Cazul fiicelor lui Ţelofhad

36 Conducătorii familiilor din clanul urmaşilor lui Ghilad, fiul lui Machir, fiul lui Manase, care făceau parte din clanurile urmaşilor lui Iosif, au venit şi au vorbit înaintea lui Moise şi a celorlalţi conducători ai familiilor israelite. Ei le-au zis:

– Când Domnul i-a poruncit stăpânului nostru să împartă ţara israeliţilor ca moştenire prin tragere la sorţi, El ţi-a poruncit să dai moştenirea fratelui nostru Ţelofhad, fiicelor lui. Dar dacă ele se mărită cu bărbaţi din alte seminţii israelite, atunci moştenirea lor va fi luată din moştenirea seminţiei noastre şi adăugată seminţiei din care bărbatul face parte. Astfel, o parte din moştenirea noastră ne va fi luată. Şi când va veni anul de veselie pentru israeliţi, moştenirea lor va fi adăugată seminţiei în care ele s-au măritat şi proprietatea va fi ştearsă astfel din moştenirea seminţiei părinţilor noştri.

Moise a poruncit israeliţilor din partea Domnului şi le-a zis:

– Ce spune seminţia urmaşilor lui Iosif este adevărat. Iată ce porunceşte Domnul fiicelor lui Ţelofhad: „Se pot mărita cu cine doresc, dar să se mărite numai cu cineva dintr-un clan din seminţia tatălui lor. Nici o moştenire a israeliţilor să nu treacă dintr-o seminţie într-alta, căci fiecare israelit trebuie să-şi păstreze pământul moştenit de la părinţii lui. Orice fată care moşteneşte pământ în oricare din seminţiile israelite, trebuie să se mărite cu cineva dintr-un clan din seminţia tatălui ei, pentru ca fiecare israelit să păstreze moştenirea tatălui său. Nici o moştenire nu va trece de la o seminţie la alta, ci fiecare din seminţiile israelite să-şi păstreze propria-şi moştenire.“

10 Fetele lui Ţelofhad au făcut după porunca pe care Domnul i-a dat-o lui Moise. 11 Fetele lui Ţelofhad – Mahla, Tirţa, Hogla, Milca şi Noa – s-au măritat cu verişori din partea tatălui lor. 12 Ele s-au măritat în interiorul clanurilor urmaşilor lui Manase, fiul lui Iosif, iar moştenirea lor a rămas în seminţia clanului tatălui lor.

13 Acestea sunt poruncile şi hotărârile pe care Domnul le-a dat israeliţilor prin Moise în câmpiile Moabului, lângă Iordan, în faţa Ierihonului.

Marriage of Female Heirs

36 Now the chief fathers of the families of the (A)children of Gilead the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, of the families of the sons of Joseph, came near and (B)spoke before Moses and before the leaders, the chief fathers of the children of Israel. And they said: (C)“The Lord commanded my lord Moses to give the land as an inheritance by lot to the children of Israel, and (D)my lord was commanded by the Lord to give the inheritance of our brother Zelophehad to his daughters. Now if they are married to any of the sons of the other tribes of the children of Israel, then their inheritance will be (E)taken from the inheritance of our fathers, and it will be added to the inheritance of the tribe into which they marry; so it will be taken from the lot of our inheritance. And when (F)the Jubilee of the children of Israel comes, then 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 the tribe of our fathers.”

Then Moses commanded the children of Israel according to the word of the Lord, saying: (G)“What the tribe of the sons of Joseph speaks is right. This is what the Lord commands concerning the daughters of Zelophehad, saying, ‘Let them [a]marry whom they think best, (H)but they may marry only within the family of their father’s tribe.’ So the inheritance of the children of Israel shall not change hands from tribe to tribe, for every one of the children of Israel shall (I)keep the inheritance of the tribe of his fathers. And (J)every daughter who possesses an inheritance in any tribe of the children of Israel shall be the wife of one of the family of her father’s tribe, so that the children of Israel each may possess the inheritance of his fathers. Thus no inheritance shall change hands from one tribe to another, but every tribe of the children of Israel shall keep its own inheritance.”

10 Just as the Lord commanded Moses, so did the daughters of Zelophehad; 11 (K)for Mahlah, Tirzah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Noah, the daughters of Zelophehad, were married to the sons of their father’s brothers. 12 They were married into the families of the children of Manasseh the son of Joseph, and their inheritance remained in the tribe of their father’s family.

13 These are the commandments and the judgments which the Lord commanded the children of Israel by the hand of Moses (L)in the plains of Moab by the Jordan, across from Jericho.

Footnotes

  1. Numbers 36:6 Lit. be wives to

Inheritance of Zelophehad’s Daughters(A)

36 The family heads of the clan of Gilead(B) son of Makir,(C) the son of Manasseh, who were from the clans of the descendants of Joseph,(D) came and spoke before Moses and the leaders,(E) the heads of the Israelite families. They said, “When the Lord commanded my lord to give the land as an inheritance to the Israelites by lot,(F) he ordered you to give the inheritance of our brother Zelophehad(G) to his daughters. Now suppose they marry men from other Israelite tribes; then their inheritance will be taken from our ancestral inheritance and added to that of the tribe they marry into. And so part of the inheritance allotted to us will be taken away. When the Year of Jubilee(H) for the Israelites comes, their inheritance will be added to that of the tribe into which they marry, and their property will be taken from the tribal inheritance of our ancestors.”

Then at the Lord’s command Moses gave this order to the Israelites: “What the tribe of the descendants of Joseph is saying is right. This is what the Lord commands for Zelophehad’s daughters: They may marry anyone they please as long as they marry within their father’s tribal clan. No inheritance(I) in Israel is to pass from one tribe to another, for every Israelite shall keep the tribal inheritance of their ancestors. Every daughter who inherits land in any Israelite tribe must marry someone in her father’s tribal clan,(J) so that every Israelite will possess the inheritance of their ancestors. No inheritance may pass from one tribe to another, for each Israelite tribe is to keep the land it inherits.”

10 So Zelophehad’s daughters did as the Lord commanded Moses. 11 Zelophehad’s daughters—Mahlah, Tirzah, Hoglah, Milkah and Noah(K)—married their cousins on their father’s side. 12 They married within the clans of the descendants of Manasseh son of Joseph, and their inheritance remained in their father’s tribe and clan.(L)

13 These are the commands and regulations the Lord gave through Moses(M) to the Israelites on the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho.(N)