Numbers 27

¹Then came the daughters of Zelophehad the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, from the families of Manasseh the son of Joseph; and these were the names of his daughters: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah.

²And they stood before Moses, before Eleazar the priest, and before the leaders and all the congregation, by the doorway of the tabernacle of meeting, saying:

³“Our father died in the wilderness; but he was not in the company of those who gathered together against the Lord

⁴Why should the name of our father be removed from among his family because he had no son? Give us a possession among our father’s brothers.”

⁵So Moses brought their case before the Lord

⁶And the Lord

⁷“The daughters of Zelophehad speak what is right; you shall surely give them a possession of inheritance among their father’s brothers, and cause the inheritance of their father to pass to them.

⁸And 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.

⁹If he has no daughter, then you shall give his inheritance to his brothers.

¹⁰If he has no brothers, then you shall give his inheritance to his father’s brothers.

¹¹And if his father has no brothers, then you shall give his inheritance to the relative closest to him in his family, and he shall possess it.’ ” And it shall be to the children of Israel a statute of judgment, just as the Lord

¹²Now the Lord

¹³And when you have seen it, you also shall be gathered to your people, as Aaron your brother was gathered.

¹⁴For in the Wilderness of Zin, during the strife of the congregation, you rebelled against My command to hallow Me at the waters before their eyes.” (These are the waters of Meribah, at Kadesh in the Wilderness of Zin.)

¹⁵Then Moses spoke to the Lord

¹⁶“Let the Lord

¹⁷who may go out before them and go in before them, who may lead them out and bring them in, that the congregation of the Lord

¹⁸And the Lord

¹⁹set him before Eleazar the priest and before all the congregation, and inaugurate him in their sight.

²⁰And you shall give some of your authority to him, that all the congregation of the children of Israel may be obedient.

²¹He shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall inquire before the Lord

²²So Moses did as the Lord

²³And he laid his hands on him and inaugurated him, just as the Lord