Numbers 36:2

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.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
said	וַיֹּאמְר֗וּ vai.yo.me.Ru	H559	to say (used with great latitude) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural
LORD	יְהוָ֔ה Yah.weh	H3068	Jehovah · proper noun, a title
commanded	צִוָּ֣ה tzi.Vah	H6680	(intensively) to constitute · verb, piel perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
lord	אֲדֹנִי֙ 'a.do.Ni	H113	sovereign · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix
give	לָתֵ֨ת la.Tet	H5414	to give · preposition + verb, qal infinitive construct
land	הָאָ֧רֶץ ha.'A.retz	H776	the earth (at large · definite article + noun, common feminine singular absolute
inheritance	בְּנַחֲלָ֛ה be.na.cha.Lah	H5159	properly · preposition + noun, common feminine singular absolute
lot	בְּגוֹרָ֖ל be.go.Ral	H1486	properly · preposition + noun, common masculine singular absolute
children	לִבְנֵ֣י liv.Nei	H1121	a son (as a builder of the family name) · preposition + noun, common masculine plural construct
Israel	יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל Yis.ra.'El	H3478	Jisrael · proper noun, a place name
lord	וַֽאדֹנִי֙ va.do.Ni	H113	sovereign · conjunction + noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix
commanded	צֻוָּ֣ה tzu.Vah	H6680	(intensively) to constitute · verb, pual perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
LORD	בַֽיהוָ֔ה ba.Yah.weh	H3068	Jehovah · preposition + proper noun, a title
give	לָתֵ֗ת la.Tet	H5414	to give · preposition + verb, qal infinitive construct
inheritance	נַחֲלַ֛ת na.cha.Lat	H5159	properly · noun, common feminine singular construct
Zelophehad	צְלָפְחָ֥ד tze.la.fe.Chad	H6765	Tselophchad · proper noun, a man's name
brother	אָחִ֖ינוּ 'a.Chi.nu	H251	a brother (used in the widest sense of literal relation… · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix
daughters	לִבְנֹתָֽיו liv.no.Tav	H1323	a daughter (used in the same wide sense as other terms… · preposition + noun, common feminine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Numbers 27:1-7 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 Mana…
Numbers 33:54 And ye shall divide the land by lot for an inheritance among your families: and to the more ye shall give the more inheritance, and to the f…
Joshua 17:3-6 But Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, had no sons, but daughters: and these are the…
Numbers 26:55-56 Notwithstanding the land shall be divided by lot: according to the names of the tribes of their fathers they shall inherit.
Joshua 13:6 All the inhabitants of the hill country from Lebanon unto Misrephoth-maim, and all the Sidonians, them will I drive out from before the chil…
Joshua 14:1-2 And these are the countries which the children of Israel inherited in the land of Canaan, which Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nu…
Job 42:15 And in all the land were no women found so fair as the daughters of Job: and their father gave them inheritance among their brethren.

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Numbers 36:1-4

We have here the humble address which the heads of the tribe of Manasseh made to Moses and the princes, on occasion of the order lately made concerning the daughters of Zelophehad. The family they belonged to was part of that half of the tribe of Manasseh which we yet to have their lot within Jordan, not that half that was already settled; and yet they speak of the land of their possession, and the inheritance of their fathers, with as great assurance as if they had it already in their hands, knowing whom they had trusted. In their appeal observe, 1. They fairly recite the former order made in this case, and do not move to have that set aside, but are very willing to acquiesce in it (Num 36:…

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Adam Clarke on Numbers 36:2

To give the inheritance of Zelophehad - unto his daughters - See this case spoken of at large on Numbers 27 (note). Either the first eleven verses of Numbers 27 should come in before this chapter, or this chapter should come in immediately after those eleven verses; they certainly both make parts of the same subject. Here Moses determines that heiresses should marry in their own tribe, that no part of the ancient inheritance might be alienated from the original family.

John Gill on Numbers 36:2

And they said,.... One in the name of the rest: the Lord commanded my lord; that is, Moses, whom they address in a very respectable manner, being the chief governor of the nation under God: to give the land for an inheritance by lot to the children of Israel; which command may be seen, in Numbers 26:53, and my lord was commanded by the Lord to give the inheritance of Zelophehad our brother; or kinsman, being of the same tribe: unto his daughters; who sued for it, and upon Moses's consulting the Lord about it, it was ordered they should have it, Numbers 27:1 and which these princes observed was likely to be attended with the following inconvenience.

John Calvin on Numbers 36:2-4

And they said, The Lord commanded my lord. They here allege a kind of discrepancy, in that the tribes had had the land allotted to them agreeably to God's command, but now their lots would be thrown into confusion, when the inheritance should pass over to another tribe. They assume it, however, to be an acknowledged impossibility, that God should be inconsistent with Himself: hence it was necessary that an interpretation should be delivered in order to remove the legal contradiction (antinomian) The Law of God, say they, which ought to remain inviolable, enjoins that the land should be distxibuted by lot; how, then, will it accord that women should carry elsewhere the inheritance of their ow…

Dictionary and topics

Children — The blessing of offspring, but especially of the male sex, is highly valued among all eastern nations, while a the absence is regarded as one of the severest punishments. (Genesis 16:2; 7:14; 1…
Machir — Sold. (1.) Manasseh’s oldest son (Josh. 17:1), or probably his only son (see 1 Chr. 7:14, 15; comp. Num. 26:29-33; Josh. 13:31). His descendants are referred to under the name of Machirites, being…
Zelophehad — First-born, of the tribe of Manasseh, and of the family of Gilead; died in the wilderness. Having left no sons, his daughters, concerned lest their father’s name should be “done away from among his…
Desert, Journey Of Israel Through The · The law of female inheritance settled — The law of female inheritance settled
Heir · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Land · Unmarried woman’s rights in — Unmarried woman’s rights in
Milcah · .Special legislation in regard to the inheritance of — .Special legislation in regard to the inheritance of
Petition · Israel — Israel
Property · .Entail of — .Entail of

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Numbers 36:1-4

Adam Clarke on Numbers 36:2

John Gill on Numbers 36:2

John Calvin on Numbers 36:2-4

Dictionary and topics

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Numbers 36:1-4

Adam Clarke on Numbers 36:2

John Gill on Numbers 36:2

John Calvin on Numbers 36:2-4

Dictionary and topics

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Numbers 36:1-13