The Daughters of Zelophehad

The five daughters of Zelophehad might not be talked about in most Sunday School classes—I mean, I don’t know about you, but I’d never heard of them—but these five women are worth knowing. They are strong women who saw a problem and found an effective way to fix it, which feels so relevant and important when we think about our own lives today and the problems that seem to be all around us. Sometimes we feel powerless to fix them but these women model how to address a problem with courage and unity.  

Here’s what happened:

The children of Israel, as you probably know, wandered in the wilderness for forty years. It was a long and tough time in land that was desolate and difficult to live in. They were probably pretty ready to be done and finally, the time came when they were preparing to enter the promised land.

In preparation for this settling down, a census was taken to count the number of men among the children of Israel, in part so that they could divide up inheritances in the promised land. It was arranged so that land would be allocated by tribe to each man and that sons would inherit land from their fathers.

One man from the tribe of Manasseh, Zelophehad, had only daughters but no sons.

Because Zelophehad had died in the wilderness before the children of Israel entered the promised land and because his lack of sons, his family knew they would not be allotted any land. As a woman, it’s easy to see how this would feel problematic and possibly frustrating. Not only would they not have land allotted to their family so that they could live, but their father’s name would not be remembered.

Concerned about their father’s legacy, these five daughters—Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah—unitedly approached Moses to address the issue. They requested that their father’s name be honored by giving them the land he would have received if he was still alive or had any sons (Numbers 27:1-5).

But here’s a little bit more context to the story:

During the time that the children of Israel wandered in the wilderness, there was a lot of anger, whining, and pride among the people. Some of them were even gathering together to rebel against Moses and Aaron and were seeking their own priestly offices (Numbers 16). In general, things were sometimes tense.

This social environment may have been a breeding ground for conflict and negativity. (Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?) It seems like there was at least a little bit of fighting amongst themselves, thinking that things should be done a different way, and probably some contention.

Despite others’ choices and this negative environment, the daughters of Zelophehad approached Moses with unity and respect. It seems like they probably reasoned things out and considered the issue and then approached him to talk about the issue.

Moses listened to the daughters’ request and then he brought their cause before the Lord. The Lord spoke to Moses saying, “the daughters of Zelophehad speak right” (Numbers 27:7) and told Moses to give them their father’s portion of the inheritance. The Lord also told Moses to alter the way that inheritances were divided so that in any family in which there were no sons, the daughters would inherit.

The daughters must have been thrilled with the change and that their efforts were so well-received. Not only was their request granted, but the law was changed!

These five daughters’ courage to approach Moses together and seek change had a lasting impact on how things were done among the children of Israel. What could have been a problem for them and their family, as well as for others, was handed with dignity and inspiration, integrity and unity.

There’s a lesson in there for all of us, isn’t there? And it’s so relevant to our day.

It’s easy to get caught up in the tension that surrounds us. It’s easy to want to get angry when things don’t go our way or we think something needs to change. It’s easy to lose our grasp on unity and respect. But these women model just how powerful it can be to think clearly and approach a problem without losing our cool.

They’re a model of the change women of God can make when they act with integrity and strength.