New Living Translation
Numbers 36:2
2They said, “Sir, the Lord instructed you to divide the land by sacred lot among the people of Israel. You were told by the Lord to give the grant of land owned by 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 clans of Gilead—descendants of Makir, son of Manasseh, son of Joseph—came to Moses and the family leaders of Israel with a petition. They said, “Sir, the Lord instructed you to divide the land by sacred lot among the people of Israel. You were told by the Lord to give the grant of land owned by our brother Zelophehad to his daughters. 3But if they marry men from another tribe, their grants of land will go with them to the tribe into which they marry. In this way, the total area of our tribal land will be reduced. 4Then when the Year of Jubilee comes, their portion of land will be added to that of the new tribe, causing it to be lost forever to 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 26:56Each grant of land must be assigned by lot among the larger and smaller tribal groups.”
- Numbers 27:1One day a petition was presented by the daughters of Zelophehad—Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. Their father, Zelophehad, was a descendant of Hepher son of Gilead, son of Makir, son of Manasseh, son of Joseph.
- Numbers 33:54You must distribute the land among the clans by sacred lot and in proportion to their size. A larger portion of land will be allotted to each of the larger clans, and a smaller portion will be allotted to each of the smaller clans. The decision of the sacred lot is final. In this way, the portions of land will be divided among your ancestral tribes.
- Joshua 13:6and all the hill country from Lebanon to Misrephoth-maim, including all the land of the Sidonians. “I myself will drive these people out of the land ahead of the Israelites. So be sure to give this land to Israel as a special possession, just as I have commanded you.
- Joshua 14:1The remaining tribes of Israel received land in Canaan as allotted by Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the tribal leaders.
- Joshua 17:3However, Zelophehad, a descendant of Hepher son of Gilead, son of Makir, son of Manasseh, had no sons. He had only daughters, whose names were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah.
- Job 42:15In all the land no women were as lovely as the daughters of Job. And their father put them into his will along with 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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