New English Translation
Numbers 36:2
2They said, “The Lord commanded my lord to give the land as an inheritance by lot to the Israelites; and my lord was commanded by the Lord to give the inheritance of our brother Zelophehad to his daughters.
Numbers 36:2 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)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.
- New International Version (NIV)They said, “When the Lord commanded my lord to give the land as an inheritance to the Israelites by lot, he ordered you to give the inheritance of our brother Zelophehad to his daughters.
- English Standard Version (ESV)They said, "The Lord commanded my lord to give the land for inheritance by lot to the people of Israel, and my lord was commanded by the Lord to give the inheritance of Zelophehad our brother to his daughters.
- New King James Version (NKJV)And they said: “The Lord commanded my lord Moses to give the land as an inheritance by lot to the children of Israel, and my lord was commanded by the Lord to give the inheritance of our brother Zelophehad to his daughters.
Context of Numbers 36:2
1Then the heads of the family groups of the Gileadites, the descendant of Machir, the descendant of Manasseh, who were from the Josephite families, approached and spoke before Moses and the leaders who were the heads of the Israelite families. They said, “The Lord commanded my lord to give the land as an inheritance by lot to the Israelites; and my lord was commanded by the Lord to give the inheritance of our brother Zelophehad to his daughters. 3Now if they should be married to one of the men from another Israelite tribe, their inheritance would be taken from the inheritance of our fathers and added to the inheritance of the tribe into which they marry. As a result, it will be taken from the lot of our inheritance. 4And when the Jubilee of the Israelites is to take place, their inheritance will be added to the inheritance of the tribe into which they marry. So their inheritance will be taken away from the inheritance of our ancestral tribe.”
Read all of Numbers 36Numbers 36:2 word by word
וַיֹּאמְר֗וּ אֶת־אֲדֹנִי֙ צִוָּ֣ה יְהוָ֔ה לָתֵ֨ת אֶת־הָאָ֧רֶץ בְּנַחֲלָ֛ה בְּגוֹרָ֖ל לִבְנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל וַֽאדֹנִי֙ צֻוָּ֣ה בַֽיהוָ֔ה לָתֵ֗ת אֶֽת־נַחֲלַ֛ת צְלָפְחָ֥ד אָחִ֖ינוּ לִבְנֹתָֽיו׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And they saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- The Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- commandedצָוָהtsâvâh · to commandH6680
- my lordאָדוֹן'âdôn 'âdôn · lordH113
- to giveנָתַןnâthan · to give: giveH5414
- the landאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
- for an inheritanceנַחֲלָהnachălâh · inheritanceH5159
- by lotגּוֹרָלgôrâl gôrâl · allottedH1486
- to the childrenבֵּןbên · son: descendant/peopleH1121
- of Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
- of Zelophehadצְלׇפְחָדtselophchâd · ZelophehadH6765
- our brotherאָח'âch · brother: male-siblingH251
- unto his daughtersבַּתbath · daughterH1323
Cross-references for Numbers 36:2
- Numbers 26:56Their inheritance must be apportioned by lot among the larger and smaller groups.
- Numbers 27:1Then the daughters of Zelophehad son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh of the families of Manasseh, the son Joseph came forward. Now these are the names of his daughters: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah.
- Numbers 33:54You must divide the land by lot for an inheritance among your families. To a larger group you must give a larger inheritance, and to a smaller group you must give a smaller inheritance. Everyone’s inheritance must be in the place where his lot falls. You must inherit according to your ancestral tribes.
- Joshua 13:6I will drive out before the Israelites all who live in the hill country from Lebanon to Misrephoth Maim, all the Sidonians; you be sure to parcel it out to Israel as I instructed you.”
- Joshua 14:1The following is a record of the territory assigned to the Israelites in the land of Canaan by Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the Israelite tribal leaders.
- Joshua 17:3Now Zelophehad son of Hepher, son of Gilead, son of Makir, son of Manasseh, had no sons, only daughters. These are the names of his daughters: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah.
- Job 42:15Nowhere in all the land could women be found who were as beautiful as Job’s daughters, and their father granted them an inheritance alongside their brothers.
Commentaries on Numbers 36:2
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 2To 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…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1-13Verses 1-13 The daughters of Zelophehad had obtained an ordinance Numbers 28:6-11 which permitted the daughters of an Israelite dying without male issue to inherit their father‘s property. The chiefs of the Machirites, of whom Zelophehad had been one, now obtain a supplemental enactment, directing that heiresses should marry within their own tribe. Numbers 36:4 Be taken away - i. e. be permanently taken away. The jubilee year, by not restoring the estate…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-4Women who inherited land might marry men from another tribe. Their land would then be lost by their ancestral tribe and transferred to their husband’s tribe. The "Year of Jubilee" usually allowed land to return to its original owner (Leviticus 25:8–55). But it only applied to land sold, not land gained through marriage.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-131. the chief fathers of the families of the children of Gilead--Being the tribal governors in Manasseh, they consulted Moses on a case that affected the public honor and interests of their tribe. It related once more to the daughters of Zelophehad. Formerly they had applied, at their own instance, to be recognized, for want of male heirs in their family, as entitled to inherit their father's property [Nu 27:1-11]; now the application was made on behalf of…Read the comment
Topics related to Numbers 36:2
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Numbers 36
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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Commentaries