Numbers 36  Living Bible

36 ^1-2 Then the heads of the subclan of Gilead (of the clan of Machir, of the tribe of Manasseh, one of the sons of Joseph) came to Moses and the leaders of Israel with a petition: “The Lord instructed you to divide the land by lot among the people of Israel,” they reminded Moses, “and to give the inheritance of our brother Zelophehad to his daughters. ³ But if they marry into another tribe, their land will go with them to the tribe into which they marry. In this way the total area of our tribe will be reduced ⁴ and will not be returned at the Year of Jubilee.”

⁵ Then Moses replied publicly, giving them these instructions from the Lord: “The men of the tribe of Joseph have a proper complaint. ⁶ This is what the Lord has further commanded concerning the daughters of Zelophehad: ‘Let them be married to anyone they like, so long as it is within their own tribe. ⁷ In this way none of the land of the tribe will shift to any other tribe, for the inheritance of every tribe is to remain permanently as it was first allotted. ⁸ The girls throughout the tribes of Israel who are heiresses must marry within their own tribe, so that their land won’t leave the tribe. ⁹ In this way no inheritance shall move from one tribe to another.’”

¹⁰ The daughters of Zelophehad did as the Lord commanded Moses. ^11-12 These girls, Mahlah, Tirzah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Noah, were married to men in their own tribe of Manasseh (son of Joseph); so their inheritance remained in their tribe.

¹³ These are the commandments and ordinances that the Lord gave to the people of Israel through Moses, while they were camped on the plains of Moab beside the Jordan River, across from Jericho.