Numbers 27:2
New International Version
and stood before Moses, Eleazar the priest, the leaders and the whole assembly at the entrance to the tent of meeting and said,

New Living Translation
These women stood before Moses, Eleazar the priest, the tribal leaders, and the entire community at the entrance of the Tabernacle.

English Standard Version
And they stood before Moses and before Eleazar the priest and before the chiefs and all the congregation, at the entrance of the tent of meeting, saying,

Berean Standard Bible
the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, stood before Moses, Eleazar the priest, the leaders, and the whole congregation, and said,

Berean Literal Bible
And they stood before the face of Moses and before the face of Eleazar the priest and before the face of the leaders and all the congregation at the opening of the Tent of Meeting, saying,

King James Bible
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,

New King James Version
And they stood before Moses, before Eleazar the priest, and before the leaders and all the congregation, by the doorway of the tabernacle of meeting, saying:

New American Standard Bible
They stood before Moses, before Eleazar the priest, before the leaders, and all the congregation at the entrance of the tent of meeting, saying,

NASB 1995
They stood before Moses and before Eleazar the priest and before the leaders and all the congregation, at the doorway of the tent of meeting, saying,

NASB 1977
And they stood before Moses and before Eleazar the priest and before the leaders and all the congregation, at the doorway of the tent of meeting, saying,

Legacy Standard Bible
And they stood before Moses and before Eleazar the priest and before the leaders and all the congregation, at the doorway of the tent of meeting, saying,

Amplified Bible
They stood before Moses, Eleazar the priest, the leaders, and all the congregation at the doorway of the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle), saying,

Berean Annotated Bible
the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, stood before Moses (drawn out), Eleazar (God has helped) the priest, the leaders, and the whole congregation, and said,

Christian Standard Bible
They stood before Moses, the priest Eleazar, the leaders, and the entire community at the entrance to the tent of meeting and said,

Holman Christian Standard Bible
They stood before Moses, Eleazar the priest, the leaders, and the entire community at the entrance to the tent of meeting and said, “

American Standard Version
And they stood before Moses, and before Eleazar the priest, and before the princes and all the congregation, at the door of the tent of meeting, saying,

Contemporary English Version
One day his daughters went to the sacred tent, where they met with Moses, Eleazar, and some other leaders of Israel, as well as a large crowd of Israelites. The young women said:

English Revised Version
And they stood before Moses, and before Eleazar the priest, and before the princes and all the congregation, at the door of the tent of meeting, saying,

GOD'S WORD® Translation
to Moses and stood in front of him, the priest Eleazar, the leaders, and the whole community at the entrance to the tent of meeting. They said,

Good News Translation
They went and stood before Moses, Eleazar the priest, the leaders, and the whole community at the entrance of the Tent of the LORD's presence and said,

International Standard Version
Moses, Eleazar the priest, the elders, and the entire community at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, stood before them, and said,

NET Bible
And they stood before Moses and Eleazar the priest and the leaders of the whole assembly at the entrance to the tent of meeting and said,

New Heart English Bible
They stood before Moses, and before Eleazar the priest, and before the princes and all the congregation, at the door of the Tent of Meeting, saying,

Webster's Bible Translation
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,
Majority Text Translations
Majority Standard Bible
the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, stood before Moses, Eleazar the priest, the leaders, and the whole congregation, and said,

World English Bible
They stood before Moses, before Eleazar the priest, and before the princes and all the congregation, at the door of the Tent of Meeting, saying,
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
and stand before Moses, and before Eleazar the priest, and before the princes, and all the congregation, at the opening of the Tent of Meeting, saying,

Berean Literal Bible
And they stood before the face of Moses and before the face of Eleazar the priest and before the face of the leaders and all the congregation at the opening of the Tent of Meeting, saying,

Young's Literal Translation
and stand before Moses, and before Eleazar the priest, and before the princes, and all the company, at the opening of the tent of meeting, saying:

Smith's Literal Translation
And they will stand before Moses, and before Eleazar the priest, and before the chiefs, and all the assembly at the door of the tent of appointment, saying,
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
And they stood before Moses and Eleazar the priest, and all the princes of the people at the door of the tabernacle of the covenant, and said:

Catholic Public Domain Version
And they stood before Moses and Eleazar the priest, and all the leaders of the people, at the door of the tabernacle of the covenant, and they said:

New American Bible
Standing before Moses, Eleazar the priest, the princes, and the whole community at the entrance of the tent of meeting, they said:

New Revised Standard Version
They stood before Moses, Eleazar the priest, the leaders, and all the congregation, at the entrance of the tent of meeting, and they said,
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
And they stood before Moses and before Eleazar the priest and before the princes and all the congregation at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, saying,

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
And they stood before Moshe and before Eliazer the Priest and before the Princes and before all of the assembly in the door of the Time Tabernacle, and they were saying:
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
And they stood before Moses, and before Eleazar the priest, and before the princes and all the congregation, at the door of the tent of meeting, saying:

Brenton Septuagint Translation
and they stood before Moses, and before Eleazar the priest, and before the princes, and before all the congregation at the door of the tabernacle of witness, saying,

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
The Daughters of Zelophehad
1Now the daughters of Zelophehad son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, belonged to the clans of Manasseh son of Joseph. These were the names of his daughters: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. They approached 2the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, stood before Moses, Eleazar the priest, the leaders, and the whole congregation, and said, 3“Our father died in the wilderness, but he was not among the followers of Korah who gathered together against the LORD. Instead, he died because of his own sin, and he had no sons.…

Cross References
the entrance to the Tent of Meeting,

Leviticus 1:3
If his offering is a burnt offering from the herd, he is to present an unblemished male. He must bring it to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting for its acceptance before the LORD.

Leviticus 3:2
He is to lay his hand on the head of the offering and slaughter it at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. Then Aaron’s sons the priests shall splatter the blood on all sides of the altar.

Leviticus 4:4
He must bring the bull to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting before the LORD, lay his hand on the bull’s head, and slaughter it before the LORD.
stood before Moses,

Exodus 18:13
The next day Moses took his seat to judge the people, and they stood around him from morning until evening.

Exodus 18:14
When his father-in-law saw all that Moses was doing for the people, he asked, “What is this that you are doing for the people? Why do you sit alone as judge, with all the people standing around you from morning till evening?”

Exodus 18:16
“Whenever they have a dispute, it is brought to me to judge between one man and another, and I make known to them the statutes and laws of God.”
Eleazar the priest,

Numbers 20:25-28
Take Aaron and his son Eleazar and bring them up Mount Hor. / Remove Aaron’s priestly garments and put them on his son Eleazar. Aaron will be gathered to his people and will die there.” / So Moses did as the LORD had commanded, and they climbed Mount Hor in the sight of the whole congregation. …

Joshua 14:1
Now these are the portions that the Israelites inherited in the land of Canaan, as distributed by Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the heads of the families of the tribes of Israel.

Joshua 19:51
These are the inheritances that Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the heads of the families distributed by lot to the tribes of Israel at Shiloh before the LORD at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. So they finished dividing up the land.
the leaders,

Numbers 7:2
And the leaders of Israel, the heads of their families, presented an offering. These men were the tribal leaders who had supervised the registration.

Numbers 1:16
These men were appointed from the congregation; they were the leaders of the tribes of their fathers, the heads of the clans of Israel.

Deuteronomy 1:15
So I took the leaders of your tribes, wise and respected men, and appointed them as leaders over you—as commanders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens, and as officers for your tribes.
and the whole congregation,

Leviticus 4:13
Now if the whole congregation of Israel strays unintentionally and the matter escapes the notice of the assembly so that they violate any of the LORD’s commandments and incur guilt by doing what is forbidden,

Exodus 16:2
And there in the desert the whole congregation of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron.

Exodus 12:6
You must keep it until the fourteenth day of the month, when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel will slaughter the animals at twilight.
and said,

Joshua 17:4
They approached Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the leaders, and said, “The LORD commanded Moses to give us an inheritance among our brothers.” So Joshua gave them an inheritance among their father’s brothers, in keeping with the command of the LORD.


Treasury of Scripture

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,

Numbers 14:35
I the LORD have said, I will surely do it unto all this evil congregation, that are gathered together against me: in this wilderness they shall be consumed, and there they shall die.

Numbers 26:64,65
But among these there was not a man of them whom Moses and Aaron the priest numbered, when they numbered the children of Israel in the wilderness of Sinai…

in the company

Numbers 16:1-3
Now Korah, the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On, the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men: …

Numbers 26:9,10
And the sons of Eliab; Nemuel, and Dathan, and Abiram. This is that Dathan and Abiram, which were famous in the congregation, who strove against Moses and against Aaron in the company of Korah, when they strove against the LORD: …

died in his

Ezekiel 18:4
Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die.

John 8:21,24
Then said Jesus again unto them, I go my way, and ye shall seek me, and shall die in your sins: whither I go, ye cannot come…

Romans 5:12,21
Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: …

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Assembly Chiefs Company Congregation Door Doorway Eleazar Elea'zar Entrance Leaders Meeting Moses Opening Priest Princes Stand Tabernacle Tent Whole
Numbers 27
1. The daughters of Zelophehad ask for an inheritance
6. The law of inheritances
12. Moses, being told of his death, asks for a successor
18. Joshua is appointed to succeed him












the entrance to the Tent of Meeting
The Tent of Meeting, also known as the Tabernacle, was the central place of worship and the dwelling place of God's presence among the Israelites during their wilderness journey. It was a portable sanctuary that accompanied the Israelites and was the focal point for divine communication. The entrance to the Tent of Meeting was a significant location where important matters were addressed, symbolizing access to God and His guidance. This setting underscores the gravity of the situation and the reverence with which the petitioners approached their request.

stood before Moses
Moses was the leader and prophet of Israel, chosen by God to deliver His people from Egypt and guide them through the wilderness. Standing before Moses indicates a formal presentation of a case or request, acknowledging his authority and role as mediator between God and the people. This act of standing before Moses reflects the established order and respect for leadership within the Israelite community.

Eleazar the priest
Eleazar, the son of Aaron, served as the high priest after Aaron's death. The presence of Eleazar signifies the religious and ceremonial aspects of the issue at hand, as priests were responsible for maintaining the spiritual well-being of the nation and ensuring adherence to God's laws. His involvement highlights the importance of priestly oversight in matters of inheritance and legal decisions.

the leaders
The leaders, or elders, of Israel were representatives of the various tribes and clans, responsible for governance and decision-making within the community. Their inclusion in this assembly indicates that the matter being addressed had implications for the broader social and legal structure of Israel. It reflects the communal nature of decision-making and the importance of consensus among the leaders.

and the whole congregation
The involvement of the whole congregation emphasizes the public and communal nature of the proceedings. It suggests that the issue at hand was not only a private concern but one that affected the entire community. This phrase underscores the transparency and inclusivity of the decision-making process in Israelite society, where significant matters were addressed openly before the people.

and said
The act of speaking in this context implies a formal petition or request being made. It indicates that the individuals involved had a specific concern or issue they wished to bring before the leadership for resolution. This phrase sets the stage for the subsequent dialogue and decision-making process, highlighting the importance of communication and advocacy within the community.

Persons / Places / Events
1. Moses
The leader of the Israelites, chosen by God to lead His people out of Egypt and through the wilderness.

2. Eleazar the Priest
The son of Aaron, serving as the high priest after Aaron's death, responsible for the spiritual leadership of Israel.

3. The Leaders
The heads of the tribes of Israel, who were responsible for governance and decision-making among the people.

4. The Whole Congregation
The assembly of the Israelites, representing the entire community of God's people.

5. The Tent of Meeting
The sacred place where God communicated with Moses and where important decisions and judgments were made.
Teaching Points
Approaching God with Boldness
The daughters of Zelophehad approached the leaders with confidence. Believers today are encouraged to approach God with boldness in prayer and supplication.

The Importance of Community
The presence of the whole congregation signifies the importance of community in decision-making and spiritual matters. Christians are called to engage with their faith community for support and guidance.

Leadership and Responsibility
The involvement of Moses, Eleazar, and the leaders highlights the importance of godly leadership. Christians in leadership roles should seek wisdom and guidance from God in their responsibilities.

Respect for Sacred Spaces
The Tent of Meeting was a place of divine encounter. Believers should respect and honor places of worship as spaces for encountering God.

Advocacy for Justice
The daughters' plea for their inheritance rights demonstrates the importance of advocating for justice and fairness, a principle that remains relevant for Christians today.
Bible Study Questions and Answers
1. What is the meaning of Numbers 27:2?

2. How does Numbers 27:2 demonstrate the importance of seeking God's guidance in decisions?

3. What role did Moses play when the daughters of Zelophehad approached him for justice?

4. How can we apply the daughters' courage in Numbers 27:2 to our lives today?

5. What does Numbers 27:2 teach about approaching spiritual leaders with our concerns?

6. How does Numbers 27:2 connect with other biblical examples of seeking God's will?

7. Why did Zelophehad's daughters approach Moses in Numbers 27:2?

8. How does Numbers 27:2 address women's rights in biblical times?

9. What does Numbers 27:2 reveal about inheritance laws in ancient Israel?

10. What are the top 10 Lessons from Numbers 27?

11. Numbers 27:18-23: Where is the historical or archaeological evidence that Joshua's appointment actually took place as described?

12. Joshua 17:3-6: Is the story of Zelophehad's daughters inheriting land plausible in a strict patriarchal society, or does it conflict with known ancient customs?

13. In 2 Chronicles 26:16-20, is there any medical or historical basis to explain Uzziah's sudden outbreak of leprosy as divine punishment?

14. What does the Bible say about inheritance?
What Does Numbers 27:2 Mean
the entrance to the Tent of Meeting

- This was the recognized place where the LORD met with His people (Exodus 29:42-43).

- Matters brought here carried the weight of covenant accountability; nothing hidden, everything before God (Leviticus 1:1; Numbers 12:5).

- By appearing at the Tent’s entrance, the daughters of Zelophehad demonstrated faith that God Himself would hear and judge their plea (Psalm 62:8).


stood before Moses

- Moses was God’s appointed lawgiver and mediator (Exodus 18:15-16).

- Standing “before” him acknowledged his authority while anticipating a just ruling in line with the written statutes (Deuteronomy 31:9-12).

- Their posture reflects respect and confidence that God works through His chosen servant (Numbers 15:32-36).


Eleazar the priest

- Eleazar, son of Aaron, was now the high priest, the spiritual representative of the nation (Numbers 20:26-28).

- Including him ensured the matter would be considered not only legally but also ceremonially and morally (Leviticus 10:11).

- When they later receive their inheritance, Eleazar’s involvement confirms covenant continuity (Joshua 17:4).


the leaders

- These tribal heads served as judges and administrators (Exodus 18:21-22; Numbers 1:16).

- Involving them safeguarded every tribe’s interests and prevented future disputes (Deuteronomy 1:13-17).

- Their presence highlights that God’s law is applied communally, not in a vacuum.


and the whole congregation

- Public hearing provided transparency and set a precedent for all Israel (Leviticus 24:14; Deuteronomy 31:12).

- The assembly could witness God’s justice, reinforcing national unity around His statutes (Joshua 8:34-35).

- It modeled that no request was too personal to be aired before the faith community.


and said

- The daughters’ speech displays boldness rooted in covenant promises—“Ask, and it will be given to you” finds an early illustration here (cf. Matthew 7:7).

- Their words would soon prompt new legislation, showing that godly petitions can shape the community’s future (Hebrews 4:16; James 1:5).

- Speaking up affirmed their dignity as image-bearers and their trust that “righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne” (Psalm 89:14).


summary

Numbers 27:2 portrays a careful, orderly appeal made at the very doorway of God’s dwelling, before every level of divinely established authority. The scene teaches that believers may bring righteous concerns openly to God, confident that He hears, judges impartially, and can even expand our understanding of His law to ensure justice for all.

Verse 2. - By the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, i.e., evidently by the entrance of the sacred enclosure. Here, in the void space, in the midst of the camp, and close to the presence-chamber of God, the princes (i.e., the tribe princes who were engaged upon the census) and the representatives of the congregation assembled for the transaction of business and for the hearing of any matters that were brought before them.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
the entrance
פֶּ֥תַח (pe·ṯaḥ)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 6607: An opening, door, entrance way

to the Tent
אֹֽהֶל־ (’ō·hel-)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 168: A tent

of Meeting,
מוֹעֵ֖ד (mō·w·‘êḏ)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 4150: Appointed time, place, or meeting

stood
וַֽתַּעֲמֹ֜דְנָה (wat·ta·‘ă·mō·ḏə·nāh)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person feminine plural
Strong's 5975: To stand, in various relations

before
לִפְנֵ֣י (lip̄·nê)
Preposition-l | Noun - common plural construct
Strong's 6440: The face

Moses,
מֹשֶׁ֗ה (mō·šeh)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 4872: Moses -- a great Israelite leader, prophet and lawgiver

Eleazar
אֶלְעָזָ֣ר (’el·‘ā·zār)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 499: Eleazar -- 'God has helped', six Israelites

the priest,
הַכֹּהֵ֔ן (hak·kō·hên)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 3548: Priest

the leaders,
הַנְּשִׂיאִ֖ם (han·nə·śî·’im)
Article | Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 5387: An exalted one, a king, sheik, a rising mist

and the entire
וְכָל־ (wə·ḵāl)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 3605: The whole, all, any, every

congregation,
הָעֵדָ֑ה (hā·‘ê·ḏāh)
Article | Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 5712: A stated assemblage

and said,
לֵאמֹֽר׃ (lê·mōr)
Preposition-l | Verb - Qal - Infinitive construct
Strong's 559: To utter, say


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OT Law: Numbers 27:2 They stood before Moses and before Eleazar (Nu Num.)
Numbers 27:1
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