Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Numbers 27:7
The daughters of Zelophehad speak right: thou shalt surely give them a possession of an inheritance among their father’s brethren; and thou shalt cause the inheritance of their father to pass unto them.
Verse 7. Thou shalt surely give them-an inheritance among their father’s brethren] There is a curious anomaly here in the Hebrew text which cannot be seen in our translation. In Hebrew they, them, and their, you, ye, and your, are both of the masculine and feminine genders, according as the nouns are to which they are affixed; but these words are of no gender in English. In this verse, speaking of the brethren of the father of those women, the masculine termination hem, THEIR, is used instead of the feminine, hen, governed by benoth, daughters. So lahem, to THEM, and abihem, THEIR fathers, masculine, are found in the present text, instead of lahen and abihen, feminine. Interpreters have sought for a hidden meaning here, and they have found several, whether hidden here or not. One says, “the masculine gender is used because these daughters are treated as if they were heirs male.” Another, “that it is because of their faith and conscientious regard to the ancient customs, and to keep the memory of their father in being, which might well benefit men.” Another, “that it signifies the free gift of God in Christ, where there is neither male nor female, bond or free, for all are one in Christ;” and so on, for where there is no rule there is no end to conjecture. Now the plain truth is, that the masculine is in the present printed text a mistake for the feminine. The Samaritan, which many think by far the most authentic copy of the Pentateuch, has the feminine gender in both places; so also have upwards of fourscore of the MSS. collated by Kennicott and De Rossi. Therefore all the curious reasons for this anomaly offered by interpreters are only serious trifling on the blunder of some heedless copyists.
While on the subject of mysterious reasons and meanings, some might think it unpardonable if I passed by the mystery of the fall, recovery, and full salvation of man, signified, as some will have it, by the names of Zelophehad and his daughters.
“1. Zelophehad’s daughters, claiming a portion in the promised land, may represent believers in Christ claiming an inheritance among the saints in light.
2. These five virgins may be considered as the five wise virgins, (Mt 25:1-10), who took oil in their vessels with their lamps, and consequently are types of those who make a wise provision for their eternal state.
3. They are examples of encouragement to weak and destitute believers, who, though they are orphans in this world, shall not be deprived of their heavenly inheritance.
4. Their names are mysterious; for Zelophehad, TSELOPHCHAD, signifies the shadow of fear or dread.
His first daughter, MACHLAH, infirmity;
the second, NOAH, wandering;
the third, CHOGLAH, turning about or dancing for joy:
the fourth, MILCAH, a queen;
the fifth, TIRTSAH, well-pleasing or acceptable.
By these names we may observe our reviving by grace in Christ; for we are all born of the shadow of fear, (Tselophchad), being brought forth in sin, and through fear of death being all our life time subject to bondage, Heb 2:15. This begets (Machlah) infirmity or sickness – grief of heart for our estate. After which (Noah) wandering about for help and comfort we find it in Christ, by whom our sorrow is turned into joy (Choglah). He communicates of his royalty (Milcah) to us, making us kings and priests unto God and his Father, Re 1:6. So we shall at last be presented unto him glorious and without blemish, being (Tirtsah) well-pleasing and acceptable in his sight.” This is a specimen of pious INGENUITY, which has been endeavouring to do the work of an EVANGELIST in the Church of God from the time of Origen to the present day.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Give them: in Hebrew it is of the masculine gender, to show that women in this case should enjoy the mans privilege, and that the heavenly Canaan, whereof this was a type, did belong no less to women than to men, Gal 3:28.
The inheritance of their fathers, i.e. which belonged to their fathers in case they had lived.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
The daughters of Zelophehad speak right,…. What is just and reasonable:
thou shalt surely give them a possession of an inheritance among their father’s brethren; their uncles, or rather the children of them; for it is reasonable to suppose their father’s brethren, or their uncles, were dead also: or “in giving thou shall give” u; which, according to Jarchi, denotes two parts or portions they should receive; the part of their father, who was of them that came out of Egypt, and his part with his brethren in the goods of Hepher: in the Misnah w, from whence he seems to have taken it, it is;
“the daughters of Zelophehad took three parts for inheritance; the part of their father, who was with them that came out of Egypt, and his part with his brethren in the goods of Hepher, and because he was the firstborn he was to take two parts:”
and though this strict command was given to Moses, yet it does not respect him personally, who lived not to enter into the land to see it divided; but him who should be his successor, and chief magistrate at the time of the division of it, which was Joshua, and of whom these ladies claimed their part, and had it, Jos 17:3,
and thou shalt cause the inheritance of their father to pass unto them; that is, that part which would have fallen to him by lot, had he been living, these were to take, they standing in his place; and so the portion of the land he would have had was to be divided between these live daughters of his.
u “dando dabis”, Pagninus, Montanus. w Bava Bathra, c. 8. sect. 3.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(7) Thou shalt surely give them . . . The pronoun them is in the masculine gender in the Hebrew. Either the reference must be to the sons of Zelophehads daughters, or the daughters must be regarded in the light of sons.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
7. Speak right The dictates of an unperverted conscience are always in harmony with the will of Jehovah. This case illustrates the importance of the advocacy of one’s rights until they are recognised.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Num 27:7-11. The daughters of Zelophehad speak right God, approving their petition, passes their special case into a general law hereafter to be observed. These daughters of Zelophehad were to enjoy what would have fallen to their father’s share had he been alive, because they stood in his place, and represented his person: and accordingly we find, that they had their portion in the land. Jos 1:3. While, for the future, it is provided, that the inheritance should always pass to the next of kin, whether male or female, of the family of him who is deceased. This is ordained Num 27:11 to be a statute of judgment unto the children of Israel; i.e. a standing law whereby to judge of succession to inheritance in all future times. We may just observe, that the Hebrew text speaks here of the daughters in the masculine, which some interpreters think to be used because they are treated as if they were heirs male: but Hallet is rather of opinion, that there is a slight fault in the copyists, especially as the Samaritan Pentateuch expresses the same thing in the feminine. See Hallet’s Study of the Scriptures, vol. 2: p. 16 and Selden de Success. cap. 12: Dr. Kennicott says, that where it is the father of them abihem, in the printed text, in the masculine, it is the father of them abihen, in the feminine, in no less than four MSS. in the Bodleian, and in another of Erfurt; see Dissert. p. 413. Lord Clarendon upon the 8th verse observes, “that the disinheriting of daughters is not only against divine right, but is of modern invention, and hath not antiquity to support it.” According to the law of the twelve tribes, if any one died without children, brethren and sisters of the same father, the inheritance went to the next of kin. Ulpian. Instit. de Leg. Haered.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Num 27:7 The daughters of Zelophehad speak right: thou shalt surely give them a possession of an inheritance among their father’s brethren; and thou shalt cause the inheritance of their father to pass unto them.
Ver. 7. And thou shalt cause the inheritance. ] Let the French defend their Salic law as they can. It was a witty essay of him who styled women the second edition of the epitome of the whole world; witness Artemisia, Zenobia, Blandina, the Lady Jane Gray (whose excellent beauty, adorned with all variety of virtues, as a clear sky with stars, as a princely diadem with jewels, gave her the style of Eruditionis, pietatis, et modestiae delicium), and Queen Elizabeth, in whom, besides her sex, there was nothing womanlike or weak: as if (what philosophy saith) the souls of those noble creatures had followed the temperament of their bodies, which consist of a frame of rarer rooms, of a more exact composition than man’s cloth; and, if place be any privilege, we find theirs built in paradise, when man’s was made out of it. Besides, “in Christ Jesus there is neither male nor female,” but all are one, souls having no sexes, and whosoever are “Christ’s, are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” Gal 3:28-29
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
shalt surely give. Hebrew “a giving thou shalt give”. Figure of speech Polyptoton (App-6), for emphasis. See note on Gen 26:28. This command obeyed in Jos 17:4.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Num 36:1, Num 36:2, Psa 68:5, Jer 49:11, Gal 3:28
Reciprocal: Num 36:5 – hath said well Deu 5:28 – they have well said all Jos 17:4 – The Lord commanded Job 42:15 – gave
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Num 27:7. Cause the inheritance of their father to pass unto them They were to enjoy what would have fallen to their fathers share, had he been alive; because they stood in his place, and represented his person. Accordingly they had their portion in the land, Jos 17:1-3, &c.