The Daughters of Zelophehad

27 One day a petition was presented by the daughters of Zelophehad—Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. Their father, Zelophehad, was a descendant of Hepher son of Gilead, son of Makir, son of Manasseh, son of Joseph. ² These women stood before Moses, Eleazar the priest, the tribal leaders, and the entire community at the entrance of the Tabernacle.^{[a] 3} “Our father died in the wilderness,” they said. “He was not among Korah’s followers, who rebelled against the Lord; he died because of his own sin. But he had no sons. ⁴ Why should the name of our father disappear from his clan just because he had no sons? Give us property along with the rest of our relatives.”

⁵ So Moses brought their case before the Lord. ⁶ And the Lord replied to Moses, ⁷ “The claim of the daughters of Zelophehad is legitimate. You must give them a grant of land along with their father’s relatives. Assign them the property that would have been given to their father.

⁸ “And give the following instructions to the people of Israel: If a man dies and has no son, then give his inheritance to his daughters. ⁹ And if he has no daughter either, transfer his inheritance to his brothers. ¹⁰ If he has no brothers, give his inheritance to his father’s brothers. ¹¹ But if his father has no brothers, give his inheritance to the nearest relative in his clan. This is a legal requirement for the people of Israel, just as the Lord commanded Moses.”

Joshua Chosen to Lead Israel

¹² One day the Lord said to Moses, “Climb one of the mountains east of the river,^[b] and look out over the land I have given the people of Israel. ¹³ After you have seen it, you will die like your brother, Aaron, ¹⁴ for you both rebelled against my instructions in the wilderness of Zin. When the people of Israel rebelled, you failed to demonstrate my holiness to them at the waters.” (These are the waters of Meribah at Kadesh^[c] in the wilderness of Zin.)

¹⁵ Then Moses said to the Lord, ¹⁶ “O Lord, you are the God who gives breath to all creatures. Please appoint a new man as leader for the community. ¹⁷ Give them someone who will guide them wherever they go and will lead them into battle, so the community of the Lord will not be like sheep without a shepherd.”

¹⁸ The Lord replied, “Take Joshua son of Nun, who has the Spirit in him, and lay your hands on him. ¹⁹ Present him to Eleazar the priest before the whole community, and publicly commission him to lead the people. ²⁰ Transfer some of your authority to him so the whole community of Israel will obey him. ²¹ When direction from the Lord is needed, Joshua will stand before Eleazar the priest, who will use the Urim—one of the sacred lots cast before the Lord—to determine his will. This is how Joshua and the rest of the community of Israel will determine everything they should do.”

²² So Moses did as the Lord commanded. He presented Joshua to Eleazar the priest and the whole community. ²³ Moses laid his hands on him and commissioned him to lead the people, just as the Lord had commanded through Moses.

The Daily Offerings

28 The Lord said to Moses, ² “Give these instructions to the people of Israel: The offerings you present as special gifts are a pleasing aroma to me; they are my food. See to it that they are brought at the appointed times and offered according to my instructions.

³ “Say to the people: This is the special gift you must present to the Lord as your daily burnt offering. You must offer two one-year-old male lambs with no defects. ⁴ Sacrifice one lamb in the morning and the other in the evening. ⁵ With each lamb you must offer a grain offering of two quarts^[d] of choice flour mixed with one quart^[e] of pure oil of pressed olives. ⁶ This is the regular burnt offering instituted at Mount Sinai as a special gift, a pleasing aroma to the Lord. ⁷ Along with it you must present the proper liquid offering of one quart of alcoholic drink with each lamb, poured out in the Holy Place as an offering to the Lord. ⁸ Offer the second lamb in the evening with the same grain offering and liquid offering. It, too, is a special gift, a pleasing aroma to the Lord.

The Sabbath Offerings

⁹ “On the Sabbath day, sacrifice two one-year-old male lambs with no defects. They must be accompanied by a grain offering of four quarts^[f] of choice flour moistened with olive oil, and a liquid offering. ¹⁰ This is the burnt offering to be presented each Sabbath day, in addition to the regular burnt offering and its accompanying liquid offering.

The Monthly Offerings

¹¹ “On the first day of each month, present an extra burnt offering to the Lord of two young bulls, one ram, and seven one-year-old male lambs, all with no defects. ¹² These must be accompanied by grain offerings of choice flour moistened with olive oil—six quarts^[g] with each bull, four quarts with the ram, ¹³ and two quarts with each lamb. This burnt offering will be a special gift, a pleasing aroma to the Lord. ¹⁴ You must also present a liquid offering with each sacrifice: two quarts^[h] of wine for each bull, a third of a gallon^[i] for the ram, and one quart^[j] for each lamb. Present this monthly burnt offering on the first day of each month throughout the year.

¹⁵ “On the first day of each month, you must also offer one male goat for a sin offering to the Lord. This is in addition to the regular burnt offering and its accompanying liquid offering.

Offerings for the Passover

¹⁶ “On the fourteenth day of the first month,^[k] you must celebrate the Lord’s Passover. ¹⁷ On the following day—the fifteenth day of the month—a joyous, seven-day festival will begin, but no bread made with yeast may be eaten. ¹⁸ The first day of the festival will be an official day for holy assembly, and no ordinary work may be done on that day. ¹⁹ As a special gift you must present a burnt offering to the Lord—two young bulls, one ram, and seven one-year-old male lambs, all with no defects. ²⁰ These will be accompanied by grain offerings of choice flour moistened with olive oil—six quarts with each bull, four quarts with the ram, ²¹ and two quarts with each of the seven lambs. ²² You must also offer a male goat as a sin offering to purify yourselves and make yourselves right with the Lord.^{[l] 23} Present these offerings in addition to your regular morning burnt offering. ²⁴ On each of the seven days of the festival, this is how you must prepare the food offering that is presented as a special gift, a pleasing aroma to the Lord. These will be offered in addition to the regular burnt offerings and liquid offerings. ²⁵ The seventh day of the festival will be another official day for holy assembly, and no ordinary work may be done on that day.

Offerings for the Festival of Harvest

²⁶ “At the Festival of Harvest,^[m] when you present the first of your new grain to the Lord, you must call an official day for holy assembly, and you may do no ordinary work on that day. ²⁷ Present a special burnt offering on that day as a pleasing aroma to the Lord. It will consist of two young bulls, one ram, and seven one-year-old male lambs. ²⁸ These will be accompanied by grain offerings of choice flour moistened with olive oil—six quarts with each bull, four quarts with the ram, ²⁹ and two quarts with each of the seven lambs. ³⁰ Also, offer one male goat to purify yourselves and make yourselves right with the Lord. ³¹ Prepare these special burnt offerings, along with their liquid offerings, in addition to the regular burnt offering and its accompanying grain offering. Be sure that all the animals you sacrifice have no defects.