What happensPermalink
Moses rules that daughters who own land must marry within their own tribe so that no tribe loses its inheritance over time. Zelophehad’s daughters marry cousins within their tribe.
Why it mattersPermalink
God promised inheritances to each tribe, and the Year of Jubilee generally ensures those lands remain, but the laws of marriage might have changed that, so this rule returns the guarantee that tribes will not lose their God-given inheritances.
Key versePermalink
“This is what the Lord commands concerning the daughters of Zelophehad: ‘Let them marry whom they think best, only they shall marry within the clan of the tribe of their father.’”