complete verse (Numbers 27:7)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Numbers 27:7:

  • Kupsabiny: “‘It is true what those daughters of Zelophehad are asking for. You need to distribute land that comes from where the people of their house/family are to them. Give them what their father should have received.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “The matter that the daughters of Zelophehad have brought up is correct. You must give them property along with their father’s relatives in accordance with [their] inheritance. You are to hand over their father’s inheritance into their hands. ” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “‘What the female children of Zelofehad are-saying is right. You (sing.) must give them land together-with the blood-relatives of their father. Give to them the land which would have been for their father.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “‘What the daughters of Zelophehad are requesting is right. You must give them some land, just as you are giving to their father’s relatives. Give to each of them some of the land that would have been given to their brothers if they had any.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Numbers 27:7

The daughters of Zelophehad are right is literally “Right [thing] the daughters of Zelophehad are speaking.” The Hebrew construction here emphasizes that the daughters “have a valid claim” (NET). The Hebrew term for right (ken) means “firm,” “upright,” or “dependable.”

You shall give them possession of an inheritance among their father’s brethren: You shall give them renders an emphatic Hebrew expression, which is literally “to give you shall give them.” The Hebrew verb for give occurs twice here, first as an infinitive absolute and then as a finite verb. In English this emphasis may be expressed by saying “You must certainly give them” (New International Version) or “Indeed, you must apportion for them.” The Hebrew terms for possession (ʾachuzzah) and inheritance (nachalah) are very similar in meaning (see verse 4), so the literal translation possession of an inheritance (also NET) may seem awkward. The combination of these two synonyms can be interpreted as an intensification, so they may be rendered “a secure inheritance” (similarly Alter). New Revised Standard Version avoids a literal translation here by rendering this clause as “you shall indeed let them possess an inheritance among their father’s brothers,” and so does New International Version with “You must certainly give them property as an inheritance among their father’s relatives.” For their father’s brethren, see verse 4.

And cause the inheritance of their father to pass to them: Cause … to pass renders a causative form of the Hebrew verb meaning “pass over.” This verb form appears to mark what God says as an official decree or a legal ruling, so NET uses the verb “transfer.” The Hebrew pronoun for them is feminine, referring to the daughters, not to their uncles or other relatives. Some languages make the same distinction between a feminine and a masculine pronoun that can be made in Hebrew (for example, French and Spanish; see Nouvelle Bible Segond, Biblia Dios Habla Hoy, La Biblia Reina-Valera). In languages that do not make this distinction, translators may refer to the daughters explicitly by rendering them as “his daughters.” An alternative may be to rearrange the order of the last sentence in this verse in such a way that the pronoun them refers to the daughters unambiguously, for example, “You must certainly give them property as an inheritance and transfer their father’s inheritance over to them among their father’s brothers.”

Quoted with permission from de Regt, Lénart J. and Wendland, Ernst R. A Handbook on Numbers. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2016. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .