Bemidbar 36:5-9 – Tribalism

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Andrew Schein


Bemidbar 36:1-4 records that the elders of the tribe of Menashe were afraid that the tribe of Menashe would lose some of its land if the daughters of Tzelofhad, who were to inherit land, would marry outside of the tribe. 36:5-9 records that Moshe told them that their fears were justified and hence he instructed the daughters of Tzelofhad to marry men from the tribe of Menashe.

There are different opinions how to understand Moshe’s response. The Talmud quotes Shmuel (Baba Bathra 120a) that Moshe was only giving advice and the Ramban (on 36:7, again see Baba Bathra 120a) suggests that the law not to mix-up the tribal land was only for that generation. Both of these approaches are possible, but the simplest understanding of Moshe’s response is that restriction on who to marry was binding and for all generations since there is no indication in the Torah that this was just advice or a temporary law.

As pointed out by the Ramban (on 36:7) and the Bekhor Shor (on 36:9), it is not clear if restricting women who can inherit property to marry within their tribes, will stop land from “moving” to another tribe. 36:8 records that only if a woman is going to inherit land, then she cannot marry outside of her tribe, but the Torah does not limit all women from marrying outside of their tribe. This means that there could be a case where a woman has a brother or many brothers, who were supposed to inherit their father’s land, and the woman married outside of her tribe thinking that her brother(s) would inherit her father’s land. However, if her brother or brothers died without any children, then the woman would seem to inherit from her father even if she had married outside of her tribe. Yet, this case would probably not occur that much.

Why was it a problem if land “moved” from one tribe to another? What would be so bad if a person from one tribe lived and owned land amongst another tribe, as everybody was part of the same nation? Why did Moshe just not respond to the tribe of Menashe that it is not a problem if a person from another tribe would own land within their tribe? Also, just like the tribe of Menashe could have “lost” land, the tribe could have “gained” land if a person from the tribe married a woman who would inherit land from another tribe.

These questions are part of the larger question of why did the Jewish people maintain the tribal structure by the division of the land? Was this for legal reasons as maybe it was considered easier to judge people within one’s tribe? Was the tribal system considered a simpler way to administer a large nation? Or, was it that the tribal affinity was so great that people did not want to give it up even if it meant weakening the bonds of the nation as a whole?

Maybe the goal of maintaining tribes and their land was a way to maintain the names of the sons and even grandsons of Yaakov. The idea of keeping a name of their father is the claim of the daughters of Tzelofhad, 27:4, and is the basis for the law of yibbum, Devarim 25:6. This concern could also be with the names of the children of Yaakov, and the Jewish people are called in the Torah the sons of Yisrael, see for example 36:1,2,3,4,7,8,9,13. By distributing the land based on tribal names, this maintains the names of the sons of Yaakov and the two grandsons who Yaakov blessed in Bereshit 48. This same idea would then apply to not allowing some tribes to inherit land within other tribes since with the land “moving” within the tribes, it is theoretically possible that after enough years, a tribe’s land would lose its distinctive name.

A minor proof for this idea that the goal here is to maintain the names of the sons of Yaakov is that 36:1,5,12, three times refer to Menashe as the son of Yosef. This reference to Yosef is not necessary, but it does hint that the basis for the law to marry within the tribe is keep the name of Yosef, and then his brothers, the sons of Yaakov/ Yisrael.

Interestingly, to this day, the Jewish people are known based on the name of Yehuda, the fourth son of Yaakov.