1 Then the daughters of Zelophehad {tselophekhad: son of hepher}, the son of Hepher, the son of Gilʿad, the son of Makhir, the son of Manasseh, from the clans {mishpahot: subtribal families} of Manasseh son of Joseph, came forward. And these are the names of his daughters: Mahlah, Noa, Hoglah, Milkah, and Tirtzah.
2 And they stood before Moses, Eleazar the priest {kohen: mediator}, the leaders and all the assembly {‘edah: gathered community}, at the entrance of the tent of meeting, saying:
3 Our father died in the wilderness, and he was not in the midst of the congregation—the ones assembling against the LORD {YHWH, Divine Judge} in the company of Korah; rather, he died for his own sin {chet': Moral Failure} and he had no sons.
4 Why should the name of our father be diminished {yiggara: reduced in remembrance} from the midst of his clan, because he has no son? Grant us a possession {achuzzah: inheritance property} in the midst of the brothers of our father.
5 And Moses brought their case {mishpatan: legal case} before the LORD {YHWH, Supreme Judge}.
6 And the LORD {YHWH, Law-Giver} said to Moses {Mosheh: prophetic servant}, saying,
7 So the daughters of Zelophehad are speaking rightly. Surely {naton: emphatic intensifier} you shall give them a possession {akhuzat: property holding} among the brothers of their father, and you shall transfer the inheritance of their father to them.
8 And you shall speak to the sons of Israel, saying, “If a man dies and has no son, then you shall transfer his inheritance {nachalato: allotted portion} to his daughter {bito: direct female heir}.”
9 And if he has no daughter, you shall give his inheritance {nachalah: ancestral holding} to his brothers {ach: male kin}.
10 And if he has no brothers {achim: male siblings}, then you shall give his inheritance {nachalato: hereditary portion} to the brothers of his father.
11 And if there are no brothers to his father, you shall give his inheritance to his nearest kinsman from his family, and he shall possess it. And it shall be for the sons of Israel a statute of judgment {mishpat: legal ordinance}, just as the LORD {YHWH, Law Giver} commanded Moses.
12 The LORD {YHWH, Righteous Judge} said to Moses, “Go up to this mountain of the Abarim, and see the land {erets: promised territory} that I have given to the sons of Israel.”
13 And you will see it, and you too will be gathered to your people {ammekha: kin-group}, just as Aaron {Aharon: priestly line} your brother was gathered.
14 Because you rebelled against My {YHWH, Sovereign Judge} word {pi: authoritative word} in the Wilderness of Zin, when the assembly’s strife occurred, and you did not sanctify Me in the waters before their eyes. These are the waters of Meribah Kadesh in the Wilderness of Zin.
15 Then Moses spoke to the LORD {YHWH, Covenant Guide}, saying {le’emor: introducing direct speech}.
16 May the LORD {YHWH, Sovereign Appointer} God of the spirits {ruachot: life-breath of every person} of all flesh appoint a man over the congregation.
17 One who will go out before them and who will come in before them, and who will lead them out and bring them in, so that the congregation of the LORD {YHWH, Supreme Shepherd} will not be like sheep {tson: vulnerable flock} without a shepherd.
18 And the LORD {YHWH, Succession Giver} said to Moses, “Take for yourself Joshua son of Nun, a man in whom is the spirit {ruach: God-given spirit}, and lay your hand upon him.”
19 And you shall set him before Eleazar the priest {kohen: sacred official} and before all the congregation {edah: covenant community}, and you shall command him in their sight.
20 And you shall give from your majesty {hod: resplendent authority} upon him, so that all the congregation {adat: community assembly} of the sons of Israel will obey him.
21 And he shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall inquire for him by the judgment of the Urim before the LORD {YHWH, Supreme Guide}; at his command they shall go out, and at his command they shall come in—he and all the sons of Israel with him, and all the congregation {edah: assembled community}.
22 And Moses did just as the LORD {YHWH, Covenant Commander} commanded {tzivah: authoritative instruction}. He took Joshua and caused him to stand before Eleazar the priest and before all the assembly.
23 And he laid his hands {yad: symbol of authority} upon him and commissioned him, just as the LORD {YHWH, Instruction Giver} had spoken by the hand of Moses.