NUMBERS 36

NUMBERS 36

PARAGRAPH DIVISIONS OF MODERN TRANSLATIONS

NASB	NKJV	NRSV	TEV	NJB (MT versing)
Inheritance by Marriage	Marriage of Female Heirs	Tribal Property Must Be Maintained Intact	The Inheritance of Married Women	A Wife's Inheritance
36:1-4	36:1-4	36:1-4	36:1-4	36:1
				36:2-4
36:5-9	36:5-9	36:5-9	36:5-9	36:5a
				36:5b-9
36:10-12	36:10-12	36:10-12	36:10-12	36:10-12
				Conclusion
36:13	36:13	36:13	36:13	36:13

READING CYCLE THREE (see "Bible Interpretation Seminar")

FOLLOWING THE ORIGINAL AUTHOR'S INTENT AT THE PARAGRAPH LEVEL

This is a study guide commentary, which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.

Read the chapter in one sitting. Identify the subjects. Compare your subject divisions with the five translations above. Paragraphing is not inspired, but it is the key to following the original author's intent, which is the heart of interpretation. Every paragraph has one and only one subject.

First paragraph
Second paragraph
Etc.

WORD AND PHRASE STUDY

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 36:1-4
¹And the heads of the fathers' households of the family of the sons of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, of the families of the sons of Joseph, came near and spoke before Moses and before the leaders, the heads of the fathers' households of the sons of Israel, ²and they said, "The Lord commanded my lord to give the land by lot to the sons of Israel as an inheritance, and my lord was commanded by the Lord to give the inheritance of Zelophehad our brother to his daughters. ³But if they marry one of the sons of the other tribes of the sons of Israel, their inheritance will be withdrawn from the inheritance of our fathers and will be added to the inheritance of the tribe to which they belong; thus it will be withdrawn from our allotted inheritance. ⁴When the jubilee of the sons of Israel comes, then their inheritance will be added to the inheritance of the tribe to which they belong; so their inheritance will be withdrawn from the inheritance of the tribe of our fathers."

36:1-12 This is an appendix which refers to Num. 27:1-11.

36:2 "by lot" The major land division is done in Joshua 12-19 by the Urim and Thummim of the High Priest (see SPECIAL TOPIC: URIM AND THUMMIM). Exactly what "lot" was used to divide each tribal allocation into clans, families is unstated (cf. Num. 26:55-56).

36:3 "But if they marry one of the sons of the other tribes" Basically Numbers 35 is a follow-up discussion about the daughters of Zelophehad, whose father had died in the wilderness without having had any sons. Their plight was discussed earlier in the book of Numbers (i.e., Num. 26:53; 27:1-11) and the Lord had allowed them to inherit. Now, the problem of marrying outside their own tribe is discussed. The simple solution was that they must marry someone within their own tribe (Num. 36:6, 8, 12), the tribe of Reuben. This is what they must have done and it solved the problem.

36:4 "the jubilee" This refers to the fiftieth year, called the year of Jubilee (cf. Lev. 25:8-17; 27:16-24; see SPECIAL TOPIC: FEASTS OF ISRAEL; Roland deVaux, Ancient Israel, pp. 175-177).

Allocated land must be returned to the tribe and family. It was a gift from God. It could not be permanently sold (cf. Num. 36:7, 9).

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 36:5-9
⁵Then Moses commanded the sons of Israel according to the word of the Lord, saying, "The tribe of the sons of Joseph are right in their statements. ⁶This is what the Lord has commanded concerning the daughters of Zelophehad, saying, 'Let them marry whom they wish; only they must marry within the family of the tribe of their father.' ⁷Thus no inheritance of the sons of Israel shall be transferred from tribe to tribe, for the sons of Israel shall each hold to the inheritance of the tribe of his fathers. ⁸Every daughter who comes into possession of an inheritance of any tribe of the sons of Israel shall be wife to one of the family of the tribe of her father, so that the sons of Israel each may possess the inheritance of his fathers. ⁹Thus no inheritance shall be transferred from one tribe to another tribe, for the tribes of the sons of Israel shall each hold to his own inheritance."

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 36:10-12
¹⁰Just as the Lord had commanded Moses, so the daughters of Zelophehad did: ¹¹Mahlah, Tirzah, Hoglah, Milcah and Noah, the daughters of Zelophehad married their uncles' sons. ¹²They married those from the families of the sons of Manasseh the son of Joseph, and their inheritance remained with the tribe of the family of their father.

36:10 This is a repeated theme which reflects covenant obedience. It is repeated often because of Israel's repeated disobedience. See SPECIAL TOPIC: COVENANT.

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 36:13
¹³These are the commandments and the ordinances which the Lord commanded to the sons of Israel through Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan opposite Jericho.

36:13 This concluding statement (postscript) may refer to all of Numbers or at least chapters 22-36.

▣ "the commandments. . .the ordinances" See SPECIAL TOPIC: TERMS FOR GOD'S REVELATION.