What Does Joshua 17:3 Mean?
But Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, had no sons, but daughters; and these are the names of his daughters, Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah.
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
But Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, had no sons, but daughters: and these are the names of his daughters, Mahlah, and Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah.THE KEY
When the expected sons are absent, the line does not become nameless: five daughters carry it forward by name.
THE MEANING
A family line can remain present without sons. The five daughters are named individually, each kept visible in the family record.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
A line without sons has no descendants worth naming.
THE ROOT
נֹעָה
No'ah
GROWS FROM
נוע
nua
To move, sway, or be set in motion.
The KJV spelling “Noah” hides that this daughter’s Hebrew name is נֹעָה (No’ah, “movement”), from נוע (nua, “to move”). It is distinct from נֹחַ (Noach, “rest”), the name of Noah in Genesis; the English spelling folds two names with different roots together.
ALSO GROWS
nua: To move or sway.
נוּעַ
This verb shares the movement root carried by No’ah’s name.
tenu'ah: Movement or motion.
תְּנוּעָה
This noun makes the movement within No’ah’s name visible as a root family.
THE PATTERN
Naming keeps an individual distinct and recognizable within a larger story or group.
And God said to Abraham, As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her Sarai, but her name shall be Sarah, princess.When the days had come around, Hannah conceived and bore a son, and called his name Samuel, the asked-for one, saying, Because I have asked him of the LORD.To him the gatekeeper opens, and the sheep hear and respond to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name, and leads them out.THE THREAD
The daughters of Zelophehad speak what stands firm. You shall surely give them a holding of inheritance among their father's brothers, and you shall cause the inheritance of their father to pass over to them.Joshua 17:3 gives the five women their names; Numbers 27:7 gives their claim an outcome, saying the inheritance passes to them. The absence of sons does not erase their place in the family line.
Read the SDV Bible.
Every verse has a Deep Dive in the app.
The iPhone Bible app with the Selah Decoded Version.
Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us