Milcah

Who Milcah is

Milcah belongs to the five-daughter household of Zelophehad in Manasseh. Numbers names her with Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah and Tirzah, then records the sisters' joint request for their father's inheritance. They ask why his name should disappear because he left no son. Moses takes the case before the Lord, who affirms the request and directs that the property pass to them. Their names return in Joshua when they ask Eleazar and Joshua to honor that command, and the narrative reports that they receive a share among their father's relatives.

Cited passages: Numbers 26:33, Numbers 27:1, Numbers 27:2, Numbers 27:3, Numbers 27:4, Numbers 27:5, Numbers 27:6, Numbers 27:7, Numbers 27:8, Joshua 17:3, Joshua 17:4, Joshua 17:5, Joshua 17:6

Historical setting

Milcah is identified through Zelophehad, Hepher, Gilead and Machir in the Manasseh lineage. The inheritance law retains a son's priority and provides for a daughter when there is no son. The later marriage rule concerns daughters who possess an inheritance and requires marriage within the father's tribal family. Milcah is named among the sisters who marry sons of their father's brothers. This condition keeps their land within Manasseh; the text does not supply the individual husbands' names.

Cited passages: Numbers 27:1, Numbers 27:7, Numbers 27:8, Numbers 27:9, Numbers 27:10, Numbers 27:11, Numbers 36:6, Numbers 36:7, Numbers 36:8, Numbers 36:9, Numbers 36:10, Numbers 36:11, Numbers 36:12

How the story is told

Milcah is individually named while the sisters speak and act together. Their story moves from the absence of a male heir to the recognition of the daughters as inheritors, then addresses the tribal consequences of their marriages. The final allocation account recalls the earlier command rather than presenting their share as a new, unexplained gift. No separate speech or personal motive is assigned to Milcah in these passages.

Cited passages: Numbers 26:33, Numbers 27:1, Numbers 27:2, Numbers 27:3, Numbers 27:4, Numbers 27:5, Numbers 27:6, Numbers 27:7, Numbers 27:8, Numbers 27:9, Numbers 27:10, Numbers 27:11, Numbers 36:1, Numbers 36:2, Numbers 36:3, Numbers 36:4, Numbers 36:5, Numbers 36:6, Numbers 36:7, Numbers 36:8, Numbers 36:9, Numbers 36:10, Numbers 36:11, Numbers 36:12, Joshua 17:3, Joshua 17:4, Joshua 17:5, Joshua 17:6

Story moments

1. Milcah is named (Numbers 26:33). Milcah appears in the list of Zelophehad's daughters.
2. A rule follows the request (Numbers 27:8). The inheritance ruling provides for a daughter when a man leaves no son.
3. The earlier command is invoked (Joshua 17:4). The sisters appeal to the command given to Moses and receive an inheritance.

Key passages

Numbers 26:33

And Zelophehad the son of Hepher had no sons, but daughters: and the names of the daughters of Zelophehad were Mahlah, and Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah.

Numbers 27:1

Then came the daughters of Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, of the families of Manasseh the son of Joseph: and these are the names of his daughters; Mahlah, Noah, and Hoglah, and Milcah, and Tirzah.

Numbers 36:11

For Mahlah, Tirzah, and Hoglah, and Milcah, and Noah, the daughters of Zelophehad, were married unto their father’s brothers’ sons:

Joshua 17:3

But Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, had no sons, but daughters: and these are the names of his daughters, Mahlah, and Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah.

King James Version. 4 indexed passages in total.

For reflection

What is the effect of naming each woman in an account of a shared claim? How do the passages hold the family's inheritance and the tribe's continuing possession together?

Books Milcah appears in

• Numbers
• Joshua

Related people

• Moses
• Jacob
• Joseph (OT)
• Mahlah
• Noah (Zelophehad's daughter)
• Hoglah
• Tirzah
• Joshua