Numbers 27:

Numbers 27: The Daughters of Zelophehad / Joshua Appointed Moses' Successor

With all of the Egyptian generation dead except for Moses, Joshua, and Caleb, the Israelites are closer than ever to entering the promised land. The second story today will focus on the transition of power from Moses (who will die before entering the promised land) to Joshua.

These passages still echo with the deaths of the men and women who were killed for their faithlessness and participation in Korah's rebellion. The destruction of an entire generation has no doubt taken its toll on Israel both mentally and as a collective group. The two stories today deal with the fallout of disobedience. Even Moses was disobedient, and will be punished for it.

The Daughters of Zelophehad: Numbers 27.1-11
I love it when the bible reveals law through a story. Etiology gives laws a storied background, even if the stories are fiction. I guess it has something to do with the legal system we have in the United States. Laws often have a long history, with plenty of stories to explain when, why, and how they came to be. That's what we have here.

We learned yesterday that Zelophehad, a descendant of Joseph through Manasseh, had only daughters. Their names are Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. They stand outside the tent of meeting before Moses, Eleazar the priest, the leaders, and the entire congregation of Israel to state their case. Their father died in the wilderness "for his own sin" (not in Korah's rebellion) without leaving a male heir. Traditionally property goes to the closest male heir after death. Why should the family name disappear because their father had no son? Essentially, they wish to inherit their father's property and have his name live on.

Moses brings the case before the Lord. The Lord rules that Zelophehad's daughters are entitled to their father's inheritance because they have no brothers. Henceforth inheritance shall be given to the closest kin of the deceased, following this order of inheritance: son, daughter, brother, father's brother, nearest kinsman in the clan. The only way a woman may inherit anything is if she has no brothers.

Joshua Appointed Moses' Successor: Numbers 27.12-23
In a poignant The Lord instructs Moses to climb a mountain in the Abarim range, so that Moses might see the land given to the Israelites before his death. Moses will then die and be gathered to his people because of his (confusing) rebellion at Meribah. Moses will never enter the promised land, but he will get to see it after leading the Israelites towards it for 40 years.

Moses asks the Lord ("the God of the spirits of the flesh") to appoint someone over the congregation to lead them into the promised land, "so that the congregation of the Lord may not be like sheep without a shepherd" (Num. 27.17). The Lord appoints Joshua ("a man in whom is the spirit"). In a ceremony before the whole congregation, Moses is to lay his hand on Joshua and give him some of his authority. Eleazar is to use the Urim to determine God's will concerning Joshua.

The ceremony takes place without incident. However, there are still laws that God must pass down. That is the topic of tomorrow's post.