But there was another purpose beside that of establishing Israel's
family purity in taking the census at Arbot-Moab. For when God at the
exodus from Egypt put his people into Moses' hands, He entrusted them
to him after having counted them, and not when Moses was about to
depart from this world, he wanted to return the flock that God had
entrusted to him, truly numbered, into God's hand. [807]
After the number of the nation had been determined, God ordered Moses
to divide the promised land among them according to their numbers.
[808] Jacob had indeed upon his death-bed determined what parts of the
land were to fall to the lot of each tribe, but in order that the
tribes might not quarrel among themselves, God decreed that the
assignments be made by lot. [809] After the conquest of the land Joshua
and Eleazar saw to the drawing of lots. On this occasion the miracle
came to pass that whenever Eleazar drew a lot from the urn, the lot
itself announced the words, "I am the lot of Thus-and-So." In this way
was avoided the possibility of having the malcontents declare that
Eleazar had, at the drawing of lots, been partial to his friends and
had assigned to them the lots they wished for. [810]
When Zelophehad's daughters, that had lived piously and wisely like
their father and their ancestors, heard that the land was being divided
among the male members of the tribe, but not among the female, they
took counsel together, discussing what they could do, so that they
might not find themselves come out empty-handed. They said: "God's love
is not like the love of a mortal father; the latter prefers his sons to
his daughters, but He that created the world extends His love to women
as well as to men, 'His tender mercies are over all His works.'" They
now hoped that God would take pity on them and give them their share of
the promised land, which they loved with as great devotion as their
grandsire Joseph, who had upon his death-bed exhorted his children to
transfer his body to the Holy Land. [811]
Being wise and learned, they waited for a propitious time to lay their
case before Moses, and opportunity which they found when Moses in house
of teaching recited the law concerning the levirate marriage. They now
advanced and said: "If we are as good as our brothers, then do we lay
claim to our father's inheritance, and to his share of the land; but if
we are not to be considered as sons, then should our mother have to
marry her brother-in-law, as our father has left no issue, since we do
not count." [812] They furthermore pointed out that their father had
been neither one of the spies nor one of Korah's followers, who had,
owing to their sins, lost claim to their share of the land, [813] but
that he had found his death when a number of men, in spite of Moses'
warnings, had presumed to storm the mountain occupied by the Amalekites
and the Canaanites. [814] "Had our father," continued they, "left
behind him a son, and the latter were now also dead, then should we lay
no claim to inheritance if this son had left a living child, were it
even a daughter; but as we are our father's only descendants, give us,
we pray, 'a possession among the brethren of our father.'"
The fervent longing of these women to have a share in the Holy Land
shows how much better and more pious were the women of this generation
than the men. The latter said, "Let us make a captain, and let us
return to Egypt," whereas the women said, "Give us a possession among
the brethren of our father." [815] But not only during the rebellion
that was kindled by the spies did the women remain true to Moses and to
their God, but on other occasions also it was they who tried to build
up what the men had torn down. at the worship of the Golden Calf, too,
they tried to restrain the men from sin, hence it was the men only that
had to die in the desert because they had been tempted to rebellion by
the spies, whereas the women entered into the promised land. [816]
Among them also there was even to be found a woman as old as Jochebed -
the daughter of Levi by his union with Otah - who survived her sons
Moses and Aaron, as well as her daughter Miriam, and who was permitted
to enter the promised land at the age of two hundred and fifty years.
[817]
The daughters of Zelophehad did not bring their request directly to
Moses, but at first urged their plea before the lowest officers, the
captains of tens. These, however, said: "This is an important matter
since it touches upon laws of inheritance, hence it does not become us
to decide this matter; greater men than we must settle it." Hence they
sent them to the captains of fifties. When these saw that out of
consideration for them the captains of tens would not pass judgement,
they sent the daughters of Zelophehad on to the captains of hundreds,
that were their superiors. But these too, out of consideration for the
higher judges, would not settle this matter, and so the daughters of
Zelophehad came to the captains of thousands, who sent them to the
princes of the tribes, until they came at last to the highest
authority, to Moses. Now Moses might well have decided this case
without further ado, but in his meekness he thought, "There is still a
higher authority than I, to wit, God," and he bade them await God's
judgement. [818] The answer that he received from God was as follows:
"The daughters of Zelophehad have the law on their side, for what they
desire is in accordance with the law that was written in heaven by Me;
give them therefore their father's inheritance, and also two parts of
their grandfather Hepher's possessions, for their father Zelophehad was
his firstborn and was therefore entitled to a double share." [819]
The daughters of Zelophehad, who in spite of their years - the youngest
of them had attained forty - had not yet been married, now entered into
wedlock, and according to God's bidding that Moses communicated to
them, they married their uncle's sons, although they were free to marry
whomsoever they chose. [820]
"God works good through the good, and evil through the evil." The
chapter of the laws of God that was published by Moses as an addition
to the incident of Zelophehad's daughters would have been given without
them also, but God rewarded these women for their piety by making them
the direct occasion of this chapter of the law. [821] At the same time
this case of these women was to teach several lessons to Moses. He who,
since he had been made God's messenger to the people, had lived apart
from his wife was not to grow too conceited on account of the sacrifice
he had made to his sacred calling; hence in the last year of his life
there appeared before him the daughters of Zelophehad, who of their own
accord had not married because they had not found mates that they
considered suitable. Then, too, Moses could not answer the legal
question that the daughters of Zelophehad had presented to him, and had
to ask God's counsel, which was a second lesson to Moses. At the
appointment of the elders, Moses earnestly told them, "The cause that
is too hard for ye, bring to me, and I will hear it," and in punishment
of these boastful words God so brought it to pass that he could give no
answer to this request of the women, whereupon God said to him, "Didst
not thou say, 'the cause that is too hard for ye, bring it to me?' and
now thou canst not properly settle this legal question of the women."
A similar punishment for a similar offense was visited upon David who,
well aware of his erudition, said, "The laws of the Torah do I grasp as
easily and as quickly as songs." God then said, "As truly as thou
livest, thou shalt hereafter forget a Biblical law that even the school
children know." So, too, it came to pass that when he had the Holy Ark
fetched from Gibeah to Zion, he forgot the Biblical instruction that
the Ark may be carried only upon the shoulder, and had it lifted upon a
wagon. Then occurred the miracle that the Ark leaped of itself into the
air, whereas the oxen that pulled the wagon fell down, whereupon Uzzah,
to whom the transportation of the Ark had been entrusted, stretched out
his hand to prevent the Ark from falling and himself fell dead upon the
ground, for "a sin that is committed is ignorance of the law is
accounted as if it had been intentional." Uzzah should have been
mindful of the law that the Ark was not to be lifted upon a cart, hence
his punishment. God thereupon said to David, "Didst thou not say, 'Thy
statutes have been my songs?' and thou hast not even mastered the words
of the Bible, 'Unto the sons of Kohath he gave none: because the
service of the sanctuary belonged unto them; they bare it upon their
shoulders.'"