NumbersChapter 36

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¹The family heads of the clan of Gilead came to Moses. Gilead was the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh. His clan was one of the clans of Joseph. They also came to the leaders who were the heads of the Israelite families. They spoke to them. ²They said, "The LORD commanded you, our master, to give the land to the Israelites by casting lots. He also commanded you to give our brother Zelophehad's land to his daughters. ³But if they marry men from other tribes of Israel, their land will be taken from our fathers' share. It will be added to the tribe they marry into. So part of the land given to us would be taken away. ⁴Then the Year of Jubilee will come for the Israelites. Their land will be added to the tribe they marry into. It will be taken away from the tribe of our fathers." ⁵So Moses gave the Israelites a command from the LORD. He said, "The tribe of Joseph's sons is right. ⁶Here is what the LORD commands about Zelophehad's daughters. They may marry anyone they like. But they must marry within a clan of their father's tribe. ⁷In Israel, no land passed down in a family may move from one tribe to another tribe, because each Israelite must keep the land of his fathers' tribe. ⁸Any daughter in any tribe of Israel who receives land must marry within a clan of her father's tribe. Then every Israelite will keep the land of his fathers. ⁹No land may move from one tribe to another, for each tribe of Israel must keep its own land." ¹⁰So Zelophehad's daughters did what the LORD had commanded Moses. ¹¹Zelophehad's daughters were Mahlah, Tirzah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Noah. They married cousins on their father's side. ¹²They married within the clans of the descendants of Manasseh son of Joseph. So their land stayed in the tribe of their father's clan. ¹³These are the commands and rules the LORD gave the Israelites through Moses. He gave them on the plains of Moab, by the Jordan River across from Jericho.