John Gill's Bible Commentary Ver. 1. And the chief fathers of the families of the children of Gilead , etc.] The princes, as Aben Ezra; so the Septuagint version, which was the tribe of Manasseh, whose grandson Gilead was, as follows: the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh of the families of the sons of Joseph, came near ; to the house of judgment, as the Targum of Jonathan, the sanhedrim or court of judicature, consisting of the following persons: and spoke before Moses ; the Septuagint version adds, “and before Eleazar the priest”, as in ( Numbers 27:2 32:2) and before the princes, the chief fathers of the children of Israel : the princes of the several tribes; or it may be rather the seventy elders.
Matthew Henry Commentary
Verses 1-4 - The heads of the tribe of Manasseh represent the evil which migh follow, if the daughters of Zelophehad should marry into any othe tribes. They sought to preserve the Divine appointment of inheritances and that contests and quarrels should not rise among those who shoul come afterwards. It is the wisdom and duty of those who have estates in the world, to settle them, and to dispose of them, so that no strif and contention may arise. (Nu 36:5-12)
Original Hebrew ויקרבו7126 ראשׁי7218 האבות1 למשׁפחת4940 בני1121 גלעד1568 בן1121 מכיר4353 בן1121 מנשׁה4519 ממשׁפחת4940 בני1121 יוסף3130 וידברו1696 לפני6440 משׁה4872 ולפני6440 הנשׂאים5387 ראשׁי7218 אבות1 לבני1121 ישׂראל׃3478
