Cornelius a Lapide
Table of Contents
Synopsis of the Chapter
On the occasion of the daughters of Zelophehad, a law is passed that they and all other women who inherit their father's estate must marry men of their own tribe.
Vulgate Text: Numbers 36:1-13
1. And the leaders of the families of Gilead, son of Machir, son of Manasseh, of the stock of the sons of Joseph, came forward and spoke to Moses before the leaders of Israel, and said: 2. The Lord commanded you, our lord, to divide the land by lot to the children of Israel, and to give to the daughters of Zelophehad our brother the possession due to their father: 3. If men of another tribe take them as wives, their possession will follow them, and having been transferred to another tribe, it will be diminished from our inheritance, 4. and so it will happen that when the jubilee, that is the fiftieth year of remission, arrives, the distribution of lots will be confused, and the possession of some will pass to others. 5. Moses answered the children of Israel, and at the Lord's command, said: The tribe of the sons of Joseph has spoken rightly, 6. and this is the law promulgated by the Lord concerning the daughters of Zelophehad: Let them marry whom they wish, provided only that they marry men of their own tribe; 7. so that the possession of the children of Israel may not be mixed from tribe to tribe. For all men shall take wives from their own tribe and kindred: 8. and all women shall take husbands from the same tribe, so that the inheritance may remain in the families, 9. and the tribes may not be mixed with one another, but may remain 10. as they were separated by the Lord. And the daughters of Zelophehad did as had been commanded: 11. and Maala, and Thersa, and Hegla, and Melcha, and Noa married the sons of their father's brother, 12. from the family of Manasseh, who was the son of Joseph: and the possession which had been allotted to them remained in the tribe and family of their father. 13. These are the commandments and judgments which the Lord commanded through the hand of Moses to the children of Israel, in the plains of Moab above the Jordan, opposite Jericho.
Verse 2: Dividing the Land and the Daughters of Zelophehad
2. The Lord commanded you, our lord, to DIVIDE THE LAND BY LOT -- that is, to order it to be divided through your successors: for Moses, dying, did not divide the land, but at his command Joshua, who succeeded him, did.
AND TO GIVE TO THE DAUGHTERS OF ZELOPHEHAD OUR BROTHER THE POSSESSION DUE TO THEIR FATHER. -- This the Lord commanded in chapter 27, verse 7.
Verse 3: The Risk of Inheritance Passing to Another Tribe
3. IF MEN OF ANOTHER TRIBE TAKE THEM AS WIVES, THEIR POSSESSION WILL FOLLOW THEM, AND HAVING BEEN TRANSFERRED TO ANOTHER TRIBE, IT WILL BE DIMINISHED FROM OUR INHERITANCE -- so that, namely, it would not be called the inheritance of the tribe of Joseph, but of the other tribe to which the future husbands of these daughters of Zelophehad would belong. For although some son would have to be substituted for the deceased maternal grandfather, who would succeed to his name and inheritance, and would be called, for example, a son of Zelophehad, nevertheless because this son had a father and brothers from another tribe, confusion and mixing of names would easily have arisen from this, so that he would not be called the son or grandson of Zelophehad, but of his own father: hence over the length of time, at the jubilee, when the question of recalling the inheritance, if it had been alienated, would have to be dealt with, confusion and error would easily have arisen, namely that the inheritance of Zelophehad would pass to the sons-in-law and their relatives and tribe. Again, it could easily have happened that, with the memory of the maternal succession blotted out, the inheritance would be reckoned absolutely by the tribe and name of the father. For this reason, lest this happen, God decreed that these daughters should not marry outside their own tribe, but should take husbands from their own tribe.
Verses 7-8: Whether the Marriage Law Applies to All or Only to Heiresses
7 and 8. FOR ALL MEN SHALL TAKE WIVES FROM THEIR OWN TRIBE AND KINDRED: AND ALL WOMEN SHALL TAKE HUSBANDS FROM THE SAME TRIBE, SO THAT THE INHERITANCE MAY REMAIN IN THE FAMILIES. -- The question is raised here whether this statement is to be understood of absolutely all men and women, so that all Hebrew men were obliged to take wives from their own tribe, and vice versa all Hebrew women were obliged to marry husbands of their own tribe, not another.
Lyra and Abulensis affirm this, and they except from this general statement only the Levites, either because of the dignity of the tribe of Levi, as Lyra holds; or because the tribe of Levi had no possession in Canaan that could be dispersed to other tribes through marriages, as Abulensis holds. The words of the text, which are plainly universal, favor this opinion.
But I say that this statement is not to be understood of absolutely everyone, but only of women who were succeeding to the inheritance of their father, on account of the lack of male offspring, and conversely of men who married such women. For such women and men were required to be of the same tribe; and only this is commanded here. That this is so is proven, first, from the question proposed in verses 2 and 3. For there the only question was how to prevent the inheritance of the daughters of Zelophehad from devolving to another tribe: to which question Moses responds, and suggests the appropriate means by which this may be done, saying: "Let them marry husbands of their own tribe;" and then by a general decree, he commands this for all such women and men.
Second, the same is clear from the purpose of the law, which Moses adds here, saying: "So that the inheritance may remain in the families;" but for this it suffices that those women who are heiresses should not marry into another tribe: it is irrelevant to extend the same rule to all other women; for other women, since they have no inheritance, would by no means transfer it to another tribe; and men cannot transfer their inheritance to women of another tribe, and consequently to another tribe: for children follow the name of the father, not of the mother.
The Hebrew Evidence for Heiresses Only
Third, the same is most clear in the Hebrew, for it reads thus: and every woman inheriting an inheritance shall marry one from her own tribe. So also the Chaldean, the Septuagint, and all the Hebrews. Therefore this law is to be understood of a woman alone who inherits an inheritance.
Note: From the Hebrew it is gathered that daughters who were heiresses, in the absence of male offspring, were required to marry not only in the same tribe, but also in the same nearest family, so that their inheritance would not pass to outside families, but would remain in the family of the father's blood relatives, who had a right to it. For the Hebrew has thus in verse 6: "They shall be wives to men of the family of the tribe of their father." And in verse 8: "Every daughter who inherits an inheritance shall be wife to one from the family of the tribe of her father, so that the children of Israel may each inherit the inheritance of their fathers."
Examples of Inter-Tribal Marriages in Scripture
Fourth, the same is clear from examples: for David, who was from the tribe of Judah, married Michal the daughter of Saul, who was from the tribe of Benjamin; indeed, outside his own tribe he married a Gentile woman, namely the daughter of the king of Geshur, 2 Kings 3:3. Likewise Mahlon and Chilion, sons of Elimelech, married Moabite women, as is clear from Ruth 1:4. Likewise Boaz married Ruth the Moabitess, Ruth chapter 4, verse 10. Hence also in Deuteronomy chapter 21, verse 11, the Jews are permitted to marry foreign virgins captured in war, except Canaanites. Likewise in Judges, the last chapter, verse 1, the other tribes swear that they will not give their daughters in marriage to the Benjaminites; therefore previously it was both permitted and customary to do so.
You will say: Why then did our Translator not express this, but translated it generally: "All men shall take wives from their own tribe;" and vice versa: "All women shall take husbands from the same tribe?" I respond: Because he presupposed from the question proposed, and from the response in verse 6, that the only matter here concerns women who inherit an estate, and men who take such women in marriage. Hence what our Translator renders: "All men shall take wives from their own tribe," should be translated from the Hebrew with the Chaldean and Septuagint as: each one shall cleave to the possession of the tribe of their fathers, that is, male children shall succeed their fathers; but women, if they are heiresses, shall marry someone from their own tribe, so that there may be no occasion for any inheritance to be transferred from one tribe to another. So Burgensis, Cajetan, Oleaster, Vatablus here, and Andreas Masius on Joshua chapter 17, verse 4.
The Genealogy of Christ in Matthew and Luke
For this reason the daughters of Zelophehad married within the same family, namely the sons of their father's brothers, that is, their cousins, as stated in verse 11. And thus we reconcile the genealogy of Christ in Matthew and Luke, by saying that both truly describe the genealogy of Christ, because the Blessed Virgin, being an heiress, married her cousin, namely Joseph: for Joseph was the son of Jacob, and the Blessed Virgin was the daughter of Eli or Joachim: and Jacob and Heli were full brothers, namely sons of Nathan. Therefore the genealogy of Christ in Matthew is true from Adam to Nathan through the paternal line, namely through the parents of Joachim, who was the grandfather of Christ: but Luke describes the same, but through the maternal line, namely through the parents of St. Anne, the mother of the Blessed Virgin. For since the series of all generations through the paternal line had already been described by Matthew, Luke did not wish to repeat it, but further wished to show that Christ and the Blessed Virgin were also through the maternal line of the house and family of David. Hence when Luke says, "who was of Heli," he names the grandfather of Christ, and the first male progenitor of Christ, omitting St. Anne and the Blessed Virgin, because women were not accustomed to enter into genealogical series. Again, when Luke says of Heli, "who was of Matthat," understand not son, but son-in-law: for Matthat was the father not of Heli or Joachim, but of St. Anne, the wife of Joachim; and when he further says of Matthat, "who was of Levi, who was of Melchi," etc., understand always the word "son." For these are the true progenitors of Matthat, whose daughter was St. Anne. So, essentially, Francis Lucas in the same place.
How the Blessed Virgin and Elizabeth Were Kinswomen
From this passage thus explained, it is again clear how the Blessed Virgin, being of the tribe of Judah, could have as a kinswoman Elizabeth, who was of the tribe of Aaron and Levi. For the reason and foundation for this was not that the Levites alone could take a wife from another tribe, as many hold; but that all women could marry husbands who were from another tribe, if they themselves had brothers, so that they themselves were not heiresses of their parents. For if they themselves were heiresses, they could not marry into another tribe, much less could they marry Levites. For the Levites were incapable of any inheritance, because their inheritance was the Lord; and consequently the sons of Levites could take neither their father's nor their mother's inheritance.
Therefore one of two things must be said here, namely, that the mother or grandmother of the Blessed Virgin was from the tribe of Levi (and was an aunt or cousin of Elizabeth), whom, because she was not an heiress, the father or grandfather of the Blessed Virgin, who was from the tribe of Judah, married; so that the Blessed Virgin according to her paternal lineage was from Judah, according to her maternal lineage from Levi. Or rather, conversely, it must be said that the mother or grandmother of St. Elizabeth was from the tribe of Judah (and was an aunt or kinswoman of the Blessed Virgin), whom, because she was not an heiress, the father or grandfather of St. Elizabeth, who was from the tribe of Levi, married; so that Elizabeth with respect to her father was from Levi, with respect to her mother from Judah: for thus it came about that the Blessed Virgin and Elizabeth were daughters of two sisters, or of two female cousins, and therefore were kinswomen, even though they had fathers from different tribes, and consequently they themselves were of different tribes: for not from one's mother, but from one's father, did each person receive family, tribe, and name. Hence, with the distinction of tribes preserved, kings married daughters of pontiffs, and pontiffs married daughters of kings, as Josephus attests: and thus Christ, descending from the kings of Judah, through His grandmothers also descended from Levi.
Verse 7: Kindred, Tribe, and Family
7. "And kindred." -- This kindred is general, namely that which exists among members of the same tribe. In reality, therefore, kindred, tribe, and family are the same thing here. For only this is commanded here, that they take wives or husbands from the same tribe; but not that they be from the same particular and nearest family.
Verse 12: The Inheritance Remained in Manasseh
12. WHICH HAD BEEN ALLOTTED TO THEM. -- These words are not found in the Hebrew, but they are understood: namely, the possession of the father Zelophehad, which had been allotted to these his daughters by Moses, by this means -- namely through marriage with men of their own tribe -- remained in their tribe, namely in Manasseh; that is, it was required to remain in it and could not be transferred to another tribe.
Mystical Meditation: Our Eternal Inheritance
Mystically, our constant and perpetual possession, never to be alienated, is heaven and the eternal glory of God. While you live, therefore, while you are well, O man the wayfarer, consider that all things have their time, and all things pass away beneath heaven in their allotted spans. Alas, alas, the fleeting years slip by, Posthumus, Posthumus. Consider that all things under the sun are vanity, vanity of vanities, and all is vanity. Consider that for all thoughts, words, and deeds God will bring you into judgment. "Remember therefore your Creator in the days of your youth, before the dust returns to its earth whence it came, and the spirit returns to God who gave it: for man shall go to the house of HIS ETERNITY." Consider that this life is the arena of ETERNITY. O sons of Adam, why do you pursue perishable things? O souls bent toward the earth and empty of heavenly things, why do you follow what is momentary and soon to perish? Would that men were wise, would that they understood, would that they provided for themselves a blessed ETERNITY!