I am Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah

Numbers 27::1-11

The Daughters of Zelophehad

27Then the daughters of Zelophehad came forward. Zelophehad was son of Hepher son of Gilead son of Machir son of Manasseh son of Joseph, a member of the Manassite clans. The names of his daughters were: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. They stood before Moses, Eleazar the priest, the leaders, and all the congregation, at the entrance of the tent of meeting, and they said, ‘Our father died in the wilderness; he was not among the company of those who gathered themselves together against the Lord in the company of Korah, but died for his own sin; and he had no sons. Why should the name of our father be taken away from his clan because he had no son? Give to us a possession among our father’s brothers.’ ²³⁴

5 Moses brought their case before the Lord. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: The daughters of Zelophehad are right in what they are saying; you shall indeed let them possess an inheritance among their father’s brothers and pass the inheritance of their father on to them. You shall also say to the Israelites, ‘If a man dies, and has no son, then you shall pass his inheritance on to his daughter. If he has no daughter, then you shall give his inheritance to his brothers. If he has no brothers, then you shall give his inheritance to his father’s brothers. And if his father has no brothers, then you shall give his inheritance to the nearest kinsman of his clan, and he shall possess it. It shall be for the Israelites a statute and ordinance, as the Lord ^67891011commanded Moses.’

This is an amazing text that until 3 days ago, I was not aware even existed. At a conference in Chicago at an amazing seminary, this text was opened up to me in a bold way, stating that these women, these five beautiful, intelligent, amazing, smart, fabulous women managed to take hundreds of YEARS of tradition, present it in a daring way to Moses and the assembly, and change an injustice that had existed without second thought or glance for many generations.

So why have I named by blog Zelophehad's Daughter? Because I believe that if I am daring enough, if I am bold enough, I can change injustices, small or large, in a way that millions of dollars and a team of lawyers cannot. I believe that with faith in God and with courage, I can do anything. That mission is not easy, and I am sure that I will falter along the way. But is it something that I have come to recognize as a calling in my life from God for quite sometime now.

I am also writing this blog as a way to share my fears, frustrations, joys, hesitations, excitement, optimism, and experiences as I prepare to study in Tanzania's capital city Dar al Salaam for six months. Once I am there, I will be very isolated from everything that goes on in America with everyone that I love, so at least this will be a way for me to let you see a glimpse of what I will be doing, what I will be seeing, and what I will be learning.