Bible Strands
Numbers 27:3
“Our father died in the wilderness, but he was not among the followers of Korah who gathered together against the LORD. Instead, he died because of his own sin, and he had no sons.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The daughters of Zelophehad stand before Moses, Eleazar the priest, the leaders, and the whole congregation at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. They speak to clarify their father’s death and establish their legal claim to his property.
The words — The Hebrew phrase בְּתוֹךְ הָעֵדָה (be./Tokh / ha./'e.Dah) literally means “in the company” or “among the congregation.” It explicitly locates their father outside the rebel group that opposed the LORD.
The thread — The separation of individual guilt from corporate consequence appears in Numbers 14:35, Numbers 26:64, and Ezekiel 18:4. These passages collectively track the census exclusions and the principle that each person bears their own sin.
Why it lands — The text requires the reader to distinguish between a man’s personal failure and his family’s legal standing. It demands that inheritance rights be secured through documented lineage rather than overridden by assumed collective punishment.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Our father died in the wilderness, and he was not in the company of them that gathered themselves together against the Lord in the company of Korah; but died in his own sin, and had no sons.
Cross-references
- Numbers 26:64 Among all these, however, there was not one who had been numbered by Moses and Aaron the priest when they counted the Israelites in the Wilderness of Sinai.
- Numbers 14:35 I, the LORD, have spoken, and I will surely do these things to this entire wicked congregation, which has conspired against Me. They will meet their end in the wilderness, and there they will die.”
- Ezekiel 18:4 Behold, every soul belongs to Me; both father and son are Mine. The soul who sins is the one who will die.
- Numbers 16:1 Now Korah son of Izhar, the son of Kohath son of Levi, along with some Reubenites—Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab, and On son of Peleth—conducted
- Numbers 16:19 When Korah had gathered his whole assembly against them at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, the glory of the LORD appeared to the whole congregation.
- Numbers 16:32 and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them and their households—all Korah’s men and all their possessions.
- Numbers 16:49 But those who died from the plague numbered 14,700, in addition to those who had died on account of Korah.
- Numbers 26:9 and the sons of Eliab were Nemuel, Dathan, and Abiram. It was Dathan and Abiram, chosen by the congregation, who rebelled against Moses and Aaron with the followers of Korah who rebelled against the LORD.
- Numbers 26:33 Now Zelophehad son of Hepher had no sons but only daughters. The names of his daughters were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah.
- John 8:21 Again He said to them, “I am going away, and you will look for Me, but you will die in your sin. Where I am going, you cannot come.”