Portion 41 of 54 · Numbers
פִּינְחָס
Pinchas
Five sisters walk up to Moses and ask for their father's land, and the law is changed.
Start by reading it
Numbers 25:10–30:1
6 chapters. About 24 minutes at an unhurried pace.
Paired reading from the prophets: 1 Kings 18:46–19:21
What happens
- 01
Phinehas is given a covenant of peace after a violent act at Peor.
- 02
A new census: the generation that left Egypt is gone.
- 03
The daughters of Zelophehad, who had no brother, stand before Moses and ask for an inheritance.
- 04
God says they are right. Joshua is appointed. The festival offerings are listed.
The thing most people walk past
'They speak right'
Moses does not know the answer and takes the case to God, and the ruling goes to the five women. A law in the Torah exists because five people said the existing rule was unjust and were listened to.
One verse to carry
The daughters of Zelophehad speak right.
Four words that changed inheritance law. The Torah records the objection and the amendment, and names all five women.
A question to sit with
The story sits right after a zealot's violence. Why place a lawful petition and a violent act side by side?
There is no answer key. This is the part you take with you.