Key Verses: Numbers 27:7, 27:17, 27:18
Two matters of succession are settled. The five daughters of Zelophehad, whose father died without sons, come before Moses to ask that their father’s inheritance not be lost from the family; God affirms their case and establishes a statute that daughters inherit when there is no son. Then, since Moses will not enter the land, he asks God to appoint a successor so that the congregation “may not be as sheep that have no shepherd.” God chooses Joshua, “a man in whom is the Spirit,” and Moses lays his hands on him before Eleazar and the assembly, investing him with authority.
The daughters of Zelophehad show a God who hears the appeal of the powerless and upholds justice, honoring the faith of women who valued their place in the promised inheritance. The commissioning of Joshua provides for the continuity of God’s people beyond the death of their greatest leader, so that the flock is not left shepherdless. Moses’ concern that Israel not be “as sheep without a shepherd” is language Jesus takes up when He looks with compassion on the crowds (Matthew 9:36), and Joshua — whose name is the Hebrew form of “Jesus,” meaning “the LORD saves” — becomes a fitting type of the true Shepherd and Savior who leads God’s people into their inheritance.
Key Terms & Words:
- נַחֲלָה (nachalah) - Numbers 27:7 - “Inheritance”; the possession the daughters rightly claim
- רֹעֶה (ro’eh) - Numbers 27:17 - “Shepherd”; the leader Israel needs so as not to be scattered
- וְסָמַכְתָּ (vesamakhta) - Numbers 27:18 - “You shall lay [your hand]”; the commissioning of Joshua
Cross-References:
- Numbers 36:1-12 - The follow-up ruling on the daughters’ marriages
- Deuteronomy 34:9 - Joshua full of the spirit of wisdom through Moses’ laying on of hands
- Matthew 9:36 - Jesus’ compassion on crowds “like sheep without a shepherd”
- John 10:11 - “I am the good shepherd”
Discussion Questions:
- What does the case of Zelophehad’s daughters reveal about God’s justice?
- Why is the commissioning of Joshua so important for God’s people?
- How does the concern for a shepherd point forward to Christ?