1. Then the heads of the clans of Gilead—descendants of Makir, son of Manasseh, son of Joseph—came to Moses and the family leaders of Israel with a petition.
2. They said, “Sir, the lord instructed you to divide the land by sacred lot among the people of Israel. You were told by the lord to give the grant of land owned by our brother Zelophehad to his daughters.
3. But if they marry men from another tribe, their grants of land will go with them to the tribe into which they marry. In this way, the total area of our tribal land will be reduced.
4. Then when the Year of Jubilee comes, their portion of land will be added to that of the new tribe, causing it to be lost forever to our ancestral tribe.”
5. So Moses gave the Israelites this command from the lord: “The claim of the men of the tribe of Joseph is legitimate.
6. This is what the lord commands concerning the daughters of Zelophehad: Let them marry anyone they like, as long as it is within their own ancestral tribe.