Verses 5-9 form the second paragraph of chapter 36 (see the introductory comments on this section). NET Bible inserts a section heading here, which is “Moses’ Decision.” This heading is somewhat misleading since the decision came from the LORD through Moses.

And Moses commanded the people of Israel according to the word of the LORD, saying: According to the word of the LORD is literally “upon the mouth of the LORD.” Despite what this phrase might suggest, there is no indication here that Moses has just consulted an oracle. He is confronted in verses 2-4 with a consequence of the LORD’s ruling (in chapter 27) that had not been anticipated. Moses now interprets how the ruling is to be applied to the daughters of Zelophehad (verses 5-6). This phrase marks that act of interpretation as an extension of the revelation in chapter 27 (so Alter, page 865). That Moses faithfully followed the commandments of the LORD is a key theme in the book of Numbers (so Cole, page 561).

The tribe of the sons of Joseph is right: This clause is a clear echo of Moses’ earlier response to Zelophehad’s daughters in 27.7, where he said “The daughters of Zelophehad are right.” Therefore the renderings of both clauses should be consistent. The tribe of the sons of Joseph (also Revised English Bible, La Nouvelle Bible Segond, Reina-Valera revisida) is a literal rendering of the Hebrew. Other translations that follow the Hebrew are “the tribe of the descendants of Joseph” (TNIV), “Those descendants of Joseph” (Bible en français courant), “the men of the tribe of Joseph” (New Living Translation, SPCL, Nueva Traducción Viviente) and “the tribe of the Josephites” (NET Bible). The Hebrew text does not say “the tribe of Manasseh” (Good News Translation, La Biblia: Traducción en Lenguaje Actual; similarly Contemporary English Version, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, Bijbel in Gewone Taal). It is Joseph, not “Manasseh,” who is the first and most distant ancestor mentioned in verse 1. New Living Translation provides the following helpful model for this clause: “The claim of the men of the tribe of Joseph is legitimate.”

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 .