Overview
The Bible addresses daughter across 36 verses, drawn from the Old Testament. These passages cluster most in Numbers, Exodus and Joshua. Closely related themes include Zelophehad, Noah, Land and Mahlah. Figures whose stories touch this theme include Moses, Zelophehad, Eleazar and Caleb.
Key Bible verses about daughter
Old Testament
Exodus
And if a man sell his daughter to be a maidservant, she shall not go out as the menservants do.
If she please not her master, who hath betrothed her to himself, then shall he let her be redeemed: to sell her unto a strange nation he shall have no power, seeing he hath dealt deceitfully with her. please: Heb. be evil in the eyes of, etc
And if he have betrothed her unto his son, he shall deal with her after the manner of daughters.
If he take him another wife; her food, her raiment, and her duty of marriage, shall he not diminish.
Numbers
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.
And they stood before Moses, and before Eleazar the priest, and before the princes and all the congregation, by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, saying,
Our father died in the wilderness, and he was not in the company of them that gathered themselves together against the LORD in the company of Korah; but died in his own sin, and had no sons.
Why should the name of our father be done away from among his family, because he hath no son? Give unto us therefore a possession among the brethren of our father. done: Heb. diminished
And Moses brought their cause before the LORD.
And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
The daughters of Zelophehad speak right: thou shalt surely give them a possession of an inheritance among their father's brethren; and thou shalt cause the inheritance of their father to pass unto them.
And thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If a man die, and have no son, then ye shall cause his inheritance to pass unto his daughter.
And if he have no daughter, then ye shall give his inheritance unto his brethren.
And if he have no brethren, then ye shall give his inheritance unto his father's brethren.
And if his father have no brethren, then ye shall give his inheritance unto his kinsman that is next to him of his family, and he shall possess it: and it shall be unto the children of Israel a statute of judgment, as the LORD commanded Moses.
And the chief fathers of the families of the children of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, of the families of the sons of Joseph, came near, and spake before Moses, and before the princes, the chief fathers of the children of Israel:
And they said, The LORD commanded my lord to give the land for an inheritance by lot to the children of Israel: and my lord was commanded by the LORD to give the inheritance of Zelophehad our brother unto his daughters.
And if they be married to any of the sons of the other tribes of the children of Israel, then shall their inheritance be taken from the inheritance of our fathers, and shall be put to the inheritance of the tribe whereunto they are received: so shall it be taken from the lot of our inheritance. whereunto: Heb. unto whom they shall be
And when the jubile of the children of Israel shall be, then shall their inheritance be put unto the inheritance of the tribe whereunto they are received: so shall their inheritance be taken away from the inheritance of the tribe of our fathers.
And Moses commanded the children of Israel according to the word of the LORD, saying, The tribe of the sons of Joseph hath said well.
This is the thing which the LORD doth command concerning the daughters of Zelophehad, saying, Let them marry to whom they think best; only to the family of the tribe of their father shall they marry. marry: Heb. be wives
So shall not the inheritance of the children of Israel remove from tribe to tribe: for every one of the children of Israel shall keep himself to the inheritance of the tribe of his fathers. keep: Heb. cleave to the, etc
And every daughter, that possesseth an inheritance in any tribe of the children of Israel, shall be wife unto one of the family of the tribe of her father, that the children of Israel may enjoy every man the inheritance of his fathers.
Neither shall the inheritance remove from one tribe to another tribe; but every one of the tribes of the children of Israel shall keep himself to his own inheritance.
Even as the LORD commanded Moses, so did the daughters of Zelophehad:
For Mahlah, Tirzah, and Hoglah, and Milcah, and Noah, the daughters of Zelophehad, were married unto their father's brothers' sons:
And they were married into the families of the sons of Manasseh the son of Joseph, and their inheritance remained in the tribe of the family of their father. into: Heb. to some that were of the families
These are the commandments and the judgments, which the LORD commanded by the hand of Moses unto the children of Israel in the plains of Moab by Jordan near Jericho.
Joshua
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.
And they came near before Eleazar the priest, and before Joshua the son of Nun, and before the princes, saying, The LORD commanded Moses to give us an inheritance among our brethren. Therefore according to the commandment of the LORD he gave them an inheritance among the brethren of their father.
And there fell ten portions to Manasseh, beside the land of Gilead and Bashan, which were on the other side Jordan;
Because the daughters of Manasseh had an inheritance among his sons: and the rest of Manasseh's sons had the land of Gilead.
Judges
1 Samuel
And Michal Saul's daughter loved David: and they told Saul, and the thing pleased him. pleased him: Heb. was right in his eyes
And Saul said, I will give him her, that she may be a snare to him, and that the hand of the Philistines may be against him. Wherefore Saul said to David, Thou shalt this day be my son in law in the one of the twain.
People in the Bible and daughter
Biblical figures whose stories intersect with this theme.
In the Bible dictionary
Studying daughter for yourself
- Begin with Exodus 21:7, then read the passages below in canonical order.
- Compare how Numbers, Exodus and Joshua each treat the theme.
- Consider the lives of Moses, Zelophehad and Eleazar and how their stories intersect with it.
- Widen the study to related themes: Zelophehad, Noah, Land and Mahlah.
Frequently asked questions
What does the Bible say about daughter?
The Bible addresses daughter across 36 verses, drawn from the Old Testament. These passages cluster most in Numbers, Exodus and Joshua. Closely related themes include Zelophehad, Noah, Land and Mahlah. Figures whose stories touch this theme include Moses, Zelophehad, Eleazar and Caleb.
How many Bible verses are about daughter?
The Bible references daughter in 36 verses (King James Version).
Where does the Bible first mention daughter?
In canonical order, the first of these passages is Exodus 21:7: “And if a man sell his daughter to be a maidservant, she shall not go out as the menservants do.”
Which people in the Bible are associated with daughter?
Moses, Zelophehad, Eleazar, Caleb and Achsah.
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