Numbers 36:4 Meaning and Explanation
“And when the jubile of the children of Israel shall be, then shall their inheritance be put unto the inheritance of the tribe whereunto they are received: so shall their inheritance be taken away from the inheritance of the tribe of our fathers.”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →At the Jubilee, the land would permanently pass to the husbands' tribes, permanently reducing Manasseh's holdings.
The Context of Numbers 36:4
The Jubilee would make the land loss permanent if the daughters married outside their tribe.
What Does Numbers 36:4 Mean?
The Jubilee—the fiftieth-year celebration when all land returned to original owners—would normally restore Zelophehad's daughters' land to Manasseh. But if they married outside the tribe, the custom of patrilineal property transfer meant the Jubilee itself would cement the land in their husbands' tribes instead of restoring it to the original family.
This highlights the stakes of the question: without a ruling, one exception to the inheritance law (daughters receiving land) could interact with tribal boundaries and the Jubilee cycle to permanently alter tribal land distribution—an outcome that conflicted with the principle that tribal inheritance remain stable.
Frequently Asked Questions About Numbers 36:4
What does Numbers 36:4 mean?
At the Jubilee, the land would permanently pass to the husbands' tribes, permanently reducing Manasseh's holdings.
What is the context of Numbers 36:4?
The Jubilee would make the land loss permanent if the daughters married outside their tribe.