NOTES for Num 27:1-23

The story with the daughters of Zelophehad can seem a typical example of the triumph of the clan over the individual, over the person. Indeed, the main meaning of this story, at least at first glance, lies precisely in the fact that the clan must be preserved no matter what, despite all turns of events; and if no men remain in the clan who could inherit the name and the family allotment, then it must be preserved through the female line, even if such preservation looks somewhat artificial. There is a known share of truth in such a view: in those days Jewry was a tribal union, and a tribe consisted of large patriarchal clans, so that the disappearance of a clan weakened in every respect the tribe to which the vanished clan belonged. There was, however, something else too.

God creates His people precisely as a people, as a single whole, not only ethnic but also spiritual. He creates a people-community, where every person matters, not a collective in which no one is irreplaceable. A person is not simply a function, and a clan is not simply a structural unit. It is no accident that the story speaks of preserving the name. Here, of course, the clan name is meant, which is identified with the clan as such, with its identity within the tribe and therefore within the people.

At the same time, for God every clan is unique just as every person is unique, and for Him uniqueness, whether of an individual person or of a whole clan, is also connected with a name, personal or clan name respectively. For God, of course, a name has no determining significance; He simply knows each one individually and all together directly, in the whole fullness and depth of their existence. And yet God even finds a name for Himself and reveals it to people; He knows what a name means for us human beings, how closely it is connected for us with the person who bears it.

Of course, a name is a name; in itself it contains nothing magical or supernatural. But an intention is connected with a name, the intention we direct toward others or that others direct toward us. The intention takes the form of a name with which its bearer associates himself, and this makes encounter, contact, and mutual understanding easier. This uniqueness of every person and every community before God and people is what compels the preservation of the clan's name in the tribe and in the people, so that the people may not become spiritually impoverished.