Exposition of the Moral Law, Book 2 · Commandment 5 · Exercitation 8
EXERCITAT. VIII. Of the proviſion for the daughters. Commandement. V.
Num. 27.8. If a man die and have no ſonne, then yee ſhall cauſe his inheritance to paſſe unto his daughter.
THe Iewes ſay that in Iſrael there was a mutuall ſucceſſion and tranſmiſſion of the inheritance;Maimonides de primogenitura. Secondly, that there was tranſmiſſion, but not a ſucceſſion, and thirdly, that there was ſucceſſion, but not a tranſmiſſion; and fourthly, that there was neither tranſmiſſion, nor ſucceſſion.
Firſt, there was a mutuall ſucceſſion betwixt the father and the ſonne, when the child ſucceeded to his father, if his ſon died without children, he tranſmitted the inheritance back to his father again, although he were dead; and then the inheritance deſcended to the next brethren from the father, and ſo to the daughters if there were no brethren; and they ſucceeded not here as brothers to their brother who was dead, but as children to their father, as if he had beene alive; and the inheritance was tranſmitted upward, although it were even to Adam; therefore the Iewes ſay, that no man wanted an heire in Iſrael.
Secondly, the inheritance was tranſmitted, but there was no mutuall ſucceſſion. Example, the woman might tranſmit to her husband all which were hers, but ſhee could not ſucceed to her husband.
Thirdly, there was a ſucceſſion but not a tranſmiſſion, as the ſonne ſucceeded to his mother, but he could not tranſmit his right to her.
Fourthly, there was neither ſucceſſion nor tranſmiſſion, as theſe who were uterini, borne of one mother, but not begotten of one father; they did neither ſucceed to their brethren, nor yet was there any tranſmiſſion.
The inheritance deſcended to the males, and if they had no males, then it came to the daughters; and if the child was an Hermaphrodite,If there were no males to ſucceed, then the daughters ſucceeded. of whom they doubted whether hee was male or female, then the inheritance fell not to this Hermaphrodite, but hee was reckoned amongſt the daughters onelyonly, and got his portion amongſt them.
The promiſe was made at the firſt to Abraham, and to his ſeed;Children continue the name and memory of the familie. but ſeed here is chiefly meant the males, and therefore the Lord commanded them to bee circumciſed, and to carrie the badge of the covenant in their fleſh: the inheritance was firſt promiſed to the males, becauſe the males kept the memory of the family;foreign mas. foreign memoria. Zacar is called Mas, and Zecer is called memoria, therefore Euripides ſaid of the males foreign, columnae familiarum ſunt mares. Eſay. 60.10. foreign elegans paranomaſia. foreign filius a foreign filiare ſeptuag. foreign filiae a foreign oblitus eſt foreign oblivio. foreign libere.A Sonne is called Nin from Nun filiare, which the Seventy tranſlate foreign, permanere, becauſe by ſonnes the name is continued: Abſolon ſaid, 2. Sam. 18.18. I have no ſonne to preſerve my name. The daughters againe are called Naſhin a Naſha, oblitus fuit, to forget, becauſe the name of the familie is forgotten in them: hence amongſt the Greekes foreign, is called oblivio, becauſe when men want children, their name is forgotten.
The Lord commanded in his law Deut. 25.5. If a man die without children, and Mat. 24.24. foreign commonly is tranſlated filii, but not well, for the daughters ſucceeded likewiſe to the inheritance when there were no ſonnes, and therefore it ſhould bee rather tranſlated liberi, which comprehendeth both the males and females, for the word Zerang comprehendeth both.
The daughters raiſed up ſeed to the parents as well as the males did. Ruth. 4.11.The daughters raiſed up ſeed to their fathers. for the women built up the houſe.
When the daughters married within their owne tribe they continued their fathers name;What daughters raiſed up ſeed. but this is underſtood onelyonly of the daughters who were heretrixes in Iſrael, and had no brethren; they were bound to marry within their owne familie and tribe. Num. 36.8. but the males might marry in any tribe, becauſe the inheritance followed them, as David married Michol Sauls daughter of the tribe of Beniamin, The heretrixes were to marry in their owne tribes.and Ahinoam the Iezreeliteſſe, of the tribe of Iſſachar. 2. Sam. 3. So the females might marry with any tribe when they were not heretrixes.The men might marry in any tribe. So Saul gave his daughter to Hadriel the Ephramite, and his ſecond daughter to David who was of the tribe of Iudah; and then to Phalti who was of the tribe of Benjamin; and Caleb offered his daughter to any that would ſmite Kiriath-Sepher, and the reſt of the tribes ſwore that they would not give their daughters to the tribe of Benjamin, which ſheweth that it was uſuall to the tribes to marry together.
Thoſe who were not heretrixes might marry in any tribe,Women that were not heretrixes might marry in any tribe. therefore the vulgar tranſlation tranſlateth it not well. Num. 36. Every man ſhall marry a wife in his owne tribe and family, for it is not ſo in the originall, but this wayes, every one of the tribes of the children of Iſrael ſhall keepe himſelfe to his owne inheritance, and whereas the Lord ſaith, Verſ. 9. Neither ſhall the inheritance remove from one tribe to another; the vulgar tranſlation tranſlateth it badly, ne miſceantur tribus, as though the Lord commanded that one tribe ſhould not marry with another, which the Lord never forbad, unleſſe by the marriage there had followed a confuſion of the inheritances; the heretrix was ever ſtill bound to marry within her owne tribe, and her ſonne was to ſucceed to his grandfathers inheritance.
Queſt. How were the tribes kept diſtinguiſhed, ſeeing that they poſſeſſed lands in others tribes? Ioſh. 24.33. And Eleazer the ſonne of Aaron died, and they buried him in a hill that pertained to Phinehas his ſonne, which was given him in mount Ephraim. The Prieſts had no poſſeſſion in Iſrael, how had Phinehas this hill then? they ſay, that he had it by his mother who was the heretrix, and it fell to her ſonne; although he might have no inheritance by his father, yet he might have by his mother; and they ſay that the familes were ſtill diſtinguiſhed in Iſrael, although they dwelt in ſeverall tribes, and they knew foreign ſuam, although they were of another tribe, and this kept the tribes diſtinguiſhed.
Anſw. But ſeeing the Lord Num. 36.9. forbiddeth that the inheritance ſhould remove from one tribe to another, we muſt not reſt upon that anſwer, ſeeing the heretrix was bound to marry ſtill in her owne tribe; when the Lord ſpeaketh of the inheritance,What was meant by the inheritance. he meaneth of arable lands or vinyards which might not be ſold. Levit. 25.23.What lands or houſes might not be ſold. The land ſhall not be ſold for ever, for the land is mine. but a houſe or a garden within a walled citie might be ſold. Levit. 25.30. for that was not a part of the inheritance in Iſrael. When Pinchas got this hill, it is meant onelyonly of his habitation, and buriall place in his garden; he had not an inheritance of the land: So Hebron was a citie of the Levites, but Caleb had the fields thereof. Ioſh. 21.11, 12. And they gave them the citie of Arbah, the father of Anak, (which citie is Hebron) in the hill countrey of Iudah, with the ſuburbs round about it; but the fields of the citie, and the villages thereof they gave to Caleb the ſonne of Iephunneth for his poſſeſſion.
Obj. But it may be ſaid that Segub who was of the tribe of Manaſſeth had three and twenty cities in the land of Gilead 1. Chr. 2.22. Therefore a man in one tribe might poſſeſſe land in another tribe.
There was no confuſion of the tribes here, for the Anſw. 1 one halfe of the tribe of Manaſſeth, How Segub had cities in Manaſſeth.lay in the weſt ſide of Iordan, of which was Segub; and another part lay on the eaſt ſide where Gilead was, which was in the other halfe tribe of Manaſſeth.
Againe it may be anſwered, although they had beene Anſw. 2 diſtinct tribes; yet thoſe citties belonged not properly to the halfe tribe of Manaſſeth; but they were taken from the Geſhurites in Syria, and were not within the bounds of Canaan, and ſo any tribe might have poſſeſſed them, as well as they of Manaſſeth.
But if the tribes might marry together, Obj. then it might ſeeme that they ſhould have beene ſoone confounded; and wee ſhould not know of what tribe Chriſt came.
When the males married to any other tribe, Anſw. The women were rekoned to be of the tribe in which their husbands were.the women were reckoned ſtill to be of the tribe in which their husbands were of, and if the women were heretrixes, they behoved to marrie ſtill within their owne tribes.
If the woman might marry in another tribe, Ob. what if her brother died without children, then the inheritance ſhould have befalne to her husband and their children, and ſo the inheritances ſhould have beene confounded.
If a woman was once married in another tribe, Anſw. The inheritance came not to the woman that was married to another tribe. Why the heretrix was to marry in her owne tribe.and then her brother had dyed without children, the inheritance came not to her, but to the next in the kindred, as to the Vncles, and to their children, &c.
The heretrixe might marry none but in her owne familie, for then the inheritances might have beene confounded, her ſonne being heire to his fathers inheritance and to his grandfathers alſo by his mother; and by this we may underſtand why Mary being the heretrixe by right, married Ioſeph one of her owne familie and kindred.
Concluſion.The concluſion of this is, women ſucceeded unto the inheritance in Iſrael as well as the men did, therefore women are not ſecluded from the kingdome of God more then men, Galat. 3.28. There is neither Iew nor Greeke, bond nor free, neither male nor female, for they are all one in Chriſt.