🔢WEB · Numbers 27:6
What does Numbers 27:6 mean?
"Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,"
— Numbers 27:6 (World English Bible)
Surrounding context
“Our father died in the wilderness. He was not among the company of those who gathered themselves together against Yahweh in the company of Korah, but he died in his own sin. He had no sons.
Why should the name of our father be taken away from among his family, because he had no son? Give to us a possession among the brothers of our father.”
Moses brought their cause before Yahweh.
Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
“The daughters of Zelophehad speak right. You shall surely give them a possession of an inheritance among their father’s brothers. You shall cause the inheritance of their father to pass to them.
You shall speak to the children of Israel, saying, ‘If a man dies, and has no son, then you shall cause his inheritance to pass to his daughter.
If he has no daughter, then you shall give his inheritance to his brothers.
Explanation
Numbers 27:6 is a short transitional verse: "Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying." On its own, it simply announces that God is about to speak. It functions as an introduction, not as a self-contained teaching, so understanding it requires looking at what comes right before and after it.
The context is the story of the daughters of Zelophehad (Numbers 27:1-11). Zelophehad had died in the wilderness leaving no sons, only five daughters — Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. Under the existing custom, inheritance of land in Israel passed through sons, which meant their father's name and portion in the Promised Land would simply disappear. The daughters brought their case before Moses, Eleazar the priest, the leaders, and the whole congregation at the entrance of the tent of meeting, asking that they be given a possession among their father's brothers. Moses did not have a ready answer, so he "brought
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