Bible Discussion Thread

Most societies are patriarchical. In Israel tribal reckoning is through the male line. If a man has no male heir the inheritance passes to the daughter. If she marries into another tribe the inheritance passes to the tribe into which she marries. If this process continues one tribe can lose property to other tribes and will eventually become weak and impoverished and due to other factors might lose its identity. Also though the language suggests that the girls married their first cousins on their father's side the following verse clarifies that the girls were married within the tribe. Even a distant cousin is called a 'brother'.