Numbers 36

1 Now the family [clan, tribe] heads of the clan [tribe, family group] of Gilead [rocky region, mountainous area] son of Machir [leader, chief] son of Manasseh [forgetfulness, one who forgets], one of the clans [families, tribes] of Joseph [Jehovah has added, God will increase], approached [came near, drew close] Moses [leader, deliverer] and the leaders [princes, chiefs] who were the heads [chiefs, rulers] of the Israelite [descendants of Jacob, God’s people] families [clans, tribes] and addressed [spoke to, communicated with] them, word study 2 saying, “When the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God] commanded my lord [master, leader] to give the land [territory, earth] as an inheritance [property, heritage] to the Israelites [descendants of Jacob] by lot [allotted portion, decision by chance], He also commanded him to give the inheritance [possession, legacy] of our brother [male sibling, close relative] Zelophehad to his daughters [female children, women]. word study 3 But if they marry [to any of the sons of the other tribes] any of the men from the other tribes [of the children of Israel] of Israel, their inheritance [property, family heirloom] will be withdrawn [taken away, diminished] from the portion [allotted share] of our fathers [ancestors, patriarchs] and added [given, transferred] to the tribe [clan, family group] into which they marry [become wives, unite with]. So our allotted [assigned, designated] inheritance [heritage, legacy] would be taken away [removed, lost]. word study 4 And when the Jubilee [year of celebration, time of release] for the Israelites [descendants of Jacob, God’s chosen people] comes, their inheritance [property, heritage, or birthright] will be added [joined, united, or combined] to the tribe [family group, clan, or nation] into which they marry [become part of, or are received by] and taken away [removed, withdrawn, or transferred] from the tribe [family, or ancestral group] of our fathers [ancestors, or patriarchs].” word study 5 So at the word [from the mouth, by the command] of the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God], Moses [the Israelite leader, prophet] commanded [gave orders, appointed] the Israelites [the descendants of Jacob]: “The tribe [a division of the people] of the sons [descendants, family] of Joseph [Jehovah has added, a name given to several Israelites] speaks [communicates, says] correctly [rightly, as is right, well]. word study 6 This is what the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God] has commanded [given orders, appointed] concerning the daughters [female children, women] of Zelophehad: They may marry [be given in marriage, become wives] anyone they please [think best, choose], provided they marry [become wives, are married] within a clan [family, tribe] of the tribe [nation, people] of their father [ancestor, patriarch]. word study 7 No [absolutely none, not a single instance of] inheritance [property, legacy, or birthright] in Israel may be transferred [passed on, or moved] from tribe [a group of people] to tribe [a community or a nation], because [for the reason that, since] each [every single one, individually] of the Israelites [sons of Israel, descendants of Jacob] is to retain [hold onto, keep, or preserve] the inheritance [heritage, or family estate] of the tribe [community, or nation] of his fathers [ancestors, or forefathers]. word study 8 Every daughter [female child or woman] who possesses [takes control of, inherits] an inheritance [property or heritage] from any Israelite [descendant of Jacob] tribe [family or clan] must marry [become a wife] within a clan [family or tribe] of the tribe of her father [ancestral lineage], so that every Israelite [son or descendant] will possess [inherit and occupy] the inheritance [legacy or birthright] of his fathers [ancestors or patriarchs]. word study 9 No [absence of, none] inheritance [property, heritage] may be transferred [removed, passed] from one [another, next] tribe [family] to another [different, following], for [because, since] each [every, individual] tribe [family] of Israel [descendants of Jacob] must retain [keep, hold] its [their own, unique] inheritance [legacy, birthright].” word study 10 So the daughters [female children, women of faith] of Zelophehad [an Israelite from the tribe of Manasseh] did as the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God] had commanded [given orders, appointed] Moses [the Israelite leader, lawgiver] [in accordance with God’s will, as instructed]. word study 11 Mahlah [a woman with a name meaning disease], Tirzah [a city and a woman’s name], Hoglah [an Israelite woman], Milcah [a woman and granddaughter of Manasseh], and Noah [an Israelitess, meaning rest or comfort], the daughters [female children, women] of Zelophehad [an Israelite from the tribe of Manasseh], were married [given in marriage, united] to cousins [their father’s brothers’ sons, close relatives] on their father’s side [their paternal family, relatives]. word study 12 They married within [within their own tribe, to men of their father’s clan] the clans [families, tribes] of the descendants of Manasseh [a grandson of Jacob, son of Joseph] son of Joseph, and their inheritance [property, family heirloom] remained [was kept, stayed] within the tribe [nation, family] of their father’s [ancestral, paternal] clan [family, tribe]. word study 13 These [specific, particular] are the commandments [laws, ordinances, divine instructions] and ordinances [judgments, regulations, guidelines] that the LORD [Yehovah, the covenant God] gave [imparted, entrusted] the Israelites [sons of Israel, God’s chosen people] through [by means of, through the agency of] Moses [the leader, prophet, and mediator] on [in, within] the plains [desert, wilderness, Arabah] of Moab [a land east of the Jordan, descended from Lot] by [near, beside, along] the Jordan [a river] across [opposite, facing] from Jericho [a city, a place of conquest and new beginnings]. word study