Parashat HaShavua Pinchas / Phinehas
This Week's Reading List:
BaMidbar / Numbers 25:10-30:1
Yermiyahu / Jeremiah 1:1-2:3
Yochanan / John 2:13-20
Bamidbar {27:1} Then drew near the daughters of Zelophehad, ben (son of) Hepher, ben Gilead, ben Machir, ben Manasseh, of the families of Manasseh ben Yoseph; and these are the names of his daughters: Mahlah, Noach, and Hoglah, and Milcah, and Tirzah. {27:2} They stood before Moshe, and before El'azar the cohen (priest), and before the princes and all the congregation, at the door of the Ohel Moed (Tent of Meeting), saying, {27:3} Our 'av (father) died in the wilderness, and he was not among the company of those who gathered themselves together against HaShem in the company of Korach: but he died in his own sin; and he had no sons. {27:4} Why should the name of our 'av be taken away from among his family, because he had no son? Give to us a possession among the brothers of our 'av. {27:5} Moshe brought their cause before HaShem. {27:6} HaShem spoke to Moshe, saying, {27:7} The daughters of Zelophehad speak right: you shall surely give them a possession of an inheritance among their av-'s brothers; and you shall cause the inheritance of their 'av to pass to them. {27:8} You shall speak to bnei Yisrael (the children of Israel), saying, If an ish (man) die, and have no son, then you shall cause his inheritance to pass to his daughter.
Of all the Scriptures in the Brit Chadasha (Renewed Covenant) this one passage of Scripture has great significance when it come to Yeshua HaMashiach and his physical right to be king in Yisrael. How is that possible seeing as this passage of Scripture deals with the daughters of Zelophehad and the distribution of his inheritance during the time of Moshe? Zelophehad’s daughters, being women, were going to be disenfranchised from any inheritance because the inheritance and distribution of the land was to pass thought the sons and not through the daughters. Zelophehad died without a son, but he did have five daughters.
So how does this passage of Scripture have any significance to Yeshua HaMashiach? When we consider that the inheritance passed only through the son then the significance is great indeed. It all starts with Yeshua HaMashiach’s genealogy given to us by Uri (Luke).
Uri kept to strict Jewish laws in tracing the genealogy of Yeshua. In order for him to do that he could not mention the names of any women, not even Miriam, Yeshua’s mother. This is despite the fact that it was through her lineage that he was tracing the kingly line of Yeshua. Uri did not skip names in giving us his genealogy either, another strich Jewish law. Uri in his genealogy showed that Yeshua could be king because He was of the house of David, but not of King Jechoniah’s lineage upon which there was a curse.
Yermiyahu (Jeremiah) {22:28} Is this man Coniah a despised broken idol? Is he a vessel wherein is no pleasure? Wherefore are they cast out, he and his seed, and are cast into a land which they know not? {22:29} O earth, earth, earth, hear the Word of HaShem. {22:30} Thus say HaShem, Write this man childless, a man that shall not prosper in his days: for no man of his seed shall prosper, sitting upon the throne of David, and ruling any more in Judah.
Uri began his gospel with the virgin birth. He told us that Yeshua was supposedly the son of Yosef, but he was really the grandson of Heli. The fact is that Heli was the father of Miriam, but Yosef was not Yeshua’s father. Uri wanted to trace Yeshua’s genealogy through Miriam so he associated Him with Miriam’s father. In writings of the first and second centuries, rabbis commonly referred to Yeshua as “the son of Heli.” It is also not unknown in Jewish history to trace a man’s origin through his wife. That is what Uri was doing in his genealogy. He was tracing Yeshua’s lineage through Miriam, as Yosef’s wife; seeing as Yosef was not Yeshua’s father. Two Tanach (Hebrew Scriptures) examples of this method are found in Ezra 2:60-61, and Nehemiah 7:63. So it is not something unusual, even according to biblical standards.
What we found in Uri’s genealogy was the potential that Heli died and left only his daughter Miriam as his heir, and that he did not have a son. If this is true, then we can see from our Parasha this week that Miriam was allowed to receive her father’s inheritance. In addition, Miriam would have fulfilled the other Torah requirement of female inheritance by marrying one from her own tribe:
Bamidbar {36:6} This is the thing which HaShem does command concerning the daughters of Zelophehad, saying, Let them be married to whom they think best; only into the family of the tribe of their av shall they be married. {36:7} So shall no inheritance of bnei Yisrael remove from tribe to tribe; for bnei Yisrael shall cleave everyone to the inheritance of the tribe of his avot (fathers).
Both Miriam and Yosef were from the tribe of Y’hudah (Judah). This would have enabled her to pass on the inheritance of the Davidic lineage from her father to her Son. Therefore, Yeshua had legal right to be the physical King of Yisrael through his mother, Miriam. HaShem had prepared the way for Yeshua HaMashiach to be the eternal Melech Yisrael (King of Israel).
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Baruch HaShem
Rabbi Ya'acov Farber
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