Commentaria in Numeros
Chapter the Thirty-sixth
On occasion of the daughters of Salphaad, a law is made that they and the others, whoever succeed to their father’s inheritance, marry their own tribesmen.
1. And the princes of the families of Galaad, the son of Machir, the son of Manasses, of the race of the sons of Joseph, came and spoke to Moses before the princes of Israel, and said: 2. The Lord commanded thee, our lord, to divide the land by lot to the children of Israel, and to give to the daughters of Salphaad our brother the possession due to their father: 3. whom if men of another tribe take to wives, their possession will follow, and being transferred to another tribe, will be diminished from our inheritance, 4. and so it will come to pass that when the jubilee, that is, the fiftieth year of remission, is come, the distribution of the lots will be confounded, and the possession of some will pass to others. 5. Moses answered the children of Israel, and by the commandment of the Lord, said: The tribe of the sons of Joseph hath spoken rightly, 6. and this is the law promulgated by the Lord concerning the daughters of Salphaad: Let them marry to whom they will, only so that it be to men of their own tribe; 7. lest the possession of the children of Israel be mingled from tribe to tribe. For all men shall take wives of their own tribe and kindred: 8. and all women shall take husbands of the same tribe, that the inheritance may remain in the families, 9. and the tribes be not mingled with one another, but so remain 10. as they have been separated by the Lord. And the daughters of Salphaad did as was commanded: 11. and Maala, and Thersa, and Hegla, and Melcha, and Noa, were married to the sons of their father’s brother, 12. of the family of Manasses, who was the son of Joseph: and the possession that 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 by the hand of Moses to the children of Israel, in the plains of Moab, upon the Jordan, over against Jericho.
2. THE LORD COMMANDED THEE, OUR LORD, TO DIVIDE THE LAND BY LOT,—that is, to command it to be divided by thy successors: for Moses dying did not divide the land, but by his command Josue, who succeeded him.
AND TO GIVE TO THE DAUGHTERS OF SALPHAAD OUR BROTHER THE POSSESSION DUE TO THEIR FATHER.—The Lord commanded this, chapter xxvii, 7.
3. WHOM IF MEN OF ANOTHER TRIBE TAKE TO WIVES, THEIR POSSESSION WILL FOLLOW, AND BEING TRANSFERRED TO ANOTHER TRIBE, WILL BE DIMINISHED FROM OUR INHERITANCE,—so that it would not be called the inheritance of the tribe of Joseph, but of another, whose the future husbands of these daughters of Salphaad would be. For although some son would have to be substituted for the dead maternal grandfather, who should succeed to his name and inheritance, and be called, e.g., son of Salphaad, yet because this son had his father and brothers of another tribe, hence easily would have arisen confusion and intermixture of names, so that he would not be called the son or grandson of Salphaad, but of his own father: whence by length of time in the jubilee, when it was to be treated of recalling the inheritance, if it had been alienated, easily would have arisen confusion and error, so that, namely, the inheritance of Salphaad would pass to the sons-in-law and their kindred and tribe. Again, it might easily have happened that, the memory of the maternal succession being obliterated, that inheritance would be reckoned absolutely of the father’s tribe and name. For this cause, lest it should happen, God ordained that these daughters should not marry outside their tribe, but take husbands of their own tribe.
7 and 8. FOR ALL MEN SHALL TAKE WIVES OF THEIR OWN TRIBE AND KINDRED: AND ALL WOMEN SHALL TAKE HUSBANDS OF THE SAME TRIBE, THAT THE INHERITANCE MAY REMAIN IN THE FAMILIES,—It is asked here whether this sentence is to be understood of all men and women altogether, so that all Hebrew men had to take wives of their tribe, and conversely all Hebrew women had to marry husbands of their tribe, not of another. Lyranus and Abulensis affirm it, who except from this general sentence the Levites alone, and this either on account of the dignity of the tribe of Levi, as Lyranus will have it; or because the tribe of Levi had no possession in Chanaan which could be drawn away by marriages to other tribes, as Abulensis will have it. The words of the text favour this opinion, which are plainly universal. But I say this sentence is not to be understood of all altogether, but only of the women who succeeded to their father’s inheritance, for lack of male offspring, and conversely of the men who took such women to wife. For such women and men had to be of the same tribe; and this alone is here commanded. That this is so is proved, first, from the question proposed, verses 2 and 3. For there it was only asked how it was to be provided that the inheritance of the daughters of Salphaad (who, male offspring failing, were heirs of their father Salphaad) should not devolve to a strange tribe: to which question Moses answers, and suggests a fitting way by which it may be done, saying: “Let them marry husbands of their own tribe;” and then by a general ordinance he commands all such women and men.
Secondly, the same is plain from the end of the law, which Moses here subjoins, saying: “That the inheritance may remain in the families;” for this it suffices that those women who are heiresses do not marry into another tribe: it is impertinent to extend the same to all others; for the others, since they have no inheritance, would in no way transfer it to another tribe; and men cannot transfuse their inheritance to the women of another tribe, and consequently to another tribe: for the offspring follow the name of the father, not of the mother.
Thirdly, the same is most clear in the Hebrew, for thus it has, and every woman inheriting an inheritance shall be to one of her own tribe. So also the Chaldee, the Septuagint and all the Hebrews. Therefore this law is to be understood only of the woman who comes to the inheritance.
Fourthly, this is plain from examples: David, who was iii, 3. So Mahalon and Chelion, the sons of Elimelech, took Moabitess wives, as is plain from Ruth i, 4. So Booz took Ruth the Moabitess, Ruth chapter iv, verse 10. Hence also Deuteronomy chapter xxi, verse 11, it is permitted to the Jews to take foreign virgins, except Chanaanites, captured in war. So Judges last chapter, 1, the other tribes swear that they will not give their daughters in marriage to the Benjaminites; therefore it was lawful and customary to do so before.