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<center><h1>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary
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on the Whole Bible</h1>
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1706)
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+3><B>N U M B E R S</B></FONT>
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<BR>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+2>CHAP. XXXVI.</FONT>
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<P>
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We have in this chapter the determination of another question that
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arose upon the case of the daughters of Zelophehad. God had appointed
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that they should inherit,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Nu+27:7"><I>ch.</I> xxvii. 7</A>.
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Now here,
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I. An inconvenience is suggested, in case they should marry into any
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other tribe,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Nu+36:1-4">ver. 1-4</A>.
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II. It is prevented by a divine appointment that they should marry in
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their own tribe and family
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Nu+36:5-7">ver. 5-7</A>),
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and this is settled for a rule in like cases
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Nu+36:8,9">ver. 8, 9</A>);
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and they did marry accordingly to some of their own relations
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Nu+36:10-12">ver. 10-12</A>),
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and with this the book concludes,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Nu+36:13">ver. 13</A>.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="Nu36_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="Nu36_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="Nu36_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="Nu36_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec1"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The Law of Inheritance.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 1452.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>1 And the chief fathers of the families of the children of
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Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, of the families
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of the sons of Joseph, came near, and spake before Moses, and
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before the princes, the chief fathers of the children of Israel:
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2 And they said, The L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> commanded my lord to give the land
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for an inheritance by lot to the children of Israel: and my lord
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was commanded by the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> to give the inheritance of Zelophehad
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our brother unto his daughters.
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3 And if they be married to any of the sons of the <I>other</I>
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tribes of the children of Israel, then shall their inheritance be
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taken from the inheritance of our fathers, and shall be put to
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the inheritance of the tribe whereunto they are received: so
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shall it be taken from the lot of our inheritance.
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4 And when the jubilee of the children of Israel shall be, then
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shall their inheritance be put unto the inheritance of the tribe
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whereunto they are received: so shall their inheritance be taken
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away from the inheritance of the tribe of our fathers.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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We have here the humble address which the heads of the tribe of
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Manasseh made to Moses and the princes, on occasion of the order lately
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made concerning the daughters of Zelophehad. The family they belonged
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to was part of that half of the tribe of Manasseh which we yet to have
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their lot within Jordan, not that half that was already settled; and
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yet they speak of the land of their possession, and the inheritance of
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their fathers, with as great assurance as if they had it already in
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their hands, knowing whom they had trusted. In their appeal observe,
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1. They fairly recite the former order made in this case, and do not
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move to have that set aside, but are very willing to acquiesce in it
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Nu+36:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>):
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<I>The Lord commanded to give the inheritance of Zelophehad to his
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daughters;</I> and they are very well pleased that it should be so,
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none of them knowing but that hereafter it might be the case of their
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own families, and then their daughters would have the benefit of this
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law.
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2. They represent the inconvenience which might, possibly, follow
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hereupon, if the daughters of Zelophehad should see cause to marry into
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any other tribes,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Nu+36:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>.
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And it is probable that this was not a bare surmise, or supposition,
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but that they knew, at this time, great court was made to them by some
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young gentlemen of other tribes, because they were heiresses, that they
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might get footing in this tribe, and so enlarge their own inheritance.
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This truly is often aimed at more than it should be in making
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marriages, not the meetness of the person, but the convenience of the
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estate, to <I>lay house to house, and field to field. Wisdom indeed is
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good with an inheritance;</I> but what is an inheritance good for in
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that relation without wisdom? But here, we may presume, the personal
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merit of these daughters recommended them as well as their fortunes;
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however, the heads of their tribe foresaw the mischief that would
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follow, and brought the case to Moses, that he might consult the oracle
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of God concerning it. The difficulty they start God could have obviated
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and provided against in the former order given in this case; but to
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teach us that we must, in our affairs, not only attend God's
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providence, but make use of our own prudence, God did not direct in it
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till the themselves that were concerned wisely foresaw the
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inconvenience, and piously applied to Moses for a rule in it. For
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though they were chief fathers in their families, and might have
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assumed a power to overrule these daughters of Zelophehad in disposing
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of themselves, especially their father being dead and the common
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interest of their tribe being concerned in it, yet they chose rather to
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refer the matter to Moses, and it issued well. We should not covet to
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be judges in our own case, for it is difficult to be so without being
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partial. It is easier in many cases to take good advice than to give
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it, and it is a satisfaction to be under direction. Two things they
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aimed at in their representation:--
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(1.) To preserve the divine appointment of inheritances. They urged the
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command
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Nu+36:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>),
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that the land should be given by lot to the respective tribes, and
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urged that it would break in upon the divine appointment if such a
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considerable part of the lot of Manasseh should, by their marriage, be
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transferred to any other tribe; for the issue would be denominated from
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the father's tribe, not the mother's. This indeed would not lessen the
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lot of the particular persons of that tribe (they would have their own
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still), but it would lessen the lot of the tribe in general, and render
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it less strong and considerable; they therefore thought themselves
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concerned for the reputation of their tribe, and perhaps were the more
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jealous for it because it was already very much weakened by the sitting
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down of the one half of it on this side Jordan.
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(2.) To prevent contests and quarrels among posterity. If those of
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other tribes should come among them perhaps it might occasion some
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contests. They would be apt to give and receive disturbance, and their
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title might, in process of time, come to be questioned; and how great a
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matter would this fire kindle! It is the wisdom and duty of those that
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have estates in the world to settle them, and dispose of them, so as
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that no strife and contention may arise about them among posterity.</P>
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<A NAME="Nu36_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="Nu36_6"> </A>
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<A NAME="Nu36_7"> </A>
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<A NAME="Nu36_8"> </A>
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<A NAME="Nu36_9"> </A>
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<A NAME="Nu36_10"> </A>
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<A NAME="Nu36_11"> </A>
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<A NAME="Nu36_12"> </A>
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<A NAME="Nu36_13"> </A>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>5 And Moses commanded the children of Israel according to the
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word of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, saying, The tribe of the sons of Joseph hath
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said well.
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6 This <I>is</I> the thing which the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> doth command concerning
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the daughters of Zelophehad, saying, Let them marry to whom they
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think best; only to the family of the tribe of their father shall
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they marry.
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7 So shall not the inheritance of the children of Israel remove
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from tribe to tribe: for every one of the children of Israel
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shall keep himself to the inheritance of the tribe of his
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fathers.
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8 And every daughter, that possesseth an inheritance in any
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tribe of the children of Israel, shall be wife unto one of the
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family of the tribe of her father, that the children of Israel
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may enjoy every man the inheritance of his fathers.
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9 Neither shall the inheritance remove from <I>one</I> tribe to
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another tribe; but every one of the tribes of the children of
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Israel shall keep himself to his own inheritance.
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10 Even as the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> commanded Moses, so did the daughters of
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Zelophehad:
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11 For Mahlah, Tirzah, and Hoglah, and Milcah, and Noah, the
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daughters of Zelophehad, were married unto their father's
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brothers' sons:
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12 <I>And</I> they were married into the families of the sons of
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Manasseh the son of Joseph, and their inheritance remained in the
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tribe of the family of their father.
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13 These <I>are</I> the commandments and the judgments, which the
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L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> commanded by the hand of Moses unto the children of Israel
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in the plains of Moab by Jordan <I>near</I> Jericho.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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Here is,
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I. The matter settled by express order from God between the daughters
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of Zelophehad and the rest of the tribe of Manasseh. The petition is
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assented to, and care taken to prevent the inconvenience feared: <I>The
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tribe of the sons of Joseph hath said well,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Nu+36:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>.
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Thus those that consult the oracles of God concerning the making of
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their heavenly inheritance sure shall not only be directed what to do,
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but their enquiries shall be graciously accepted, and they shall have
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not only their <I>well done,</I> but their <I>well said,</I> good and
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faithful servant. Now the matter is thus accommodated: these heiresses
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must be obliged to marry, not only within their own tribe of Manasseh,
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but within the particular family of the Hepherites, to which they did
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belong.
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1. They are not determined to any particular persons; there was choice
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enough in the family of their father: <I>Let them marry to whom they
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think best.</I> As children must preserve the authority of their
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parents, and not marry against their minds, so parents must consult the
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affections of their children in disposing of them, and not compel them
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to marry such as they cannot love. Forced marriages are not likely to
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prove blessings.
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2. Yet they are confined to their own relations, that their inheritance
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may not go to another family. God would have them know that the land
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being to be divided by lot, the disposal whereof was of the Lord, they
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could not mend, and therefore should not alter, his appointment. The
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inheritances must not <I>remove from tribe to tribe</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Nu+36:7"><I>v.</I> 7</A>),
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lest there should be confusion among them, their estates entangled, and
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their genealogies perplexed. God would not have one tribe to be
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enriched by the straitening and impoverishing of another, since they
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were all alike the seed of Abraham his friend.</P>
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<P>
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II. The law, in this particular case, was made perpetual, and to be
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observed whenever hereafter the like case should happen,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Nu+36:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>.
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Those that were not heiresses might marry into what tribe they pleased
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(though we may suppose that, ordinarily, they kept within their own
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tribe), but those that were must either quit their claim to the
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inheritance or marry one of their own family, that each of the tribes
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might keep to its own inheritance, and one tribe might not encroach
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upon another, but throughout their generations there might remain
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immovable the ancient landmarks, set, not by their fathers, but by the
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<I>God of their fathers.</I></P>
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<P>
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III. The submission of the daughters of Zelophehad to this appointment.
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How could they but marry well, and to their satisfaction, when God
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himself directed them? They married their father's brothers' sons,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Nu+36:10-12"><I>v.</I> 10-12</A>.
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By this it appears,
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1. That the marriage of cousin-germans is not in itself unlawful, nor
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within the degrees prohibited, for then God would not have countenanced
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these marriages. But,
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2. That ordinarily it is not advisable; for, if there had not been a
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particular reason for it (which cannot hold in any case now,
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inheritances being not disposed of as then by the special designation
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of Heaven), they would not have married such near relations. The world
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is wide, and he that walks uprightly will endeavour to walk surely.</P>
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<P>
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IV. The conclusion of this whole book, referring to the latter part of
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it: <I>These are the judgments which the Lord commanded in the plains
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of Moab</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Nu+36:13"><I>v.</I> 13</A>),
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these foregoing, ever since
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Nu+26:1-3"><I>ch.</I> xxvi.</A>,
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most of which related to their settlement in Canaan, into which they
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were now entering. Whatever new condition God is by his providence
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bringing us into, we must beg of him to teach us the duty of it, and to
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enable us to do it, that we may do the work of the day in its day, of
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the place in its place.</P>
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