In verses 9-11 three specific case laws follow the one at issue with Zelophehad’s daughters (verse 8). Verses 9-10 reiterate the fact that inheritance in Israel was transferred to males on the father’s side. Wenham says, “The surviving male relatives are listed in order of closeness in verses 9-10.”

And if he has no daughter … And if he has no brothers …: The conjunction And may be omitted both times for naturalness (so Good News Bible).

You shall give his inheritance to his brothers … then you shall give his inheritance to his father’s brothers: The Hebrew pronoun for you is plural both times, referring to the people of Israel. Clearly, brothers is used here in the narrow sense of the word, not in the more general sense of “relatives” or “kinsmen.”

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 .