The Daughters of Zelophehad

“Why should the name of our father be taken away from his clan? Since he had no son, give us property among our father’s brothers.” —Numbers 27:4

The story of the daughters of Zelophehad, tucked into Numbers 27, captivated my heart several months ago. It’s about five sisters— Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah— whose father had died in the wilderness, leaving no sons behind.

At this point in Israel’s history, the people were preparing to enter the promised land. Land allotments were being assigned to families and tribes. But because Zelophehad had no sons, his daughters stood to be left out.

Instead of accepting what seemed like a fixed reality, these daughters went to Moses and asked for their father’s portion to be given to them. Here’s the part that undoes me: they asked before the promise was fulfilled.

They asked before the land was conquered. Before any family had stepped into their inheritance. Before they knew what the future would hold. They believed the promise so deeply that they made plans accordingly. And God honored their faith.

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Portia Collins, “Learning from the Daughters of Zelophehad,” Every Word Matters, 3/31/25, https://portiacollins.substack.com/p/learning-from-the-daughters-of-zelophehad

Scripture taken from The CSB