Numbers 27

₁Then drew near the daughters of Zelophehad the son of Hepher, son of Gilead, son of Machir, son of Manasseh, from the clans of Manasseh the son of Joseph. The names of his daughters were: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. ₂And they stood before Moses and before Eleazar the priest and before the chiefs and all the congregation, at the entrance of the tent of meeting, saying, ₃“Our father died in the wilderness. He was not among the company of those who gathered themselves together against the Lord in the company of Korah, but died for his own sin. And he had no sons. ₄Why should the name of our father be taken away from his clan because he had no son? Give to us a possession among our father’s brothers.”

₅Moses brought their case before the Lord. ₆And the Lord said to Moses, ₇“The daughters of Zelophehad are right. You shall give them possession of an inheritance among their father’s brothers and transfer the inheritance of their father to them. ₈And you shall speak to the people of Israel, saying, ‘If a man dies and has no son, then you shall transfer his inheritance to his daughter. ₉And if he has no daughter, then you shall give his inheritance to his brothers. ₁₀And if he has no brothers, then you shall give his inheritance to his father’s brothers. ₁₁And if his father has no brothers, then you shall give his inheritance to the nearest kinsman of his clan, and he shall possess it. And it shall be for the people of Israel a statute and rule, as the Lord commanded Moses.’”

₁₂The Lord said to Moses, “Go up into this mountain of Abarim and see the land that I have given to the people of Israel. ₁₃When you have seen it, you also shall be gathered to your people, as your brother Aaron was, ₁₄because you rebelled against my word in the wilderness of Zin when the congregation quarreled, failing to uphold me as holy at the waters before their eyes.” (These are the waters of Meribah of Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin.) ₁₅Moses spoke to the Lord, saying, ₁₆“Let the Lord, the God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the congregation ₁₇who shall go out before them and come in before them, who shall lead them out and bring them in, that the congregation of the Lord may not be as sheep that have no shepherd.” ₁₈So the Lord said to Moses, “Take Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is the Spirit, and lay your hand on him. ₁₉Make him stand before Eleazar the priest and all the congregation, and you shall commission him in their sight. ₂₀You shall invest him with some of your authority, that all the congregation of the people of Israel may obey. ₂₁And he shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall inquire for him by the judgment of the Urim before the Lord. At his word they shall go out, and at his word they shall come in, both he and all the people of Israel with him, the whole congregation.” ₂₂And Moses did as the Lord commanded him. He took Joshua and made him stand before Eleazar the priest and the whole congregation, ₂₃and he laid his hands on him and commissioned him as the Lord directed through Moses.