Good Afternoon First Presbyterian,  

I want to use today’s Mid-Week Meet-Up to highlight a story that appears in Numbers 27:1-11. The story of Zelophehad’s Daughters does not appear in our usual three-year lectionary cycle, so there aren’t as many opportunities to share the background of this story with you.

The book of Numbers details the time the Israelites spent in the wilderness. While none of the men who were liberated from Egypt would live to settle in the promised land, each of their descendants would be allotted land in their name. Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah (descendants of Joseph and daughters of Zelophehad) come before Moses and Eleazar the priest, not privately, but publicly in front of the entire congregation, to not ask, but demand (in the imperative form of the verb) that they be given their father’s land so his name is preserved for their clan. The daughters took a great risk coming before Moses to request this right. Barring women from land ownership was not the norm in the ancient Near East; women in Sumer, Ugarit, Egypt, Elam, among other societies, allowed women to inherit and own property. Still, other requests in the book of Numbers ended poorly for those who made them: in Numbers 12 Miriam and Aaron asked if God spoke only through Moses and (only) Miriam was plagued with leprosy, for instance.

After the daughters come forward, Moses does not answer right away, but appeals to God for guidance. Moses going to God for guidance is not a given; he often makes judgments without seeking specific guidance from God. In this case, God vindicates Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah’s demand, telling Moses, “The daughters of Zelophehad are right in their speaking.” Biblical scholar Wilda Gafney notes that God using the word ken indicates in Biblical Hebrew that the daughters were “right,” “correct,” “just so,” “honest,” and “righteous.” God’s judgment does not just apply to only Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah, but to all women of Israel as well.

Sadly, Moses does not follow God’s command. Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah have to go before Joshua after Moses dies and make the demand again. To his credit, Joshua immediately provides them their father’s land.

Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah’s story is referenced in five different places in the Hebrew Scriptures: Numbers 26:33; 27:1-11; 36:1-12; Joshua 17:3-6; and 1 Chronicles 7:15. Only Miriam and Moses are mentioned in more books of the Old Testament.

You may notice I repeated the names of the Daughters of Zelophehad each time I referred to them instead of referring to them collectively. According to Carol Meyers, of the 1,426 personal names that appear in the Old Testament, 1,315 are presumed to be male. These five women are part of a group of just 111 women named in the scripture of Israel.

Today I give thanks for the bravery and persistence of Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah, as well as the grace and love of God in answering their request. I pray you all have a very blessed Thanksgiving.

In Christ’s Abounding Love,

Pastor Erin