Introduction

While Israel is in the desert, they are told that the generation who left Egypt would not make it to the promised land. Instead, it is their children who were to inherit the land. However, the custom was that only sons inherited land, which posed a problem for at least one family in the congregation. A man by the name of Zelophehad from the tribe of Manasseh had five daughters but no sons. The five young women approached Moses with the dilemma and requested that they be allowed to inherit the land their father should have. Moses takes their request to God, and God sides with the young women. From this, the rule is established that women may inherit land provided they marry into their father's tribe so the land does not exchange hands. As crazy as it might seem to us today, this was a very progressive ruling for the time and region.

Genealogy & Etymology

We are given the full genealogy of their father, which is how we know they are from the Tribe of Manasseh. Their lineage and role in inheritance laws is documented in multiple books and chapters of the Bible, which speaks volumes to their role in Israel's history. We are also given the name of all five daughters. Not only did Moses find it important for us to remember their names, but so did Joshua and the Chronicler.

• Milcah --> means "queen" in Hebrew[4]
• Noah --> means "motion" in Hebrew[2]
• Hoglah --> means "partridge" in Hebrew[5]
• Mahlah --> means "disease" in Hebrew[1]
• Tirzah --> means "favorable" in Hebrew[3]

Questions

About the Passage

1. How old were these daughters when they petitioned Moses?
2. Did they decide to petition as a group?
   • Were all sisters on board with inheriting the land?
   • Were all sisters old enough to know what they were asking?
   • If one sister lead the charge, which one?
3. Was there an adult or relative who inspired them? Who?
4. Were any of them already married?
5. Did they have to break any betrothals to adhere to the marriage stipulation?
6. How much land did they receive?
7. Was it hard to get an audience with Moses?
8. Where did the tradition of men inheriting land only come from?
9. Did their sons get double inheritance? (The land from their mother + the land from their father)
   • Wouldn't the land eventually fall under their husbands' family name? Did it actually matter in terms of name?
   • Did sons retain both grandfathers' names (like in Spanish culture)?
   • Was the petition just to get more land for their tribe?
10. Where there other families in the same situation whose daughters were afraid to speak up?
11. Was this law only for the initial inheritance in settling the land or for all inheritances going forward?
12. Could men with sons still give thier daughters land? (Yes, we see Caleb do so in Joshua 15:16-20)
    • Did these daughters also have to marry within their tribe?
13. If a daughter didn't marry into the tribe did they just move to the next of kin as though the man had no children?
14. Were people taken aback by their request?
15. Did people grumble about God's decision?
16. Did people try to stop them from asking?
17. Had they discussed this with their father before he died?
    • Did he want them to inherit the land?
18. If daughters could inherit land, why not widows?
19. Was their mother still alive?
    • What did she think of their request?
    • Did she have anything to do with it?

If I could meet them

Meeting Zelophehad's daughters would be like meeting Katherine Johnson—they were pioneers who blazed a new trail for women. I would be most curious to talk to them about where they got their strength and ideas from. In today's society feminism is commonplace, but in previous times and in many places even today, these were unheard of ideals. What inspired them to buck the status quo?

I grew up with a family that supported and pushed me to acheive all that I could, did these young women have support from their family? Was is it their mother and grandmother or father and uncles that inspired these ideas within them? Were these people hoping for their success? Or did they caution them against them bucking trends?.

The final question I would have for them would be surrounding the aftermath. How did people react to their request and the decision? Were they catapulted to fame? Was the reaction positive or were they labeled troublemakers? Did it effect their relationships with friends and family? How did it effect their ability to find husbands?

Phototheology

Phototheology is a way of learning the Bible taught by Ivor Myers.[6] I am employing this technique in my weekly Woman of God study journal. The following three pormpts are the ones I drew from the card deck while studying Zelophehad's Daughters.

Connect with the mathematics of Daniel's 70 week prophecy

Daniel's 70 week prophecy wouldn't be written until quite some time after the life of Zelophehad's daughters. This prophecy foretells the coming of Messiah and the timeline from which He would arrive. Although their story doesn't involve timelines or salvation, elements of Who Messiah is and what He stands for can be seen in the story.

• Messiah goes to prepare a place for us, which means we have an inheritance. Women in the body also have an inheritance in the kingdom.
• Messiah 's Church fosters equality among men and women (Galatians 3:28)

Connect with the mathematics of the 400 year prophecy and the Exodus

The 400 years are usually thought to reference the time Israel spent in Egypt—there are some conflicting (and controversial) opinions that I would like to discuss at some point. For the purpose of this questionm I'm going to answer with the assumption that the 400 years reference the time in Egypt since the question lumps the 400 years with the Edxous. Zelophehad dies during the Exodus and his daughters lived through this journey. The fact that their request was granted is a reminder that they too were included in His promises and vsion for the Promised Land.

What is the text literally saying?

The text is literally the details of a legal provision to allow 5 daughters to inherit land that would have belonged to their father in place of his non-exisitent sons. It shows multiple things about history and God:

• Normal in their culture and experience was only sons inheriting land
• God is not the one who established that practice as God granted the women's request
• Priority and lineage still belong to males (hence the rule about marrying within the tribe)

Journal Pages

Journal pages for The Daughters of Zelophehad (March 26 - April 1, 2025)

References & Footnotes

1. "Strong's H4244. מַחְלָה".Blue Letter Bible; visited April 2025
2. "Strong's H5270. נֹעָה".Blue Letter Bible; visited April 2025
3. "Strong's H8656. תִּרְצָה".Blue Letter Bible; visited April 2025
4. "Strong's H4435. מִלְכָּה".Blue Letter Bible; visited April 2025
5. "Strong's H2295. חָגְלָה".Blue Letter Bible; visited April 2025
6. Pastor Ivor Myers' Phototheology Game Deck