The Daughters of Zelophehad
Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah were five sisters whose father Zelophehad died in the wilderness leaving no sons - which under existing custom meant his family line would lose its inheritance in the promised land entirely. The five women stood before Moses, Eleazar the priest, the princes, and the whole congregation at the tabernacle door and argued their case: why should their father's name be done away because he had no son? Moses brought their cause before the LORD, and God ruled plainly: 'The daughters of Zelophehad speak right' - they would inherit, and the ruling became permanent inheritance law for all Israel. Their case was later refined to keep tribal lands intact through marriage within the tribe, and Joshua duly delivered their inheritance in Manasseh. Five sisters petitioning peacefully changed the legal code of a nation.
Biography
- Tribe
- Manasseh
- Father
- Zelophehad
- Era
- Wilderness Wandering
- Nationality
- Israelite
- Also Known As
- Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah
Family
Did You Know?
The five sisters - Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah - are named in full four separate times across Numbers, Joshua, and 1 Chronicles, more than many kings.
Their case established one of the earliest recorded inheritance rights for women in the ancient Near East, centuries ahead of surrounding legal codes.
God's verdict on their petition is strikingly direct: 'The daughters of Zelophehad speak right' - divine case law issued at the tabernacle door.
Key Chapters
Key Passages
The Daughters Petition Moses
Numbers 27:1-8
God's own verdict - 'the daughters of Zelophehad speak right' - turns a family's plea into permanent national law, one of Scripture's clearest cases of faithful petition changing precedent.
1hen came the daughters of Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, of the families of Manasseh the son of Joseph: and these are the names of his daughters; Mahlah, Noah, and Hoglah, and Milcah, and Tirzah.
The Inheritance Delivered
Joshua 17:3-6
A generation later, Joshua honors the ruling exactly - the promise made at the tabernacle door is kept in the land itself.
3ut Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, had no sons, but daughters: and these are the names of his daughters, Mahlah, and Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah.