Journal: Priscilla Papers
Volume: PP 39:1 (Winter 2025)
Article: Inheriting Church Ministry: The Daughters Of Zelophehad In Numbers 27:1–11
Author: Jazmine Lawrence

PP 39:1 (Winter 2025) p. 19

Inheriting Church Ministry: The Daughters Of Zelophehad In Numbers 27:1–11

Jazmine Lawrence

Jazmine Lawrence lives in Nova Scotia, Canada, with her husband and son and attends Acadia Divinity College as an MA (Theology) student. She hails from Vancouver, British Columbia, growing up as one of five girls before spending fourteen years in the Royal Canadian Air Force.

Numbers 27:1–11, the brief story of the five daughters of Zelophehad, has been historically used as a proof text to address issues involving women and inheritance, usually in support of patriarchy.1 In response, the passage is decried by modern feminists in the way it and its Numbers 36 epilogue appear to uphold abusive “patriarchal ideals” and “safeguard” patriarchy.2 This alternate reading is worth paying attention to, especially when the daughters of Zelophehad have been used in present-day patriarchal Christianity to represent “bold women” who have “the same dominion mandate as men” but nevertheless fulfill the role differently by having a “gentle and quiet spirit” as “submissive learners and followers” of men.3 Can Zelophehad’s daughters offer more than this to men and women in the church?

To answer this question, we begin by examining the literary setting of the narrative in the book of Numbers, go on to study the narrative itself, and then draw implications for the present-day church.

Literary Context: Numbers 25–27

Some view the book of Numbers as an undiscerning mix of sources and genres,4 even accusing it of “ostensible disorganization” and “structural confusion.”5 However, the book’s structure can be shown to demonstrate purposeful order, elegantly serving the Torah’s theme of nation-formation.6 The narrative follows Israel as it emerges from the sacred time and space of Sinai to actively take ownership of the land God will give them.7 The book opens with a census (chs. 1–4), followed by instruction (chs. 5–10). Chapter 11 alerts the reader to the peoples’ negative attitudes: they are not ready to inherit Canaan, so the generation that came up from Egypt is to be wiped o...