While the Israelites were still camped on the plains of Moab, by the Jordan across from Jericho, the family heads of the clan of Gilead—descendants of Makir, the son of Manasseh, from the tribe of Joseph—came before Moses and the leaders.
They said, "Lord, when the Lord commanded that the land be given to the Israelites by lot, He also ordered that the inheritance of our brother Zelophehad be given to his daughters. But if these daughters marry men from other tribes, their land will pass to those tribes. When the Year of Jubilee comes, their property will leave our tribe and become part of another's inheritance. That would take away from the portion of land belonging to our ancestors."
Moses listened, and at the Lord's command replied, "What the descendants of Joseph have said is right. This is the command of the Lord: The daughters of Zelophehad may marry whomever they please, but only within their own tribal clan. No inheritance in Israel is to move from tribe to tribe. Every Israelite must keep the land inherited from his fathers."
Thus, any daughter who inherits land must marry within her father's tribe so that each family's portion remains secure. No inheritance is ever to pass from one tribe to another, for the land each tribe receives must stay within its boundaries forever.
And so Zelophehad's daughters—Mahlah, Tirzah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Noah—did exactly as the Lord had commanded through Moses. They married their cousins within the tribe of Manasseh, son of Joseph. By doing so, their inheritance remained within their father's clan and tribe.
These were the final commands and laws the Lord gave to Israel through Moses while they were still on the plains of Moab, by the Jordan, across from Jericho—just before they entered the Promised Land.