(Lessons from Daughters of Zelophehad)
Numbers 27:1, 6,7 One day the daughters of Zelophehad came to the entrance of the Temple to give a petition to Moses, Eleazar the priest, the tribal leaders, and others who were there…. So Moses brought their case before THE LORD. And THE LORD replied to Moses, “The daughters of Zelophehad are correct….” [Living Bible translation]
THE SISTERS ZELOPHEHAD
Who are we?
We are the daughters of Zelophehad.1 There are five of us: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, Tirzah. Some of our ancestors came from Africa---Egypt! We are descendants of Manassah, one of the sons of Joseph from his African wife. We are part members of the half-tribe of Manassah!2 Numbers 26:28 See, Manassah had a son named Machir, who had a son called Gilead. Gilead came from the region of Gilead and the family of Gileadites. Numbers 26:19 Gilead was our great grandfather. Gilead had a son called Hepher, our daddy’s daddy. Hepher is our grandfather. Numbers 26:30-33
Our grandfather, and my daddy and we sisters are called Hepherites. Numbers 26:33 Yes, if you want to, you can call us Hephers.3
The census is correct. The records are true. When GOD told Moses and Arron to take a second census, after the plague in the dessert ended, the census was that my daddy, Zelophehad, had five daughters and no sons. Yes, no males at all. Not a one.
We are GOD fearing woman. Unlike some of the others (those who perished in Korah’s rebellion against the LORD, Numbers 16:1 or like some of those Israelites who joined in the Baal worship Numbers 25:5, and who perished or died in the wilderness), we never worshipped other gods. Our daddy raised strong, GOD fearing women. And although we had no brothers in our household, we the daughters of Zelophehad household, have a strong household too.
OUR TRIAL
We have a problem. Our daddy died in the wilderness. He didn’t die of the plague. He died of natural causes. In other words, he didn’t die because of Korah’s revolt or because of Baal worship, he died because of his own sin. Numbers 27:3 The problem for us is that our daddy left no sons. There was just us, five daughters. And, it was now time for the allocation of land to the tribes, clans and families.
Under the tribal inheritance law, property allocation was made to male heads of families. But, since the head of our household is gone, we now viewed as having no head of household at all. So, we five women needed to put our heads together. Because, if we do nothing, we will end up with nothing! No land, no allocation, nothing in the record books. Our family legacy will just be gone!
It will be like our daddy, and we, never existed! See, this was not about just protecting women, this was about protecting Joseph’s African sons’ inheritance too. Our case is about protecting Manassah’s defendant’s inheritance, which included us Hepherites. Maybe Joseph’s own daddy knew that the African side of the family had to be protected when it came to dividing up his inheritance. Maybe that was another reason why he adopted Joseph’s sons so the Manassah decedents and the Ephraim decedents could each become a half-tribe. If you don’t make sure there is equality in the “inheritance pot,” early on, later descendants definitely suffer. Now, once again, the Manassah decedents and the Hepherites, the African side of the family, needed protection against being disinherited and diminished! We needed the law to give our daddy and us equal protection.
HOW WE GOT THROUGH IT
Being women in our culture, we sisters know we cannot do a lot of things. We cannot become high priests. We cannot attend services with the men. But our daddy talked to us about things. Maybe daddy knew that his daughters, a bunch of sisters, would need to know more than just cooking and drawing water at the well. And, we sisters paid attention. We listened and watched what occurred when the men had meetings. We heard about this thing called a “petition.” We heard about people petitioning and presenting their case. So, we sisters got together and talked it over and decided that we were going to petition about what was happening to us. Numbers 27:2 We sisters decided to protest! We were going to present “our case” in front of everybody! Because if you’re going to protest, you might as well go high and go wide!
We went to the Tent of Meetings entrance door, which is where women are allowed to stand and serve, and spoke.4 See, Exodus 38:8; 1 Samuel 2:22.
When we got to the entrance of the Tabernacle, we argued our case and petitioned Moses, Eleazar, the priest, the tribal leaders, and everybody else who was there. We reviewed our lineage going back to Manassah, and the families that came out of that African root, including our grandfather, Hepher, and our daddy, Zelophehad. Numbers 27:1
We explained that our daddy didn’t die in Korah’s sinful revolt, which killed a lot of people in the wilderness. We explained that our daddy died a natural death. We told them that our father’s name should not disappear from history, but that we, his daughters, should be given our daddy’s inheritance in the same manner as our daddy’s brothers would be given theirs! Numbers 27:4
We don’t know what Eleazar the priest did, nor what the trial leaders did. We don’t know what decision they would have made had the decision just been left up to them. What we do know is that Moses took our case to THE LORD! And, PRAISE YAHWEH, THE LORD ruled in our favor! THE LORD said we were RIGHT!
So Moses brought their case before THE LORD and THE LORD said to him. “What Zelophehad’s daughters are saying is right. You must certainly give them property as an inheritance among their father’s relatives and turn their father’s inheritance over to them.
Numbers 27:5-7 [New International translation]
GOD said, if a man dies and leaves no sons, turn his inheritance over to his daughters! If he has no daughters, then you shall give his inheritance to his brothers. And if he has no brothers then you give his inheritance to his father’s brothers. And if his father has no brothers, then give his inheritance to his kinsman that is next to him of his family. THE LORD made this a legal requirement for the Israelites!
Numbers 27:9-11 [New International translation]
To make sure the land stayed within the tribe of Manasseh, all of us sisters married men from our own tribe so that the inheritance remained within our tribe and our tribe’s inheritance was not reduced.
We protested injustice and won! Just as Moses did what THE LORD commanded and gave us our daddy’s inheritance, we sisters also did as THE LORD commanded and made sure that the inheritance remained within the Manassah tribe. See Numbers 36:12
We protested! And, GOD took care of us sisters! GOD took care of us our people, our tribe. And, when you are right, GOD will take care of you too!
Sometimes you just have to act like Hephers!
MORE STRETCHING
- Static Chair Stretch– Sit up straight in a straight chair. Bring your left knee up and inward your chest, placing the back of your heel on the end of your chair and wrap your hands around your leg holding your leg, while sitting up straight. Hold for 10-30 seconds. Relax and repeat 2-4 times. Next, while your heel is still resting on the end of your chair, allow your knee to fall toward the left, so the bottom of your left foot is touching your thigh. Use your right hand to hold onto the side of your chair for balance as you use your left hand to bring your left foot closer to your inner thigh.
Hold for 10-30 seconds. Then bring your knee back up to your start position. Relax and repeat 2-4 times. Repeat the same set of movements on your right side. [Try to reach under your thigh to move your heel to the chair. Avoid putting your hands on your knee caps to move your legs.] - Chair Push Up- Sit up straight in a straight chair. Place your hands along the sides of your chair either along the sides or slightly under your thighs, so your fingertips are pointing straight ahead. Plant your feet firmly on the ground. Now, slowly raise up your buttock. Then slowly lower yourself down. Try to keep your back straight. And, remember to breathe. Repeat 3-5 times. [You may only be able to rise ¼ or ½ inches or just push down as you open your chest. Remember, this is a slow push
After 2 or 3 body raises, open and close your hand and circle your wrists. You may want to place a small pillow underneath to cushion your descent down. - Chair leg stretch - Lie down on your back on a rug or mat. Extend your legs on the floor. Keeping your lower back on the floor, slowly bend your knees and grasp the back of your upper thighs with your hands, slowly bringing your knees in toward your chest. Feel the stretch and hold for 10-30 seconds. Then release and repeat the motion. Remember to keep your head on the floor and relax. Try not to jerk. As always with your body relaxed it up straight in a straight chair. Gently open your legs as far apart as possible, keeping your toes and knees pointing outward. Place a hand along each side of your thighs. Place the right hand along the right inner thigh and left hand along your left inner thigh, close to your knees (but do not touch the knees). Keeping your spine neutral, gently hinge forward from the hips until you feel a mild stretch along your inner thighs. Again, be very gentle with yourself. For a more challenging stretch, after your hold, extend the feet about 6 to 12 inches off the ground and then bend the knees again. Do at least 3-4 reps.
- Leg Stretch – Position yourself firmly in a chair. Raise your right knee but keep your left foot on the ground. Now straighten your right knee so that leg is pointing straight ahead. You can use both hands to hold up the right leg or to help keep it straight. Hold for 10-30 seconds, then allow the knee to collapse into the raised position, maintain the same height. Then lower the foot to the ground. Repeat 2-3 three times then switch to the other side.
As always, if you have an injury, are concerned about safety or you have a medical condition, speak to your personal physician about what stretches are appropriate for you. If you experience dizziness, discontinue the exercise and again consult your physician. Drink water and stay hydrated.
GOD WILL TAKE CARE OF YOU
It is not easy to protest. Especially when you don’t have a seat at the table, or can’t gain entrance into the room or participate and stand with the decisionmakers. When everyone is used to treating you a certain way or you are part of a “slave” past, it can be very difficult! But, sometimes you have to protest anyway, even if you have to stand at the “entrance of the door” or outside the normal channels. Sometimes you just have to make yourself heard! That’s what we sisters did. We presented our case to the people, the leaders, and to the highest level possible. Then we relied on GOD! And, GOD came through!
So, remember GOD is a GOD of JUSTICE. GOD is a GOD of FAIRNESS. GOD is a GOD of RIGHTEOUSNESS.
Trust GOD to take care of you too and BE BLESSED!
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1A few references state that the name “Zelophehad” means “dark shadow.” One suggestion is that this name refers to the “dark shadow” of the previous generation when they were slaves in Egypt. See, comment by Kathyhollway, December 13, 2018; https://drawcloseblog.wordpress.com/2018/12/13/names-and-honour/.
2There is the half-tribe of Manassah and the half-tribe of Ephraim because these are considered the Tribe of Joseph. Manassah and Ephraim were the sons of Joseph, one of the twelve sons of Jacob’s (also called Israel). Jacob later adopted Joseph’s sons, who were born in Egypt, as his own. See Genesis 48:5. This was to help ensure that the sons of Joseph would have an equal share in Jacob’s inheritance as Jacob’s other sons. So, Joseph’s inheritance was split between his two sons. Israel is also giving Joseph a double portion (i.e. a portion above his other brothers-Genesis 48:22) which supports the view that Israel was giving Joseph the birthright (which normally would be given to the eldest son (Reuben) and giving Joseph the blessing. The birthright and blessings meant the authority to lead the family passed to Joseph. Reuben disqualified himself from the birthright by sleeping with one of his father’s wives, so the birthright went to Reuben’s half-brother, Joseph. See, 1 Chron. 5:1.
3It is interesting to note that a “heifer” a young female cow that has not given birth to a calf, sounds like “Hepher.” In Biblical times a barren woman or a woman who has never given birth was looked down upon by other women and generally by her community. According to the “urban cultural dictionary” to call someone a “Heff-er” was slang for woman or girl. Later the word took on the meaning of an insult, as when a woman was called a “cow.” “Heff-er” or “Heffa” later took on a number of negative connotations. These words were also used in urban culture by women to refer to other women in derogatory ways. It was a way of calling another woman a derogatory name or “annoying” because she was viewed as difficult or because she ate too much, especially more than her share. It was a way some woman complained, in an unsisterly manner, about other women. See Urban Dictionary, https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=heffer, and https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=heffa
4Unlike the despicable behavior on Eli’s wicked sons, who treated the woman serving at the entrance of the tabernacle or tent of meetings like prostitutes, many believe that the women at the entrance of the tabernacle, performed real service to THE LORD and that many of these women may have been “dedicated” to such service, perhaps in the way that Hannah dedicated the baby Samuel. See 1 Samuel 2:21-28. At least one commentator suggests this dedication became the fate of Jephthah’s daughter. Being “dedicated to THE LORD” would have required that Jephthah’s daughter remain a virgin for the rest of her life. This would also explain why Jephthah’s daughter asked her father to give her a few months to go up and down the mountains with her companions to bewail her virginity since her father’s “vow” meant she would never marry and remain a virgin in temple service. See, Judges 11 and “Women Who Served at the Entrance to the Tent of Meetings, by Marg Mowczko, July 20, 2019, https://margmowczko.com/women-entrance-tent-of-meeting-tabernacle/
5This was a further requirement issued by THE LORD, which Zelophehad’s daughter’s obeyed. See, Numbers 36:5-12
