1. And the chief fathers of the families. It might appear strange that God had given an imperfect law with reference to succession, as if what will be now stated had not occurred to His mind until Moses was reminded by the chief men of the families (of Machir,) (201) that it was unjust that the inheritances should be alienated, which would have been the case if the daughters of Zelophehad had married into other tribes, whereas their portion had fallen in the lot of the tribe of Manasseh. For whatever fell into the hands of those of another tribe, was a diminution of that lot. As, therefore, God had lately made provision for preserving the rights of individuals, He now treats of the general advantage or loss. What, then, can be the meaning of the objection, that God only half considered what was right? In my opinion, He so arranged His replies, that only when inquired of He assigned to each one his rights. The daughters of Zelophehad come, and demand justice of Moses and the elders, and God complies with their prayers. Now the heads of the tribe come, and agitate the question respecting the loss they would incur by the alienation of the inheritances; and it is then provided that other tribes should not be enriched by their loss. In short, whereas God might have spontaneously anticipated this, He preferred to grant it at the request of those who asked nothing but what was just and equitable. For it cannot be said that in this case it happened, as it often does, that, whilst every one pertinaciously maintains his own cause, and is eager to advance his own interests, one question arises out of another; for, when God has taken cognizance of the case, He pronounces that both parties only demanded what was right. It follows, therefore, that God designedly withheld His decisions until they naturally arose out of the circumstances of the case. It is a common saying that the law makes no provision for those things which rarely occur. (202) Thus it would have been commonly supposed that this law was superfluous; and especially it would have detracted somewhat from the authority of his teaching, if Moses had treated of this trifling matter, had not circumstances led to it. In fine, God allowed Himself to be interrogated familiarly with respect to doubtful points of no primary importance, in order that posterity might recognize His reply as a proof of His fatherly indulgence. Meanwhile, let us bear in mind that if heavenly things are the subject of as much anxiety to us, as earthly things were to the children of Manasseh, the rule that we should observe will always be made clear to us.
(201) Added from Fr.
(202) “De his, quae frequenter fieri solent, non quae raro, leges fieri debent.” 1. 3. et sequentibus ff. de legib.; 1. 3. Digest. si pars haeredit, petatur; 1.28. ff. de judiciis; 1. ea quae 64, de regul. juris.
2. And they said, The Lord commanded my lord. They here allege a kind of discrepancy, in that the tribes had had the land allotted to them agreeably to God’s command, but now their lots would be thrown into confusion, when the inheritance should pass over to another tribe. They assume it, however, to be an acknowledged impossibility, that God should be inconsistent with Himself: hence it was necessary that an interpretation should be delivered in order to remove the legal contradiction ( ἀντινομίαν ) The Law of God, say they, which ought to remain inviolable, enjoins that the land should be distxibuted by lot; how, then, will it accord that women should carry elsewhere the inheritance of their own tribe? Thus, in seeking a remedy for this evil, they submit themselves to God’s governance, and reverently accept what He had prescribed. And further, they enlarge upon the absurdity which would arisen from hence; viz., that in the fiftieth year, when they were to return to their original lots, so much would be withdrawn from the portion of the tribe of Manasseh as the daughters of Zelophehad had taken away with them. Reasonably, therefore, do they demand that a decree should be given to reconcile the two former laws, which otherwise appeared to be at variance with each other.
5. And Moses commanded the children of Israel. The account here given is not identical with the previous one, that Moses referred the matter to God; yet the same thing is more briefly stated, viz., that Moses answered the people out of the mouth of God, from whence we infer that God was consulted by him. Moreover, God not only decides in favor of the children of Manasseh, but approves of their appeal, in that they were contented with their allotment, and claim for themselves what could not be alienated without the violation of the Divine decree. From this particular occasion, a general law is laid down, that no woman to whom an inheritance had fallen, was to marry out of her tribe, because she would defraud her own relatives of her marriage portion. In this way, however, a free permission to marry was accorded to females, provided they renounced their paternal inheritance. The words, indeed, seem to be of wider application, i e., that no man should marry a wife, except of his own kindred; but the meaning of the law is to be sought from the cause which led to its enactment. Moreover, there is no doubt but that promiscuous marriages are here forbidden, in so far as they confound the order of hereditary rights.
Num 36:1. The chief fathers of the families of the children of Gilead- On account of the case of the daughters of Zelophehad, mentioned ch. 27: some of the chief heads of that family, foreseeing a great inconvenience which was likely to happen in the marriage of these women, make a new petition to Moses in full council, for timely preventing it by a proper law. By the sons of Manasseh most interpreters understand those of the half tribe of Manasseh who were settled in Canaan, because the daughters of Zelophehad had their inheritance among them, Joshua 17. But their being called the children of Gilead determines Calmet and Le Clerc to think those of the other half tribe are meant, who settled on the east side of Jordan: thus they speak not so much on account of themselves as of their tribe, nay, of the whole Jewish nation; for it was a common concern. See Poole's Synopsis.
Num 36:4. And when the jubilee-shall be- The reason of the complaint was, that if heiresses should marry into other tribes, the paternal inheritance would thus be alienated from the tribe, contrary to the divine purpose; nor would the year of jubilee itself, though designed for preserving a perfect distinction of estates, tribes, and families, (Lev 10:13.) become any remedy for this inconvenience; since these inheritances, by the common right of marriage, would descend at the jubilee to the heirs of those women who married into another tribe, even though they should be redeemed by the tribe of Manasseh.
REFLECTIONS.-The heads of this tribe, foreseeing an inconvenience which might arise concerning the portion of Zelophehad's daughters, bring the case before Moses. As they were heiresses, and might therefore be greatly courted for their fortunes, (for money is too commonly the vile inducement to marriage,) should they marry out of their own tribe, their inheritance, which God had assigned them, would go to their husband's tribe, and might be the occasion of many quarrels in like cases in futurity. It is our wisdom to foresee and to prevent evils in prospect, and, especially in our settlements and families, to remove, as much as possible, every occasion of dispute.
Num 36:6. Let them marry to whom they think best, &c.- The Lord, being pleased to approve by Moses the prudence of this representation, ordered, that the daughters should be permitted to have their choice in marriage among those who were descended from the same stock: only with these two limitations, that they might not marry a man of another tribe, nor a man of another family in their own tribe; and, accordingly, they did actually marry their cousins german. See the learned Remarks of Grotius upon this subject in his Notes on Mat 1:16. This law was made for the preservation of families as well as tribes, and was also the ground of the law which commanded a man to marry the wife of his brother who left no issue. Deu 25:5-6. See Rth 4:6. Plato took nearly the same measures for the preservation of families. He ordered that every heiress should marry her nearest of kin; De Leg. lib. 2: p. 924. There was a law, too, among the Athenians nearly similar. It ran thus: "Virgins, possessed of an inheritance, are not to marry out of their own kindred; it being equitable that they should bestow themselves, with their goods, upon him who is nearest to them by birth:" and the reason is the same with that given in the law of Moses, that the house and fortune of the deceased ought to remain in the family. But in case a man died intestate, his estate went to his daughter's husband if he left no sons; and thus it might pass into another family, as appears from the titles of the same laws. See Petit, de Leg. Att. as before. The particular law, respecting Zelophehad's daughters, is passed into a general law for heiresses in Num 36:8.; for it should be remembered, that the case concerned no other women than those who were heiresses.
Num 36:12. And they were married into the families of the sons of Manasseh- That is, according to the margin of our English Bibles, some who were of the families of Manasseh, from whom several families descended; for they did not marry promiscuously into any of the families of Manasseh, but into their father's family, which was the family of Hepher. Hence some would render the latter clause of this verse, in the house of the family of their father.
Num 36:13. These are the commandments and the judgments- By commandments, we understand the precepts relating to the worship of God delivered in chapters xxviii, xxix, 30: By the judgments, the civil ordinances, or the laws of civil policy, respecting the division of the land, inheritances, and the cities of refuge; see ch. Num 27:11 Num 35:29. Both the one and the other, which begin at ch. Num 26:13 are mixed with divers orders which God gave to Moses for the numbering of the people, for the punishment of the Midianites, and for writing the journal of the Israelites in the wilderness. By this example and observation of the law for inheritances in the Holy Land, says Dr. Beaumont, the people of God are taught to hold fast their inheritance in his promises, and that right in Christ which they enjoy by faith; that as the Father hath made them meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light, (Col 1:12.) so they may keep the faith and grace, which they have obtained, unto the end. 1Ki 21:3. Eze 46:18. Jud 1:3. Heb 6:12.
