Importance of the Land; Evidence
This Covenant between Abraham and THE LORD in Genesis 17:
7 And I will establish My covenant between Me and thee and thy seed after thee throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee and to thy seed after thee.
8 And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land of thy sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.’
The Land
Leviticus 25:23 And the land shall not be sold in perpetuity; for the land is Mine; for ye are strangers and settlers with Me.
Exodus 12:48 And when a stranger shall sojourn with thee, and will keep the passover to the LORD, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near and keep it; and he shall be as one that is born in the land; but no uncircumcised person shall eat thereof.
Marriage of the Widow
Deuteronomy 25:5 If brethren dwell together, and one of them die, and have no child, the wife of the dead shall not be married abroad unto one not of his kin; her husband’s brother shall go in unto her, and take her to him to wife, and perform the duty of a husband’s brother unto her.
6 And it shall be, that the first-born that she beareth shall succeed in the name of his brother that is dead, that his name be not blotted out of Israel.
The Covenant of the Children of Israel sealed in blood with Hashem;
Exodus 22:21 Ye shall not afflict any widow, or fatherless child.
So those are some of the text of Covenants and Laws in the Written Torah that apply to this part of a couple parshiot.
Studying The Daughters and the WRITTEN TORAH
Who are these daughters?
In Numbers 26:2 ‘Take the sum of all the congregation of the children of Israel, from twenty years old and upward, by their fathers’ houses, all that are able to go forth to war in Israel.’ [A count of the men of age for war, by tribe and house is taken.] So later in the counting we learn: “33 And Zelophehad the son of Hepher had no sons, but daughters; and the names of the daughters of Zelophehad were Mahlah, and Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah.” Hence, there are no men of war age in this house.
Next we learn about the concerns of the daughters in Numbers 27: “1 Then drew near the daughters of Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, of the families of Manasseh the son of Joseph; and these are the names of his daughters: Mahlah, Noah, and Hoglah, and Milcah, and Tirzah.”
The Concerns Presented
Numbers 27: 3 ‘Our father died in the wilderness, and he was not among the company of them that gathered themselves together against the LORD in the company of Korah, but he died in his own sin; and he had no sons.
4 Why should the name of our father be done away from among his family, because he had no son? Give unto us a possession among the brethren of our father.’
The Response
Numbers 27:6 And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying:
7 ‘The daughters of Zelophehad speak right: thou shalt surely give them a possession of an inheritance among their father’s brethren; and thou shalt cause the inheritance of their father to pass unto them.
Clarifications of the Inheritance and the Land
Numbers 27: 8 And thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel, saying: If a man die, and have no son, then ye shall cause his inheritance to pass unto his daughter.
9 And if he have no daughter, then ye shall give his inheritance unto his brethren.
10 And if he have no brethren, then ye shall give his inheritance unto his father’s brethren.
11 And if his father have no brethren, then ye shall give his inheritance unto his kinsman that is next to him of his family, and he shall possess it. And it shall be unto the children of Israel a statute of judgment, as the LORD commanded Moses.’
Numbers 36:7 So shall no inheritance of the children of Israel remove from tribe to tribe; for the children of Israel shall cleave every one to the inheritance of the tribe of his fathers.
8 And every daughter, that possesseth an inheritance in any tribe of the children of Israel, shall be wife unto one of the family of the tribe of her father, that the children of Israel may possess every man the inheritance of his fathers.
9 So shall no inheritance remove from one tribe to another tribe; for the tribes of the children of Israel shall cleave each one to its own inheritance.’
Continually I have heard Torah Study discussions, where the most important thought to take away, is how “powerful these women were”. This joined with statements about how they forced Moses and The LORD to change the law. Also, how any man would find these women worth having as a wife or wives because of their actions here. . . . .
However, I find none of this to be true. Better take a close look at what Is and/or Has happened.
Why are these Laws so important?
A synopsis involving the Daughters of Zelophehad. He had no sons and only daughters, we are told nothing of their mother(has children so a levirate marriage is not possible), so they are presented fatherless children in his house. In the promised land they will be without land and a protector. They could just marry so they would be protected and provided for. Without a father and no husband, these daughters would be a dire situation to be in land. In Numbers 27, these daughters take their issue to Moses and Eleazar at the tent of meeting, to present their case for their fathers house and inheritance. This inheritance is about the loss of Zelophehad’s name and place among his brethren and the House of Israel.
They explain that their father died, but not as an enemy of Hashem or Moses, but died of something else.[Note this is very important, to not be an enemy, for then there would be hope. If this is the case only a plea for mercy can be made.] As Children of Israel are soon going into the Promised Land, the land will be divided among the tribes and then the houses. As there is no male to inherit from Zelophehad and so assume the responsibility of his house. In fact, the care and protection and futures of these daughters. This would also mean that Zelophehad will not be represented among the families of his tribe, and will be cut off from among the Children of Israel. (His name would be blotted out of Israel because there is no land given upon entering the promised land.)
The bigger picture view; The First the land is Hashem’s, we are only settlers; Next the Promise Land must remain in the House of Jacob and the tribe therein and the family. The land is returned to the family in the Jubalee year whether lost; by marriage; or by sale. The land always reverts to the same family of the tribe. Thus if no land is allotted in the Promised Land for Zelophehad, then he is blotted out of Israel.
What is given in response to MOSES by HASHEM is the Law regarding the Promised Land, and the inheritor when no sons are available; then daughters inherit the land but, must marry within the house of their father’s family. The future of the Land is protected, the daughter(s) and family are protected, and for entering into the LAND, the Father’s Name/House have a place in Israel.
To see all of this in action, the Book of Ruth is based on this, and other Laws. This is a great writing and example of just possessing the land is not enough to save a woman or family with out men. It is the story of Naomi who lost her husband and her sons in a foreign land. The daughter in law, Ruth the Moabitess. The levirate laws are applied as the only solution for the LAND, Naomi and Ruth. To Naomi who already had sons, the law was applied to Ruth, who personally attached herself to Naomi and The GOD of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. P.s. The result from that solution gave us King David, great grand son of Ruth.
In Joshua 17 you can see the results of the land and the daughters.
There is only ONE GOD, The LIVING GOD of Abraham, GOD of Isaac, GOD of Jacob. HE had many prophets, Only ONE SET OF LAWS, and each prophet you are to judge based upon HIS LAWS.
It is Your soul that you risk and those that follow you.
Think about it. Choose wisely, for everything that is YOU, depends on it.
Is anyone listening? You still have breath and life, you can return and repair your deeds. You just need to Do It while you have time.
I can not save you, no one can., you must Return and do that which is Right.
I can show you the way, if you want to know.
IT is to our benefit to HEARKEN until the LIVING GOD OF ISHRAEL/ISRAEL, and to our pain and shame to do otherwise.
My prayer is that The LORD grant you eyes that see, ears that hear and an understanding heart, then you return unto HIM soon!(Isaiah 6: 9 And He said: ‘Go, and tell this people: hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. 10 Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they, seeing with their eyes, and hearing with their ears, and understanding with their heart, return, and be healed.’)
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Shalom,
Yaakov