Zelophehad’s daughters—Mahlah, Tirzah, Hoglah, Milkah and Noah—married their cousins on their father’s side. – Numbers 36:11

Today's Scripture Reading (February 16, 2025): Numbers 36

I think I have mentioned in this blog that my paternal grandparents were related to each other. They were eighth cousins, so it is not a close relation, but my grandmother never had to change her name; she was born a Mullen and remained so for the rest of her life. It is not that there are a lot of Mullens, but there are pockets of Mullens, so there are places where the name is dominant. But to put my grandparent’s marriage in perspective, I don’t know if I have ever met an eighth cousin, in fact I kind of doubt it. If I have, I didn’t know we were related. Rumor has it that my grandfather’s sister-in-law demanded that the family move far away from where the family had grown up because she didn’t want any of her kids to marry even an eighth cousin. Maybe that was a pragmatic move. 

Today we understand the damage that marrying within a clan can bring. But in a recent article, the benefits of cousins marrying were also highly stressed. Apparently, marriage between cousins increases the survival chances of children born to the union and also the number of children born. It also amazed me that while marriage between cousins is common in many parts of the world, it is not illegal in Canada. In fact, I was blown away by the assertion that four out of every 100 marriages in Canada are marriages between cousins. I am still not sure I believe it is that high. Maybe Canadians are all related to each other. After all, the population of Canada is just a little more than the population of the state of California. We are just spread farther apart.

Zelophehad’s five daughters were commanded to marry within their tribe. The reason for this was that the land that they were inheriting needed to stay within the tribe. Today, if I move, which I have done several times over the years, I don’t change the borders of a town or city to which I am relocating. I used to live in various places, but my residence decides where I live, I don’t make my new home a part of a different city just because I am living there. That was not true in ancient Israel. The fear was that if the daughters married men of a different tribe, the land would pass from the tribe of Manasseh to the tribe of their future husbands. At this moment, tribe identification was decided by the male. It would seem to change later in history, especially within the tribe of Benjamin after the almost eradication of the tribe during the time of the Judges. So, to keep the land in the tribe of Manasseh, the daughters of Zelophehad needed to make sure that they married within the tribe.

All five of the daughters not only married within the tribe, they married their first cousins; the sons of their father’s brother. And in doing so, they kept the memory of Zelophehad alive both in the tribe and in the family.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Deuteronomy 1