Thy Strong Word — Numbers 36: Keeping Inheritance in the Tribe and Closing the Book

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“Let them marry whom they think best, only they must marry within the clan of the tribe of their father.” The Book of Numbers closes with a practical question about inheritance and tribal identity. When the daughters of Zelophehad prepare to marry, their inheritance could pass to another tribe. In this final chapter, we see that God cares about the details of His people’s lives and the preservation of their inheritance. This earthly concern points us to the eternal inheritance that can never be lost, kept in heaven for those who belong to Christ.

The Rev. John Lukomski, pastor emeritus and co-host of Wrestling with the Basics on KFUO Radio, joins the Rev. Dr. Phil Booe to study Numbers 36.

The Book of Numbers is far more than an ancient census report. It is the story of a people learning to trust God in the wilderness, and failing, and finding grace anyway.

In this series, host Pastor Phil Booe and guest pastors walk through the Old Testament book of Numbers chapter by chapter. We follow Israel from Sinai toward the Promised Land, through grumbling and rebellion, fiery serpents and a talking donkey, faithless spies and faithful priests. The journey is hard, the failures are many, and God remains faithful to a faithless people.

These ancient accounts point us to Christ. The bronze serpent lifted on a pole points to the cross. The rock struck for water points to the one struck for us. The high priest whose death frees the manslayer points to the Great High Priest whose death sets us free forever. Join us as we discover that the wilderness has more to teach us than we ever expected.

Thy Strong Word, hosted by Rev. Dr. Phil Booe, pastor of St. John Lutheran Church of Luverne, MN, reveals the light of our salvation in Christ through study of God’s Word, breaking our darkness with His redeeming light. Each weekday, two pastors fix our eyes on Jesus by considering Holy Scripture, verse by verse, in order to be strengthened in the Word and be equipped to faithfully serve in our daily vocations. Submit comments or questions to: thystrongword@kfuo.org.

Thy Strong Word is graciously underwritten by the Lutheran Heritage Foundation. Through the mission gifts of people like you, LHF translates, publishes, distributes and introduces books that are Bible-based, Christ-centered and Reformation-driven. Learn more at lhfmissions.org.

Numbers 36

Marriage of Female Heirs

[1] The heads of the fathers’ houses of the clan of the people of Gilead the son of Machir, son of Manasseh, from the clans of the people of Joseph, came near and spoke before Moses and before the chiefs, the heads of the fathers’ houses of the people of Israel. [2] They said, “The LORD commanded my lord to give the land for inheritance by lot to the people of Israel, and my lord was commanded by the LORD to give the inheritance of Zelophehad our brother to his daughters. [3] But if they are married to any of the sons of the other tribes of the people of Israel, then their inheritance will be taken from the inheritance of our fathers and added to the inheritance of the tribe into which they marry. So it will be taken away from the lot of our inheritance. [4] And when the jubilee of the people of Israel comes, then their inheritance will be added to the inheritance of the tribe into which they marry, and their inheritance will be taken from the inheritance of the tribe of our fathers.”

[5] And Moses commanded the people of Israel according to the word of the LORD, saying, “The tribe of the people of Joseph is right. [6] This is what the LORD commands concerning the daughters of Zelophehad: ‘Let them marry whom they think best, only they shall marry within the clan of the tribe of their father. [7] The inheritance of the people of Israel shall not be transferred from one tribe to another, for every one of the people of Israel shall hold on to the inheritance of the tribe of his fathers. [8] And every daughter who possesses an inheritance in any tribe of the people of Israel shall be wife to one of the clan of the tribe of her father, so that every one of the people of Israel may possess the inheritance of his fathers. [9] So no inheritance shall be transferred from one tribe to another, for each of the tribes of the people of Israel shall hold on to its own inheritance.’”

[10] The daughters of Zelophehad did as the LORD commanded Moses, [11] for Mahlah, Tirzah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Noah, the daughters of Zelophehad, were married to sons of their father’s brothers. [12] They were married into the clans of the people of Manasseh the son of Joseph, and their inheritance remained in the tribe of their father’s clan.

[13] These are the commandments and the rules that the LORD commanded through Moses to the people of Israel in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho.

Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025. The ESV text may not be quoted in any publication made available to the public by a Creative Commons license. The ESV may not be translated in whole or in part into any other language. Used by permission. All rights reserved.