Peter Pett's Commentary on the Bible
Numbers 36:1-4
Chapter 36 Problems Of Inheritance.
7). The Manassite Leaders' Concern About Losing The Land If Women Inherit.
There are two emphases in this last chapter. The first is on the question of the certainty of the inheritance of each tribe being maintained. That was seen as an essential matter. That was what they would be fighting for. And the second was the glorious example that the daughters of Zelophehad were to the whole of Israel. They were a shining example of the fact that those who behaved rightly towards Yahweh would come out triumphantly as possessors of the land. They were an incentive to the whole of Israel.
It is not accidental that the book ends with the importance of ensuring that the divisions of the land as established by God for His people should remain inviolate. For the land was to be their permanent possession, given to them by Yahweh. It lay at the very heart of the covenant. This reveals both the deep concern of the people about possessing land, and the faithfulness of God in ensuring that they received it as a permanent possession. It was the fulfilment of all that they had come to Canaan to obtain. The absolute cast iron guarantee of such perpetuity would be a huge incentive to going forward.
In the same way it is for us the certainty that we will enter into and inherit an everlasting kingdom that will never diminish that gives us the courage to go constantly forward in the face of all difficulties. The principle is the same. All who believe and are faithful will inherit it.
But the situation that brought this matter to the forefront was the matter of families with no male heir, whose fathers had died on their journey while remaining faithful to Yahweh, with the result that their family, instead of joining in the fulfilment of the promises to the fathers, would lose everything that mattered through no fault of their own. They would no longer have their share in the land. This must not be. Such a situation would mean that all soldiers who only had daughters would fear at what their death might do to their families, and would therefore be hesitant about going into battle. Thus the solution proposed here removed that fear.
Yet there was the equal problem that if they did receive land and the women heiresses married outside the tribe, they would take the land that had been given to that tribe with them. The tribal inheritance would be diminished. What then was the solution? The final answer was that the women heiresses could inherit, but if they did they must marry within the tribe. And the book ends with the description of the obedience to Yahweh of the daughters of Zelophehad which results in satisfaction for all. The lesson being that thus will all be blessed who walk in obedience to Yahweh and seek land for their possession.
Analysis.
a The Leaders of the tribe of Manasseh approach Moses about the possible loss of part of their division of the land as a result of the decision about the daughters of Zelophehad (Numbers 36:1 a).
b Description of the problem relating to the land inherited by the daughters of Zelophehad (Numbers 36:2).
a Instruction concerning women who inherit land so as to maintain the lot in the dividing up of the land seen as successfully accomplished in the daughters of Zelophehad (Numbers 36:5).
‘And the heads of the fathers' houses of the family of the children of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, of the families of the sons of Joseph, came near, and spoke before Moses, and before the princes, the heads of the fathers' houses of the children of Israel:'
The deputation that came to Moses and the princes of the twelve tribes was not an unimportant one. It included all the chieftains of the sub-tribe of Gilead, of the tribe of Machir, the son of Manasseh who was descended from Joseph.
‘And they said, “Yahweh commanded my lord to give the land for inheritance by lot to the children of Israel: and my lord was commanded by Yahweh to give the inheritance of Zelophehad our brother to his daughters.” '
Their concern was with the decision that had been made concerning the daughters of Zelophehad. Important inheritance rules were being established. On the one hand Yahweh had commanded that the land be given to the children of Israel by lot. Thus this would permanently attach the land that was given to it to each tribe by Yahweh's decree. But on the other hand was the decision about the daughters of Zelophehad which if not regulated might have other consequences.
“ And if they be married to any of the sons of the other tribes of the children of Israel, then will their inheritance be taken away from the inheritance of our fathers, and will be added to the inheritance of the tribe to which they shall belong, so will it be taken away from the lot of our inheritance.”
For if they married outside the tribe, they would take their land with them. That land would then be joined to that of another tribe, and Gilead, of Machir, of Manasseh would find themselves depleted of some of the land allocated to them by Yahweh by means of the lot. The sub-tribe would lose some of their guaranteed inheritance.
“ And when the yubile of the children of Israel shall be, then will their inheritance be added to the inheritance of the tribe to which they shall belong: so will their inheritance be taken away from the inheritance of the tribe of our fathers.”
And the result would be that when the year of Yubile came, that land, returning to the family of the woman who had first possessed it on entering the land, would permanently become attached to the new tribe for ever, and would for ever be lost to the tribe who had received it by lot. That being so the permanency of their inheritance was in doubt. This would go against the whole principle of Yubile which was of restoration after forty nine years of all land to its original tribal inheritors.
It is difficult to stress sufficiently how important the question was. They saw the whole certainty of the future as hanging in balance, and nothing would have been more discouraging to the advance into Canaan. The fairness of Yahweh to His people needed to be guaranteed. The whole of the book had been concerned with possession of the land. And now it seemed that that possession could hang in balance.
But when the reply came it both satisfied their doubts concerning the loss of guaranteed land, and was a warm encouragement concerning the blessing that came on those who were obedient to Yahweh.