And the heads of the fathers' houses of the family of the children of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, of the families of the sons of Joseph, came near, and spoke before Moses, and before the princes, the heads of the fathers' houses of the children of Israel;
verse value 7009
Insights
Verse structure: 19 words, 94 letters. The shortest word is "the·descendants·of" (בְּנֵ֣י, 3 letters) and the longest is "descendants·of·Gilead" (בְּנֵֽי־גִלְעָד֙, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 511: heads·of, heads·of. 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Numbers. Unique to this verse in Numbers (hapax): "the·ancestral·houses" (הָֽאָב֗וֹת), "descendants·of·Gilead" (בְּנֵֽי־גִלְעָד֙). The root ראש appears 2 times in this verse. 15 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "the·descendants·of" (root בן, 499x in Numbers); "Moses" (root משה, 217x in Numbers); "Israel" (root ישראל, 183x in Numbers). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Joseph', dividing the verse into phrases of 10 and 9 words.
Onkelos
The heads of the ancestral houses of the clan of the sons of Gilead son of Machir son of Manasseh, of the clans of the sons of Joseph, drew near and spoke before Moses and before the princes, the heads of the ancestral houses of the children of Israel.
Ibn Ezra
"And they drew near." This passage too is connected to [the preceding command] "as Moses commanded, to give from the inheritance of Israel cities to the Levites." — "Heads of fathers": these are the princes.
Chizkuni
ויקרבו ראשי האבות, “the heads of the father’s houses approached, etc.” the reason that this paragraph is appended here is that Moses had recently issued instructions about how the land is to be distributed and according to what criteria, especially the status of the cities of the Levites.
Rabbeinu Bahya
ויקרבו ראשי האבות למשפחת בני גלעד בן מכיר בן מנשה, “the heads of the families of the sons of Gilead son of Machir, son of Menasheh approached;” this paragraph too is a continuation of the paragraphs dealing with the distribution of the cities to the Levites, land taken from the heritage of the ordinary Israelites. The term ראשי האבות refers to the princes. (Compare Ibn Ezra).
and they said: "Hashem commanded my lord to give the land for inheritance by lot to the children of Israel; and my lord was commanded by Hashem to give the inheritance of Zelophehad our brother to his daughters.
verse value 6056 — יְהֹוָ֔ה = 26 (Hashem)
Insights
Verse structure: 18 words, 85 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֔ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "commanded" (צִוָּ֣ה, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·they·said" (וַיֹּאמְר֗וּ, 6 letters). Words sharing gematria 830: to·give, to·give. 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Numbers. Unique to this verse in Numbers (hapax): "my·lord" (אֶת־אֲדֹנִי֙), "and·my·lord" (וַֽאדֹנִי֙), "to·his·daughters" (לִבְנֹתָֽיו). The root אדון appears 2 times in this verse. 13 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "to·the·Israelites" (root בן, 499x in Numbers); "Hashem" (root יהוה, 389x in Numbers); "and·they·said" (root אמר, 246x in Numbers). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Israel', dividing the verse into phrases of 10 and 8 words.
Onkelos
And they said: Our lord was commanded by Hashem to give the land as an inheritance by lot to the children of Israel; and our lord was commanded by the Word of Hashem to give the inheritance of Zelophehad our brother to his daughters.
Sforno
בנחלה בגורל, if a tribe would occupy land belonging to that of another tribe the purpose of sharing out the land by lottery would not have been carried out. [the Torah speaks of the daughters of Tzelofchod possibly marrying out of their tribe and their ancestral heritage therefore becoming part of another tribe, that of their husbands. Ed.]
And if they be married to any of the sons of the other tribes of the children of Israel, then will their inheritance be taken away from the inheritance of our fathers, and will be added to the inheritance of the tribe to which they shall belong; so will it be taken away from the lot of our inheritance.
verse value 6406
Insights
Verse structure: 20 words, 93 letters. The shortest word is "upon" (עַ֚ל, 2 letters) and the longest is "the·Israelites" (בְנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵל֮, 8 letters). 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Numbers. Unique to this verse in Numbers (hapax): "the·tribes·of" (שִׁבְטֵ֥י), "and·shall·be·cut·off" (וְנִגְרְעָ֤ה), "and·shall·be·added" (וְנוֹסַ֕ף). The root נחלה appears 4 times in this verse. 14 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "from·the·members·of" (root בן, 499x in Numbers); "that" (root אשר, 223x in Numbers); "and·they·become" (root היה, 180x in Numbers). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'to·them', dividing the verse into phrases of 17 and 3 words.
Onkelos
But if they become wives to one of the sons of the tribes of the children of Israel, their inheritance will be subtracted from the inheritance of our fathers and will be added to the inheritance of the tribe into which they enter; and from our allotted inheritance it will be subtracted.
Rashi
ונוסף על נחלת המטה AND IF THEY BECOME WIVES TO ANY SONS OF THE OTHER TRIBES … THEN WILL THEIR INHERITANCE] BE ADDED TO THE INHERITANCE OF THE TRIBE [WHEREUNTO THEY SHALL BELONG] — for her son will be her heir and the son reckons his pedigree after his father’s tribe.
And when the jubilee of the children of Israel shall be, then will their inheritance be added to the inheritance of the tribe to which they shall belong; so will their inheritance be taken away from the inheritance of the tribe of our fathers."
verse value 5083
Insights
Verse structure: 17 words, 77 letters. Verse gematria: 5083 is divisible by 13, the value of echad ('one') and ahavah ('love'). The shortest word is "upon" (עַ֚ל, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·when·comes" (וְאִם־יִהְיֶ֣ה, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 538: their·share, their·share. 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Numbers. Unique to this verse in Numbers (hapax): "and·when·comes" (וְאִם־יִהְיֶ֣ה), "the·jubilee" (הַיֹּבֵל֮), "and·shall·be·added" (וְנֽוֹסְפָה֙). The root נחלה appears 4 times in this verse. 12 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "for·the·Israelites" (root בן, 499x in Numbers); "that" (root אשר, 223x in Numbers); "Israel" (root ישראל, 183x in Numbers). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'to·them', dividing the verse into phrases of 12 and 5 words.
Onkelos
And if the Jubilee comes for the children of Israel, their inheritance will be added to the inheritance of the tribe into which they enter, and from the inheritance of the tribe of our fathers their inheritance will be subtracted.
Rashi
ואם יהיה היבל may mean AND IF THERE WILL BE THE JUBILEE — From this R. Judah said: The observance of the Jubilee will cease at some time or other (Sifra, Vayikra Dibbura d'Nedavah, Section 13 1 on Leviticus 2:14). ואם יהיה היבל may mean, too: AND WHEN THERE WILL BE THE JUBILEE [THEN WILL THEIR INHERITANCE BE ADDED TO THE INHERITANCE OF THE TRIBE TO WHICH THEY SHALL BELONG] — meaning: This is no sale of land so that it returns to the original owner at the Jubilee, for a heritage never returns. Therefore even when the Jubilee will be, the inheritance will not return to its tribe, and it will follow that it will be added על נחלת המטה אשר תהיינה להם TO THE INHERITANCE OF THE TRIBE TO WHICH THEY SHALL BELONG.
Ibn Ezra
"And if the Jubilee comes" — even when the Jubilee arrives, we have no hope that the inheritance will return to us; rather, it will be permanently added to the inheritance of the tribe.
Sforno
ואם יהיה היובל...יגרע נחלתן, even in the event that we will not now conquer the whole land, as predicted in Exodus 23,30 that the land would be conquered in stages, progressively, so that each tribe would have to conquer the area it laid claim to, a person who had sold his share or potential share could not claim exemption form the war of conquest seeing that the land he had sold would be restored to him in the Jubilee year. In any event it would remain part of his tribe’s ancestral heritage. However, the share given to the daughters of Tzelofchod which would not be restored to their tribe in the Jubilee year, would furnish an excuse to members of their tribe not to bother to fight for that piece of land, and they would allow the present owners to remain there. At any rate, the argument of the family of Machir of Menashe was that the most recent legislation could result in the whole principle of sharing out the land by lottery being partially aborted.
Rabbeinu Bahya
ואם יהיה היובל לבני ישראל, “and when the Jubilee year will arrive for the Children of Israel, etc.” These people argued that if the daughters of Tzelofchod were to marry someone outside their tribe, the heritage they had been given would then pass over to their husbands and as a result would never revert to their tribe even in the Jubilee year. The result would be an increase of ancestral land of some other tribe at the expense of the tribe of Menashe. The legal reason was that inherited property is not subject to the Yovel legislation.
Kli Yakar
“And if it will be the Jubilee, etc.” The Rabbis of blessed memory explained (Jerusalem Talmud Ketubot 9:1) that if here means “even,” and the meaning is that even if the Jubilee comes, nonetheless this field will not be released in the Jubilee. It is difficult to interpret if as meaning “even though,” and even if you were to say that it does mean that, it is still difficult [to understand]: From where would we derive that the Jubilee would be a remedy for this field [being transferred to another tribe]? If so, what was the initial assumption [of the verse], and what is it coming to teach us?Furthermore, one must be precise about the verses that state, And their inheritance will be diminished from the inheritance of our fathers, and it will be added to the inheritance of the tribe to which they will belong, and from the lot of our inheritance it will be diminished. Why do I need the word diminished twice? And why is it first called the inheritance of our fathers and afterward called our inheritance? And afterward, it returns and says, And if it will be the Jubilee, etc., and from the inheritance of his tribe it will be diminished. Surely this change means something. Additionally, it is difficult [to understand] why would their inheritance be [considered] diminished; does it not say To the numerous you shall increase and to the few you shall decrease (Numbers 33:54)? And what is close to me to say is that they were concerned about two things. The first is that if the lot was drawn with Divine inspiration that this territory would be for a certain tribe, it is fitting that the name of the deceased, who is the head of the tribe, should be called upon his inheritance, for here the dead inherit the living. Therefore, it is appropriate that the name of the deceased should not be cut off from his inheritance, and regarding this concern they said, and it will diminish from the inheritance of the tribe of our fathers. The second concern is because of suspicion that people might say they sold their inheritance, for future generations will say: “What business does another tribe have with the fields of this tribe?” For not everyone is familiar with the laws of Zelophehad’s daughters. Furthermore, perhaps the women will die and their husbands will inherit them, and people will say that they surely sold their fields due to financial hardship, and they will be considered sinners, as our Sages expounded in the portion of Behar from the juxtaposition of passages: his field, his sins have caused these things (Kiddushin 20a). And regarding this concern they said, and from the lot of our inheritance it will diminish — not an actual diminishment, but because of the suspicion. Specifically, before the jubilee year, there is room for these two concerns, but if the jubilee will come, then there is no place for the second concern. For they will not say that their fields were sold, because if the field had been sold, it would return in the jubilee. And since this field does not return in the jubilee, everyone will know that this is not a sold field, but rather that the daughters diverted this inheritance to another tribe, and one concern is eliminated. Nevertheless, the second concern still stands in its place — that it will be diminished from the inheritance of our fathers’ tribe, meaning that the name of the deceased will not be called upon his inheritance. And in this way, the word if here is like every other “if” in the Torah.
And Moses commanded the children of Israel according to the word of Hashem, saying: "The tribe of the sons of Joseph speaks right.
verse value 2546 — יְהֹוָ֖ה = 26 (Hashem)
Insights
Verse structure: 11 words, 46 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֖ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "just" (כֵּ֛ן, 2 letters) and the longest is "the·Josephites" (בְנֵֽי־יוֹסֵ֖ף, 7 letters). 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in Numbers. Unique to this verse in Numbers (hapax): "speak" (דֹּבְרִֽים). 11 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "the·Israelites" (root בן, 499x in Numbers); "Hashem" (root יהוה, 389x in Numbers); "to·say" (root אמר, 246x in Numbers). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'to·say', dividing the verse into phrases of 7 and 4 words. Full calculation: וַיְצַ֤ו [and·he·instructed] (112) + מֹשֶׁה֙ [Moses] (345) + אֶת־בְּנֵ֣י [the·Israelites] (463) + יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל [Israel] (541) + עַל־פִּ֥י [at·the·bidding·of] (190) + יְהֹוָ֖ה [Hashem] (26) + לֵאמֹ֑ר [to·say] (271) + כֵּ֛ן [just] (70) + מַטֵּ֥ה [the·tribe·of] (54) + בְנֵֽי־יוֹסֵ֖ף [the·Josephites] (218) + דֹּבְרִֽים [speak] (256) = 2546.
Onkelos
And Moses commanded the children of Israel by the Word of Hashem, saying: The tribe of the sons of Joseph speaks rightly.
Ibn Ezra
"So the tribe of the sons of Joseph" — because the heads of the fathers spoke on behalf of the entire tribe.
Or HaChaim
ויצו משה את בני ישראל, Moses commanded the children of Israel, etc. The meaning of the verse is that Moses commanded them at the behest of G'd who had commanded him to address the children of Israel. What was the content of that command? "The tribes of the sons of Joseph are correct in what they are saying." The whole verse is a compliment to the tribes of Ephrayim and Menashe.
This is the thing which Hashem has commanded concerning the daughters of Zelophehad, saying: Let them be married to whom they think best; only into the family of the tribe of their father shall they be married.
verse value 4867 — יְהֹוָ֗ה = 26 (Hashem)
Insights
Verse structure: 17 words, 79 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֗ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "this" (זֶ֣ה, 2 letters) and the longest is "in·their·eyes" (בְּעֵינֵיהֶ֖ם, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 480: they·may·become, they·shall·become. 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Numbers. Unique to this verse in Numbers (hapax): "concerning·the·daughters" (לִבְנ֤וֹת), "to·the·good" (לַטּ֥וֹב). The root היה appears 2 times in this verse. 15 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 389x in Numbers); "to·say" (root אמר, 246x in Numbers); "they·may·become" (root היה, 180x in Numbers). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'wives', dividing the verse into phrases of 11 and 6 words.
Onkelos
This is the word that Hashem has commanded concerning the daughters of Zelophehad, saying: Let them marry whoever is fitting in their eyes; however, they shall marry only within the clan of their father's tribe.
Or HaChaim
זה הדבר, "this is the thing, etc." This expression is explained in Baba Batra 120 as follows: "the daughters of Tzelofchod were permitted free choice of husbands, including husbands who were from different tribes, as it says in our verse לטוב בעיניהם תהיינה לנשים, 'let them be married to whom they think best;'" the question then arises how we can can reconcile this with the words "but let them be married to members of the tribe of their father?" The Talmud answers that these words are not a condition but merely sound advice by the Torah to these girls. Thus far the Talmud. When the Torah said זה הדבר these words were necessary because what preceded them was the Torah's acknowledgment that legally speaking the tribes of Joseph had a sound claim. The Torah therefore had to go on record that the justice of the claim of the tribes of Joseph extended to other daughters inheriting land through their fathers which might become lost to their tribe if such daughters married someone out of their tribe and the Jubilee regulation might alienate such land to the original tribe forever. However, in this single instance of the daughters of Tzelofchod, the general rule did not apply and these daughters were free to be married to men of their choosing even men outside their tribes. The word זה is restrictive and makes an exception of the daughters of Tzelofchod. This is also alluded to in the unnecessary word לאמור in this verse. G'd went out of His way to pay great honour to these girls.
Rashbam
לטוב בעיניהם, belonging to their tribe, according to the plain meaning.
So shall no inheritance of the children of Israel remove from tribe to tribe; for the children of Israel shall cleave every one to the inheritance of the tribe of his fathers.
verse value 3433
Insights
Verse structure: 14 words, 59 letters. The shortest word is "but" (כִּ֣י, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·shall·not·pass·over" (וְלֹֽא־תִסֹּ֤ב, 6 letters). Words sharing gematria 541: Israel, Israel. 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Numbers. Unique to this verse in Numbers (hapax): "to·another·tribe" (אֶל־מַטֶּ֑ה), "to·the·portion·of" (בְּנַחֲלַת֙). The root מטה appears 3 times in this verse. 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "of·the·children·of" (root בן, 499x in Numbers); "Israel" (root ישראל, 183x in Numbers); "each·of·them" (root איש, 130x in Numbers). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'to·another·tribe', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 8 words. Full calculation: וְלֹֽא־תִסֹּ֤ב [and·shall·not·pass·over] (499) + נַחֲלָה֙ [inheritance] (93) + לִבְנֵ֣י [of·the·children·of] (92) + יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל [Israel] (541) + מִמַּטֶּ֖ה [from·one·tribe] (94) + אֶל־מַטֶּ֑ה [to·another·tribe] (85) + כִּ֣י [but] (30) + אִ֗ישׁ [each·of·them] (311) + בְּנַחֲלַת֙ [to·the·portion·of] (490) + מַטֵּ֣ה [tribe·of] (54) + אֲבֹתָ֔יו [his·ancestors] (419) + יִדְבְּק֖וּ [shall·cleave] (122) + בְּנֵ֥י [the·children·of] (62) + יִשְׂרָאֵֽל [Israel] (541) = 3433.
Onkelos
So shall no inheritance of the children of Israel pass from tribe to tribe; for each man shall cleave to the inheritance of the tribe of his fathers among the children of Israel.
Ramban
V’LO THISOV NACHALAH’ (SO SHALL NO INHERITANCE) OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL MOVE FROM TRIBE TO TRIBE. Scripture was only concerned to improve the situation at that time [i.e., for the daughters of Zelophehad who had raised that problem]. For if there were [then] women in Israel [already] married to [men of] another tribe, and they [the women] inherited [a portion of the Land] at that time, or would inherit at some future time if their brothers or fathers died without sons, their inheritance would perforce move from one tribe to another [because their husbands, who were of a different tribe, or their sons, would inherit them when they died], and who can straighten out in time what they have made crooked! The Torah, furthermore, did not want to command that the sons or husbands of these women should not inherit them [if they were not of the same tribe], because it did not deem it fit to abrogate [in this case] the [regular] law of inheritance. Similarly Scripture did not concern itself with events which would occur in the future; for even if those daughters who do not possess an inheritance [before they are married] would be permitted to marry [men from] any of the tribes, yet it is possible that at some future time they might inherit some property, if [all] their brothers die in the lifetime of their father, and thus their father’s inheritance, or that of their relatives would pass on to them. But according to the opinion of our Rabbis who interpreted: “This law only applies to that particular generation,” it is possible that [at that time] there were no daughters who inherited a portion amongst all those who were to come into the Land [of Israel] except for the daughters of Zelophehad, and therefore [we do not find that] they [i.e., other women] asked [Moses about it as the daughters of Zelophehad did]. Scripture, then, is commanding that if anyone dies from that day onwards until the Land is divided up amongst their tribes, and his daughter inherits him, she should not marry [anyone] from another tribe, in order that when the Land is divided up, that man should not come to take himself an inheritance amongst another tribe. For the [Torah’s] concern about them [i.e., about the separate inheritance of each tribe] was greater at the time of the division of the Land [than afterwards], so that the [different] tribes should not become mixed up with each other when taking their inheritance, whereas afterwards their [separate] inheritance will have already become known, and they would not be so concerned about it. But since the [exact] time of the division [of the Land] was not yet known, He imposed the prohibition on the whole of that generation. And G-d in Whose hand is the soul of every living thing did not have to be concerned with future events [which might in certain cases result in the transfer of a particular inheritance from one tribe to another].This explanation is correct according to the plain meaning of Scripture, for [the phrase in Verse ...
Ibn Ezra
The meaning of "shall turn" is that it would turn from here to there — between them and others [alternate reading: from here and there]. The meaning of "no inheritance shall pass" is that the law applies from that day forward, even though the land had not yet been inherited at that time.
Rabbeinu Bahya
ולא תסב נחלה לבני ישראל ממטה אל מטה אחר, “so that ancestral property will not make the rounds from tribe to another tribe.” This commandment was valid only for the generation of the Israelites entering the land of Canaan at that time (Baba Batra 120). At that time the twelve tribes of the Israelites on terrestrial earth corresponded to their exact counterparts in the celestial spheres (Zohar Bamidbar 118). If one tribe would have sold part of its ancestral territory to another, the result would have been an imbalance of the forces representing the tribes in the celestial regions. Once the people had settled in Eretz Yisrael which is the terrestrial counterpart of the sum total of all these celestial forces of the tribes, this did not matter anymore.
Tur HaArokh
36, 7 ולא תסוב נחלה, “an inheritance shall not make the rounds.” Our sages state that this decree applied only during the first generation of the settlers to whom the land had been allocated. Nachmanides writes that what the verse teaches is that if anyone who qualifies for a share in the land on the day this legislation was published dies before he has a chance to physically take possession of his share of the land, and he left a daughter who is qualified to inherit his share of the land, she is not to marry a member of another tribe, in order that her father’s share will not eventually wind up as part of the holdings of her husband’s tribe. Once the physical distribution of the land had been completed, however, such a daughter is free to marry males from any other tribe. The reason is that by that time her original inheritance being a piece of land belonging to her father’s tribe is a well known fact which prevents a land grab by a member of another tribe. Seeing that at the time this legislation was published the exact date of when the distribution would occur had not been known, the legislation is written as if it applied to the entire generation. According to the plain meaning of the text the words ולא תסוב נחלה are not to be understood as providing a rationale for this legislation, i.e. that this legislation is designed to prevent the swapping of ancestral land, but we are dealing here with two separate commandments, each part of the laws of inheritance. 1) Girls inheriting the father’s estate are not to marry outside their tribe. 2) Women, who were daughters of fathers that had no male issue, and were married prior to the publication of this legislation, and who will inherit their father’s share of the land when the time came for distribution, cannot transfer by inheritance or other device their father’s share, but must allow such share upon their death to be inherited by the nearest relatives of their father’s tribe. The immediate application of this legislation was designed to solve the problem of the daughters of Tzelofchod, but they were only the role model for applying this legislation in the future. In other words, in the future this basic condition of ancestral lands remaining non-transferable to other tribes is valid even for women who had already been married when they became heirs to such land. If their sons who were members of their father’s tribe did not belong to the same tribe as their mother’s inheritance, they could not claim this land.
And every daughter, that possesses an inheritance in any tribe of the children of Israel, shall be wife to one of the family of the tribe of her father, that the children of Israel may possess every man the inheritance of his fathers.
verse value 6835 — אָבִ֖יהָ = 18 (chai)
Insights
Verse structure: 19 words, 80 letters. Notable word values: "her·father" (אָבִ֖יהָ) = 18, chai, 'life'. The shortest word is "the·children·of" (בְּנֵ֣י, 3 letters) and the longest is "from·a·clan·of" (מִמִּשְׁפַּ֛חַת, 6 letters). Words sharing gematria 541: Israel, Israel. 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Numbers. Unique to this verse in Numbers (hapax): "and·every·daughter" (וְכׇל־בַּ֞ת), "who·inherits" (יֹרֶ֣שֶׁת), "among·the·tribes·of" (מִמַּטּוֹת֮). The root ירש appears 2 times in this verse. 14 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "the·children·of" (root בן, 499x in Numbers); "Israel" (root ישראל, 183x in Numbers); "she·must·become" (root היה, 180x in Numbers). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'a·wife', dividing the verse into phrases of 12 and 7 words.
Onkelos
And every daughter who inherits an inheritance from the tribes of the children of Israel shall become a wife to one of the clan of her father's tribe, so that the children of Israel may each inherit the inheritance of his fathers.
Rashi
וכל בת ירשת נחלה AND EVERY DAUGHTER THAT INHERITS A POSSESSION because her father had no son, [SHALL BE WIFE, etc.]
Ibn Ezra
"Every daughter who inherits an inheritance" — after the land has been apportioned. That is why Scripture states a second time, "no inheritance shall pass."
Rabbeinu Bahya
וכל בת יורשת נחלה ממטות בני ישראל, “and any daughter inheriting ancestral land, etc.” A girl whose father did not have a son who could inherit the land. This is why the Torah had to write a second time (verse 9) “so that the inheritance shall not make the rounds, etc.” (Ibn Ezra). As a result of this verse it became a custom in Israel that if a girl who had inherited ancestral land married out of her tribe to describe her as a זונה, “a harlot.” She would therefore be deprived of the inheritance from her father. This is the meaning of the words in Judges 11,1 that Yiftach the Gileadi was the son of a woman known as זונה, harlot [i.e. it is not a reference to her sexual mores. Ed.] The prophet is merely telling us that his mother had belonged to a different tribe than his father. Yonathan ben Uzziel also translates the word זונה in Judges 11,1 in the same way [cited by R' David Kimchi ibid., but is not found in our editions of Targum Yonathan]. Perhaps the meaning of the word לא תסב נחלה refers to persons, not landed property, and this would account for the Torah writing the same words twice. [It would be an oblique reference to the transmigration of the souls. If injustice would occur through the incorrect handling of ancestral property, certain souls thus deprived might have to be placed inside other bodies to right the wrong during another cycle of life on earth. Ed.] This may also account for the use of the word ידבקו, “they shall cleave” (verse 9), seeing that this is a term applicable to both souls and bodies but not to land. The first time (verse 7) the Torah writes the word it refers to the body, the second time to the soul.
So shall no inheritance remove from one tribe to another tribe; for the tribes of the children of Israel shall cleave each one to its own inheritance."
verse value 2996
Insights
Verse structure: 11 words, 49 letters. The shortest word is "another" (אַחֵ֑ר, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·shall·not·pass·over" (וְלֹֽא־תִסֹּ֧ב, 6 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Numbers. Unique to this verse in Numbers (hapax): "but·each" (כִּי־אִישׁ֙), "to·his·portion" (בְּנַ֣חֲלָת֔וֹ). The root מטה appears 3 times in this verse. 9 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "the·children·of" (root בן, 499x in Numbers); "Israel" (root ישראל, 183x in Numbers); "but·each" (root איש, 130x in Numbers). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'another', dividing the verse into phrases of 5 and 6 words. Full calculation: וְלֹֽא־תִסֹּ֧ב [and·shall·not·pass·over] (499) + נַחֲלָ֛ה [inheritance] (93) + מִמַּטֶּ֖ה [from·one·tribe] (94) + לְמַטֶּ֣ה [to·another·tribe] (84) + אַחֵ֑ר [another] (209) + כִּי־אִישׁ֙ [but·each] (341) + בְּנַ֣חֲלָת֔וֹ [to·his·portion] (496) + יִדְבְּק֕וּ [shall·cleave] (122) + מַטּ֖וֹת [the·tribes·of] (455) + בְּנֵ֥י [the·children·of] (62) + יִשְׂרָאֵֽל [Israel] (541) = 2996.
Onkelos
And no inheritance shall pass from one tribe to another tribe, for to his own inheritance the tribes of the children of Israel shall hold fast.
Or HaChaim
ולא תסב נחלה, "so that an inheritance not move (from one tribe to another), etc. The reason the Torah repeats this both negatively and positively is as I have explained already that it was only well meant advice not legislation. The Torah therefore had to repeat that in all instances other than the daughters of Tzelofchod this was a matter of legislation.
Even as Hashem commanded Moses, so did the daughters of Zelophehad.
verse value 2510 — יְהֹוָ֖ה = 26 (Hashem)
Insights
Verse structure: 8 words, 30 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֖ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "thus" (כֵּ֥ן, 2 letters) and the longest is "Moses" (אֶת־מֹשֶׁ֑ה, 5 letters). 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 389x in Numbers); "as" (root אשר, 223x in Numbers); "Moses" (root משה, 217x in Numbers). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Moses', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 4 words. Full calculation: כַּאֲשֶׁ֛ר [as] (521) + צִוָּ֥ה [had·commanded] (101) + יְהֹוָ֖ה [Hashem] (26) + אֶת־מֹשֶׁ֑ה [Moses] (746) + כֵּ֥ן [thus] (70) + עָשׂ֖וּ [did] (376) + בְּנ֥וֹת [the·daughters·of] (458) + צְלׇפְחָֽד [Zelophehad] (212) = 2510.
Onkelos
As Hashem commanded Moses, so did the daughters of Zelophehad.
Sforno
כן עשו במות צלפחד, they endeavoured to conform to the will of their Creator, כאשר צוה את משה, not because these husbands were the ones they would have chosen had they been allowed unrestricted choice.
Or HaChaim
כאשר צוה ה׳ את משה כן עשו, "they did as G'd had commanded Moses." We have to understand why the Torah departed from its usual syntax of first reporting the execution and subsequently the fact that it corresponded to the command, whereas here the Torah reverses the order by writing כן עשו only at the end of the verse. It appears that the reason is that seeing that in this case the Torah had made an exception and allowed the daughters of Tzelofchod free choice in their marriage partners, the Torah wanted us to know that the daughters of Tzelofchod did not take advantage of the special latitude which G'd had granted to them but abided by the general rule laid down for future generations and married within their tribe. The words כאשר צוה השם refer to what G'd had commanded to daughters in the future who would inherit their father's estate. These girls did not take advantage of the special permission granted to them. Had the Torah used its usual syntax here all we would have learned from the verse would have been that the daughters of Tzelofchod did not contravene G'd's command.
For Mahlah, Tirzah, and Hoglah, and Milcah, and Noah, the daughters of Zelophehad, were married to their father's brothers' sons.
verse value 2813
Insights
Verse structure: 11 words, 52 letters. The shortest word is "Mahlah" (מַחְלָ֣ה, 4 letters) and the longest is "and·they·became" (וַתִּהְיֶ֜ינָה, 7 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Numbers. Unique to this verse in Numbers (hapax): "and·they·became" (וַתִּהְיֶ֜ינָה), "Tirzah" (תִרְצָ֗ה), "their·uncles" (דֹדֵיהֶ֖ן). 11 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "the·sons·of" (root בן, 499x in Numbers); "and·they·became" (root היה, 180x in Numbers); "as·wives" (root אשה, 57x in Numbers). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Zelophehad', dividing the verse into phrases of 8 and 3 words. Full calculation: וַתִּהְיֶ֜ינָה [and·they·became] (486) + מַחְלָ֣ה [Mahlah] (83) + תִרְצָ֗ה [Tirzah] (695) + וְחׇגְלָ֧ה [and·Hoglah] (52) + וּמִלְכָּ֛ה [and·Milcah] (101) + וְנֹעָ֖ה [and·Noah] (131) + בְּנ֣וֹת [daughters·of] (458) + צְלׇפְחָ֑ד [Zelophehad] (212) + לִבְנֵ֥י [the·sons·of] (92) + דֹדֵיהֶ֖ן [their·uncles] (73) + לְנָשִֽׁים [as·wives] (430) = 2813.
Onkelos
And Mahlah, Tirzah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Noah, the daughters of Zelophehad, became wives to the sons of their father's brothers.
Rashi
מחלה תרצה וגו׳ MAHLA, TIRZA etc., — Here it enumerates them according to their superiority over one another in years for they were married in the order in which they were born. But everywhere else in the Bible it enumerates them according to their intelligence: This tells us that they were all equal (cf. Bava Batra 120a; Rashi on Numbers 27:1).
Ibn Ezra
"Mahlah, Tirzah" — Scripture mentioned them at first in the order in which they were born; here it mentions them in the order in which they were first married.
Rabbeinu Bahya
מחלה, תרצה, “Machlah, Tirtzah;” earlier the Torah mentioned the names of these girls in the chronological order of their births, whereas here the Torah mentions them in the order of their getting married. When the Torah describes their husbands as “sons of their uncles,” this does not mean that the husbands were all brothers of one another (Ibn Ezra).
They were married into the families of the sons of Manasseh the son of Joseph, and their inheritance remained in the tribe of the family of their father.
verse value 3993
Insights
Verse structure: 10 words, 51 letters. The shortest word is "they·became" (הָי֣וּ, 3 letters) and the longest is "descendants·of·Manasseh" (בְּנֵֽי־מְנַשֶּׁ֥ה, 7 letters). The root היה appears 2 times in this verse. 9 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "they·became" (root היה, 180x in Numbers); "in·the·tribe·of" (root מטה, 111x in Numbers); "into·clans·of" (root משפחה, 81x in Numbers). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'wives', dividing the verse into phrases of 5 and 5 words. Full calculation: מִֽמִּשְׁפְּחֹ֛ת [into·clans·of] (868) + בְּנֵֽי־מְנַשֶּׁ֥ה [descendants·of·Manasseh] (457) + בֶן־יוֹסֵ֖ף [son·of·Joseph] (208) + הָי֣וּ [they·became] (21) + לְנָשִׁ֑ים [wives] (430) + וַתְּהִי֙ [and·remained] (421) + נַחֲלָתָ֔ן [their·share] (538) + עַל־מַטֵּ֖ה [in·the·tribe·of] (154) + מִשְׁפַּ֥חַת [the·clan·of] (828) + אֲבִיהֶֽן [their·father] (68) = 3993.
Onkelos
They married into the clans of the sons of Manasseh son of Joseph, and their inheritance remained in the tribe of the clan of their father.
Ibn Ezra
"From the families" — this is a sign that their cousins were not all brothers [i.e., they were of different family lines within the clan].
Sforno
ממשפחות בני מנשה, seeing that they had realised that it was G’d’s will that the land should not be transferred from one tribe to another, even though He had given permission for them to choose a husband from any family of their tribe in accordance with their wishes, they chose the sons of their uncles over other families of their tribe as these were more closely related to them ותהי נחלתן על מטה משפחת אביהן, so that there was no transfer of any land to another tribe by reason of their marriages. In fact, no land was reassigned to another family within the same tribe.
These are the commandments and the ordinances, which Hashem commanded by the hand of Moses to the children of Israel in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho.
verse value 4001 — אֵ֣לֶּה = 36 (double-Chai)
Insights
Verse structure: 14 words, 61 letters. Notable word values: "these" (אֵ֣לֶּה) = 36, double chai. The shortest word is "upon" (עַ֖ל, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·the·ordinances" (וְהַמִּשְׁפָּטִ֗ים, 8 letters). Words sharing gematria 541: the·commandments, Israel. 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in Numbers. Unique to this verse in Numbers (hapax): "and·the·ordinances" (וְהַמִּשְׁפָּטִ֗ים). 14 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "to·the·children·of" (root בן, 499x in Numbers); "Hashem" (root יהוה, 389x in Numbers); "that" (root אשר, 223x in Numbers). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Israel', dividing the verse into phrases of 9 and 5 words. Full calculation: אֵ֣לֶּה [these] (36) + הַמִּצְוֺ֞ת [the·commandments] (541) + וְהַמִּשְׁפָּטִ֗ים [and·the·ordinances] (490) + אֲשֶׁ֨ר [that] (501) + צִוָּ֧ה [enjoined] (101) + יְהֹוָ֛ה [Hashem] (26) + בְּיַד־מֹשֶׁ֖ה [through·Moses] (361) + אֶל־בְּנֵ֣י [to·the·children·of] (93) + יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל [Israel] (541) + בְּעַֽרְבֹ֣ת [on·the·steppes·of] (674) + מוֹאָ֔ב [Moab] (49) + עַ֖ל [upon] (100) + יַרְדֵּ֥ן [the·Jordan] (264) + יְרֵחֽוֹ [Jericho] (224) = 4001.
Onkelos
These are the commandments and the ordinances that Hashem commanded by the hand of Moses to the children of Israel, in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho.
Ibn Ezra
"These are the commandments" — those concerning inheritance, vows, every daughter who inherits an inheritance, and the laws of blood. "On the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho, to the east."
Chizkuni
אלה המצות, “these are the commandments;” this concludes the list of sacrificial offerings, vows and oaths, purification of loot captured in war, and treatment of vessels that had become ritually contaminated, as well as the paragraphs dealing with murder and unintentional killing and ancestral lands and their distribution. (Compare Ibn Ezra)
Rabbeinu Bahya
אלה המצות והמשפטים, These are the commandments and the ordinances, etc.” the third Book of the Torah, the Book of Vayikra, known as Torat Kohanim concluded with the words “these are the מצות, commandments which G’d commanded Moses.” The fourth Book, the Book of Bamidbar, is also concluded (sealed) with similar words except that the Torah added the word והמשפטים, “and the ordinances (social laws).” The reason is that it contains the laws of inheritance, the legislation about murder, all laws governing the way people interact with one another. It is up to us to understand why in Bechukotai the Torah describes the laws as being commanded את משה, whereas in our verse here the Torah describes them as being commanded by G’d ביד משה, “through”, or “by means of” Moses. The reason is that after the first covenant which the Children of Israel received and accepted at Mount Sinai the King (G’d) canceled it when they traded the invisible eternal G’d for the image of an ox, i.e. the golden calf. Their erstwhile glory turned to a source of destruction; when Moses observed the letters on the Tablets flying away he threw the Tablets on the ground. Now, however, when the second covenant was made with the next generation in the wilderness of Moav, this covenant between G’d and the people was permanent. For the mountains may move and the hills be shaken (Isaiah 54,10), rocks may be dislodged from their place (Job 14,18), but this covenant will never be annulled, the strong bond of love between G’d and His people will not be torn asunder. The words of this covenant were accepted by an oath and a curse [in case we should renege, (Sotah 37)]. Keeping all this in mind, the Torah wrote as its concluding words: “these are the words of the covenant which the Lord commanded Moses to conclude with the Jewish people in the land of Moav in addition to the covenant He made with them at Chorev.”
Onkelos
Ibn Ezra
Chizkuni
Rabbeinu Bahya