The Request of Zelophehad's Daughters

271 Then the daughters of Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, of the families of Manasseh, the son of Joseph, came forward: their names are Mahlah, Noah, and Hoglah, and Milcah, and Tirzah. 2 They came before Moses and Eleazar the priest and the chiefs and all the people at the door of the Tent of meeting, and said, 3 Death overtook our father in the waste land; he was not among those who were banded together with Korah against the Lord; but death came to him in his sin; and he had no sons. 4 Why is the name of our father to be taken away from among his family, because he had no son? Give us a heritage among our father's brothers. 5 So Moses put their cause before the Lord. 6 And the Lord said to Moses, 7 What the daughters of Zelophehad say is right: certainly you are to give them a heritage among their father's brothers: and let the property which would have been their father's go to them. 8 And say to the children of Israel, If a man has no son at the time of his death, let his heritage go to his daughter. 9 And if he has no daughter, then give his heritage to his brothers. 10 And if he has no brothers, then give his heritage to his father's brothers. 11 And if his father has no brothers, then give it to his nearest relation in the family, as his heritage: this is to be a decision made by law for the children of Israel, as the Lord gave orders to Moses.

Matthew Henry's Commentary on Numbers 27:1-11

Commentary on Numbers 27:1-11

(Read Numbers 27:1-11)

The five daughters of Zelophehad considered themselves as left destitute, having neither father nor brother to inherit any land. Their believing expectation that the word of the Lord would be performed in due season, and their desire of an interest in the promised inheritance; and the modest, candid manner in which they asked, without secret murmurs or discontents, are a good example. They ask for a possession in the land of Canaan. Herein they discovered, 1. Strong faith in the power and promise of God, concerning the giving of the land of Canaan to Israel. 2. And earnest desire of a place and name in the land of promise, which was a type of heaven. 3. Respect and honour for their father, whose name was dear to them now he was gone. He never had done any thing that might bar his children's claim. It is a comfort to parents when they come to die, if though they have smarted for their own sin, yet they are not conscious of any of those iniquities which God will visit on their children. God himself gives judgment. He takes notice of the affairs, not only of nations, but of private families, and orders them according to his will. The petition is granted. Those who seek an inheritance in the land of promise, shall have what they seek for, and other things shall be added to them.