“And Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, had no sons, but daughters, and the names of the daughters of Zelophehad were Malah, and Noah, Hoglah, Milcah and Tirzah.” (Numbers 26:33)

In Numbers 27:1-7, the daughters of Zelophehad, all five, came before Moses to plead a case for their inheritance. They were of the Tribe of Manasseh. Their argument was that their father had died in the wilderness and that he was not in the company of them that had gathered against the Lord with Korah, but had died in his own sins, leaving no sons. They had asked Moses: why should the name of our father be done away from among his family just because he had no son? They said further, give us a possession among the brethren of our father.

Moses did not answer them directly, but brought the case before the Lord. The Lord’s answer to Moses was that the daughters were 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.” (Numbers 27:7)

In Numbers 36, we learn that the case of these five virgins was again brought before Israel’s high court. But this time it was by the chief fathers of the families of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, of the families of Joseph, to which Zelophehad had belonged. A difficulty had arisen: should these five virgins intermarry with other tribes, then their portion would pass out of Manasseh’s possession to another tribe, causing confusion and strife in the future. What could be done?

In reply to their query, a more specific law was enacted: “This is the thing which the Lord doth command concerning the daughters of Zelophehad, saying, let them marry to whom they think best, only to the family of the tribe of their fathers shall they marry. So shall not the inheritance of the children of Israel remove from tribe to tribe: for every one of the children of Israel shall keep himself to the inheritance of the tribe of his fathers’ “ (Numbers 36:6, 7)

It is a wonderful thing to observe how the Lord honored the faith of these five virgins by protecting their interests. At the time they first appeared before the judges, Israel had been in the wilderness. Canaan had not been entered as yet, much less conquered and possessed. Yet these five virgins had been so sure in their faith that God would fulfill his promise to give the land unto his people, that they filed their claim to a portion of it, right then! Wise virgins indeed!

If it were not for these five women, our Lord could in no way have been the inheritor of the throne of David, much less being the “King of the Jews.” He could not have been the inheritor of the throne of David either through Joseph, for he was not Joseph’s son, or through Mary, if a woman could not have inherited it. But for this remarkable suit for their inheritance by these five women, it would have been impossible for Jesus, legally, to be King of the Jews!

“If a man die, and have no son (as in the case of Heli, Mary’s father) then ye shall cause his inheritance to pass to his daughter.” (Numbers 36:8)

We see how our Lord, then, as the man, Christ Jesus, according to the flesh, had legal title to the throne of David. Numbers 36:6 shows why it was necessary for Mary to be espoused to Joseph, both from the tribe of Judah. And so, from all of this, we see plainly, both from the ceremonial law and the civil law, how God always had his son, Christ Jesus, before his mind, in his Plan of the Ages!

– George B. Eldridge

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