Zelophehad

Zelophehad was a Manassite who died in the wilderness leaving only daughters and no sons (Numbers 27:1–11; 36:1–12; Joshua 17:3–6). His five daughters — Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah — brought their case before Moses, Eleazar, and the whole congregation, arguing that their father's name should not disappear from his clan because he had no son. Their petition succeeded: God ruled through Moses that daughters may inherit when there is no son, establishing a landmark legal precedent in Israelite property law. Numbers 36 adds the requirement that such daughters marry within their own tribe to prevent the transfer of tribal land.

Zelophehad's daughters are cited in Joshua 17:3–6 as actually receiving their inheritance, and they reappear in 1 Chronicles 7:15 in the Manassite genealogy. Their case became a touchstone for discussions of inheritance law in later rabbinic tradition.