type of Christ, as we have seen in his official and personal character; Joshua is the type of Christ in Spirit, who acts in His people by the Holy Spirit. Therefore Joshua has to stand before Eleazar the priest. He had, so to speak, to depend upon Eleazar, as the work of the Holy Spirit in the believer is dependent on the priesthood of Christ in glory.
Arno C. Gaebelein, The Annotated Bible (1913–1922) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On v1 The Grievance of the Daughters of Zelophehad Adjusted. —
The Grievance of the Daughters of Zelophehad Adjusted. —
v. 1. Then came the daughters of Zeiophehad, the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, of the families of Manasseh, the son of Joseph; and these are the names of his daughters, the ones who were concerned in this question: Mahlah, Noah, and Hogiah, and Milcah, and Tirzah.
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v. 2. And they stood before Moses and before Eleazar, the priest, and before the princes and all the congregation, by the door of the Tabernacle of the Congregation, they stepped before the official representatives of the people with a petition, saying,
v. 3. Our father died in the wilderness, as did all the other men of the older generation, and he was not in the company of them that gathered themselves together against the Lord in the company of Korah, he had not joined the ranks of the rebels at that time, Num 16:11; but died in his own sin, the common transgression of all those that died in the wilderness, and had no sons.
v. 4. Why should the name of our father be done away, cut off, extirpated, and thus destroyed and forgotten, from among his family because he hath no son? Give unto us, therefore, a possession among the brethren of our father. Their petition was that in such circumstances as those in which they found themselves the female heirs could represent and take the place of male. Without being conscious of it, they really demanded an elevation of woman in her social dignity. In the case of the marriage of a daughter into a different tribe the name of her father would have died out among the people, whereas, if their petition Would be granted, a girl could marry a man who would enter upon her possession, the children of such a union preserving the name and continuing the inheritance of the grandfather on the maternal side.
v. 5. And Moses brought their cause before the Lord, for it was a case which required divine adjustment.
v. 6. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
v. 7. The daughters of Zeiophehad speak right, the justice of their plea was recognized by the Lord; thou shall surely give them a possession of an inheritance among their father’s brethren; and thou shalt cause the inheritance of their father, that which he would have received, had he remained alive, to pass unto them. To this was afterwards added a precept concerning the marriage of such a woman within her own tribe, Num 36:8.
v. 8. And thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If a man die and have no son, then ye shall cause his inheritance to pass unto his daughter (or daughters).
v. 9. and if he have no daughter, then ye shall give his inheritance unto his brethren.
v. 10. And if he have no brethren, then ye shall give his inheritance unto his father’s brethren.
v. 11. And if his father have no brethren, then ye shall give his inheritance unto his kinsman that is next to him of his family, and he shall possess it, the order thus being: son, daughter, brothers, uncles, nearest relative beyond this circle; and it shall be unto the children of Israel a statute of judgment, as the Lord commanded Moses. Instances of the application of this law are found Num 32:41; Deu 3:14; 1Ch 2:21-22; Ezr 2:61; Neh 7:63. Note that these women were striking examples of faith, for they firmly believed that the land of Canaan would be inherited by Israel and made arrangements accordingly.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv1, 2, 4, 6, 9 Then to Moses came the daughters of Zelophehad ...…
Then to Moses came the daughters of Zelophehad ... son of Joseph
"Then the daughters of Zelophehad son of Hepher son of Gilead son of Machir son of Manasseh, of the clans of Manasseh son of Joseph came to Moses." This tells us the genealogy of Zelophehad.
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Zelophehad son of Hepher ... Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milkah, and Tirzah
See how you translated these men's names in Numbers 26:33.
Gilead ... Machir
See how you translated these men's names in Numbers 26:29.
translationWords
Moses
Gilead
Manasseh
Joseph (OT)
Tirzah
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv1, 2, 3, 5 27:1-11 Zelophehad’s lack of male heirs created an opportunity…
27:1-11 Zelophehad’s lack of male heirs created an opportunity to refine the inheritance laws, which would later be refined even further (cp. 36:1-13).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.