CHAPTER 36
. THE
INCONVENIENCE OF THE
INHERITANCE.
1. the chief fathers of the families
of the children of Gilead—Being the tribal governors in
Manasseh, they consulted Moses on a case that affected the public
honor and interests of their tribe. It related once more to the
daughters of Zelophehad. Formerly they had applied, at their own
instance, to be recognized, for want of male heirs in their family,
as entitled to inherit their father's property []; now the application was made on behalf of the tribe to
which they belonged—that steps might be taken to prevent the
alienation of their patrimony by their alliance with husbands of
another tribe. The unrestricted marriages of daughters in such
circumstances threatened seriously to affect the tenure of land in
Israel, as their inheritance would go to their children, who, by the
father's side, would belong to another tribe, and thus lead, through
a complication of interests and the confusion of families, to an evil
for which even the Jubilee could not afford a remedy. [See on ].
5-12. Moses commanded the children
of Israel according to the word of the Lord—The plea appeared
just and reasonable; and, accordingly an enactment was made by which
the daughters of Zelophehad, while left to the free choice of their
husbands, were restricted to marry not only within their own tribe,
but within the family of their father's tribe—that is, one
of their cousins. This restriction, however, was imposed only on
those who were heiresses. The law was not applicable to daughters in
different circumstances () —for they might marry into another tribe; but if they
did so, they were liable to forfeit their patrimonial inheritance,
which, on the death of their father or brothers, went to the nearest
of the family kinsmen. Here was an instance of progressive
legislation (see also Exodus 18:27)
in Israel, the enactments made being suggested by circumstances. But
it is deserving of special notice that those additions to, or
modifications of, the law were confined to civil affairs; while the
slightest change was inadmissible in the laws relating to worship or
the maintenance of religion.
13. These are the commandments and
the judgments, which the Lord commanded by the hand of Moses unto the
children of Israel in the plains of Moab—The Israelitish
encampment was on an extensive plateau north of the Arnon, which,
though wrested from the Moabites by Sihon and Og, still retained the
name of its original possessors. The particular site, as indicated by
the words "Jordan near Jericho," is now called El-Koura—a
large plain lying not far from Nebo, between the Arnon and a small
tributary stream, the Wael [BURCKHARDT].
It was a desert plain on the eastern bank, and marked only by groves
of the wild, thorny acacia tree.
CHAPTER 36
. THE INCONVENIENCE OF THE INHERITANCE.
1. the chief fathers of the families of the children of Gilead—Being the tribal governors in Manasseh, they consulted Moses on a case that affected the public honor and interests of their tribe. It related once more to the daughters of Zelophehad. Formerly they had applied, at their own instance, to be recognized, for want of male heirs in their family, as entitled to inherit their father's property []; now the application was made on behalf of the tribe to which they belonged—that steps might be taken to prevent the alienation of their patrimony by their alliance with husbands of another tribe. The unrestricted marriages of daughters in such circumstances threatened seriously to affect the tenure of land in Israel, as their inheritance would go to their children, who, by the father's side, would belong to another tribe, and thus lead, through a complication of interests and the confusion of families, to an evil for which even the Jubilee could not afford a remedy. [See on ].
5-12. Moses commanded the children of Israel according to the word of the Lord—The plea appeared just and reasonable; and, accordingly an enactment was made by which the daughters of Zelophehad, while left to the free choice of their husbands, were restricted to marry not only within their own tribe, but within the family of their father's tribe—that is, one of their cousins. This restriction, however, was imposed only on those who were heiresses. The law was not applicable to daughters in different circumstances () —for they might marry into another tribe; but if they did so, they were liable to forfeit their patrimonial inheritance, which, on the death of their father or brothers, went to the nearest of the family kinsmen. Here was an instance of progressive legislation (see also Exodus 18:27) in Israel, the enactments made being suggested by circumstances. But it is deserving of special notice that those additions to, or modifications of, the law were confined to civil affairs; while the slightest change was inadmissible in the laws relating to worship or the maintenance of religion.
13. These are the commandments and the judgments, which the Lord commanded by the hand of Moses unto the children of Israel in the plains of Moab—The Israelitish encampment was on an extensive plateau north of the Arnon, which, though wrested from the Moabites by Sihon and Og, still retained the name of its original possessors. The particular site, as indicated by the words "Jordan near Jericho," is now called El-Koura—a large plain lying not far from Nebo, between the Arnon and a small tributary stream, the Wael [BURCKHARDT]. It was a desert plain on the eastern bank, and marked only by groves of the wild, thorny acacia tree.