In chapter 26, the national census had concluded. The purpose of the headcount had a practical
purpose: “To these the land shall be divided.” It also inspired potential claimants to Canaan to speak up.
“Then drew near the daughters of Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, the
son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son Manasseh, of the families of
Manasseh the son of Joseph. And these are the names of his daughters:
Mahlah, Noah, and Hoglah, and Milcah, and Tirzah.”
Here in chapter 27, we get a glimpse of more than just how the Hebrew court system worked in the
desert; we focus on one family’s fight for justice.
The pronouncement of an imminent entrance into Canaan, and division of it among the twelve tribes
stirred Zelophehad’s daughters. They descended from Manasseh and sought to redress an oversight, if
not a wrong: Despite their father not giving birth to sons, they felt entitled to their fair share in the Holy
Land. Abravanel lays out the due process, as well as the women’s claim and court win.
“And they stood before Moses and before Eleazar the priest and before…the entire congregation.” The
petitioners followed protocol. They first appealed to Moses, arguing their claim. Our master, we appear
before you as disputants in a lawsuit. Moses retorted. Behold, I have established a court system. It
comprises magistrates authorized to oversee thousands of constables, smaller courts responsible to
hundreds, and yet smaller courts in charge of fifty or ten. Plead your case before them. The appellants
listened as Moses explained that the point of law they seek can be clarified by lower courts.
The women approached Eleazar the priest, for Aaron was no longer alive. The priest responded as had
Moses. And so, they took their complaint to the tribal princes and community notables. Again, the ladies
poured out their hearts. The chieftains and notables admitted that this matter rated complex. As such
they lacked jurisdiction to adjudicate, suggesting they go to Moses. This is in keeping with a key verse,
“Any difficult matter, they shall bring to Moses.”
The women knew a runaround when they saw one. They also knew that they were not making any
progress, seeing that each legal authority refused to listen to their appeal. They came up with a plan.
They bided their time until all of the judges gathered together. In the presence of Moses, Eleazar, the
tribal chiefs, and communal leaders—men who were in courtyard of the Tent of Meeting—the women
motioned. “And they stood before Moses and before Eleazar the priest and before…the entire
congregation.” They reiterated their original claim. Who among them had the necessary authority to
decide the matter, they asked.
Here was the point of law the women sought to flesh out. “Our father died in the desert.” They
explained that their father had left Egypt and found his end in the wilderness. This established legal
standing, meaning that as someone who fled Egypt, father was entitled to an inheritance in Canaan.
The daughters continued. “And he was not part of those who griped against the Maker in the midst of
Korah’s cohorts.” Zelophehad was no conspirator, they asserted.
“Why should our father’s name be reduced among his family?” They questioned why their father’s clan,
that of Hepher, be deprived on the grounds that no boys were born to dad? Turning to Moses, they
begged. “Give us a portion among our father’s brothers.”
They alluded to the prophet’s God-given prerogative to parcel land, “To the many you shall parcel out
more.” This, they cried, was a just cause. “Give us a portion among our father’s brothers.” They had not
attempted to negotiate a particular size of land, not large nor small. They simply appealed to Moses’
sense of right. Whatever Hepher’s brothers receive, so too should they through their late father.
Moses had been noticeably moved as he beheld the orphans standing before him. He promised to take
up the matter, posthaste, with the One Above. “And Moses brought their case before the Almighty.”
The verse teaches that the prophet went all-in to advocate for them, trying to prove that their claim was
a valid one.
God heard. “And God spoke to Moses saying. Correctly have Zelophehad’s daughters argued.” In our
context it means that the Torah clarified a point of law regarding how the tribes took inheritance in
Canaan. Primarily, it was a function of divvying it up among families. “You shall certainly give them a
portion for an inheritance among their father’s brothers.”
A general principle of inheritance had been fleshed out: Where a father had not left sons, his daughters
inherit, as illustrated by the legal win for the daughters of Zelophehad.
