Numbers 36 Introduction

Structure and Formatting

4. At the plains of Moab (22:1–36:13)
   • Instructions concerning daughters who inherit land (36:1–12)
   • Conclusion for instructions at the plains of Moab (36:13)

In this chapter, Moses gives Yahweh’s instructions concerning keeping ancestral land within a tribe when daughters inherit that land. He gives specific instructions for Zelophehad’s daughters, which continues from 27:1–11, and then more general instructions. Daughters that inherit land must marry someone from the same tribe to keep ancestral land within that tribe. The chapter ends with a brief conclusion to this section of Numbers.

Religious and Cultural Concepts in This Chapter

Property, marriage, and inheritance

In this culture, when a woman married a man, the man would be in charge of any property or possessions that the woman had. If the woman had inherited land from her father, that land would now belong to her husband. If the husband was from a different tribe than the wife, the land would permanently belong to a different tribe than the tribe of the wife’s father. This situation is what the leaders of Manasseh with to avoid. Yahweh tells Moses to agree with them and require women who have inherited land to marry within their tribe. That way, the property would continue to belong to their father’s tribe. (See: inherit and marriage)

Translation Issues in This Chapter

Marriage within the tribe or the clan?

In 36:6 and 36:8, Moses indicates whom daughters who inherit may marry. It is possible that he means that they must marry someone from the same tribe and clan as their father. It is possible that he means only that they must marry someone from the same tribe as their father. The UST follows that interpretation. See the notes on these verses for alternate translations.