Scripture Daily

Context No. 1215 of 4322 · 1 Chronicles

Context · Reflection

1 Chronicles 7:13-19: in context

13The sons of Naphtali: Jahziel, Guni, Jezer, Shallum, and the sons of Bilhah. 14The sons of Manasseh: Asriel, whom his concubine the Aramitess bore. She bore Machir the father of Gilead. 15Machir took a wife of Huppim and Shuppim, whose sister’s name was Maacah. The name of the second was Zelophehad; and Zelophehad had daughters. 16Maacah the wife of Machir bore a son, and she named him Peresh. The name of his brother was Sheresh; and his sons were Ulam and Rakem. 17The sons of Ulam: Bedan. These were the sons of Gilead the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh. 18His sister Hammolecheth bore Ishhod, Abiezer, and Mahlah. 19The sons of Shemida were Ahian, Shechem, Likhi, and Aniam.

This is a stretch of genealogy through Naphtali and Manasseh, mostly a list of sons. But two small notices stand out. In the line of Manasseh, it mentions Zelophehad, and adds that Zelophehad had only daughters. And later it names Hammolecheth, a sister, who bore sons of her own. In a record that runs almost entirely father to son, a few women are named.

The notice about Zelophehad's daughters is worth pausing on, because their story is a striking one. Zelophehad died with no sons, and in a world where inheritance passed only through males, his daughters would have been left with nothing and their father's name erased. But those five daughters, named elsewhere, went to Moses and boldly argued their case: why should our father's name disappear because he had no son; give us an inheritance. And God ruled in their favor, changing the law so that daughters could inherit where there were no sons. Their courage and their appeal to justice actually altered the law of Israel. So when the genealogy pauses to note that Zelophehad had daughters, it is remembering women who refused to be erased and whom God vindicated. In a genealogy of fathers and sons, the daughters are named, and behind the name lies a story of God honoring the appeal of the overlooked. It is a quiet sign, tucked into a list, that God's concern reaches to those the ordinary structures would have left out, and that a bold appeal to his justice does not go unheard.

Do I believe, like Zelophehad's daughters, that God hears the bold appeal of those the ordinary structures would leave out, and honors those who refuse to be erased when they bring their cause to him?

Sources