Who was Hoglah in the Bible?

Hoglah was one of the five daughters of Zelophehad, from the tribe of Manasseh. She and her sisters are notable for petitioning Moses for the right to inherit their father's portion in the Promised Land since he had no sons (Numbers 27:1-11).

Why are Hoglah and her sisters significant?

Their case established a crucial legal precedent for inheritance rights for women in Israel. God ruled in their favor, ensuring their father's name and lineage would not be lost, which influenced future inheritance laws (Numbers 36).

What happened to Hoglah and her sisters?

They received their inheritance in the Promised Land as God commanded. To keep the land within their tribe, they were required to marry men from the clan of Manasseh, which they did (Numbers 36:10-12).

Hoglah

Old TestamentEgypt & WildernessFemaleDaughter

Hoglah was one of the five daughters of Zelophehad who received an inheritance in the Promised Land due to their father's lack of male heirs.

Hoglah

Biography

Hoglah was one of the five daughters of Zelophehad, a man of the tribe of Manasseh who died in the wilderness without male heirs. Together with her sisters Mahlah, Noah, Milcah, and Tirzah, Hoglah approached Moses, the priest Eleazar, and the leaders of Israel at the entrance to the tent of meeting with a bold legal petition: that their father's inheritance not be lost simply because he had no sons (Numbers 27:1–11). God affirmed their petition directly and commanded that daughters should inherit when there were no sons, a ruling enshrined in Israelite law. Hoglah and her sisters subsequently received their allotted portion in Canaan (Joshua 17:3–4) and were required by a supplementary ruling to marry within their tribe to preserve territorial boundaries (Numbers 36).

Significance

Hoglah and her sisters occupy a landmark place in the biblical legal tradition. Their petition prompted a groundbreaking ruling on inheritance rights, affirming that women could hold property within Israel's covenantal framework. More broadly, their story illustrates a recurring biblical pattern: when established legal structures fail to provide justice, a direct appeal to God's revealed will opens new possibilities. Their willingness to stand before the entire assembly, in a culture where such initiatives required extraordinary courage, reflects both legal acumen and covenant conviction. In Christian reading, their precedent anticipates the New Testament emphasis on the equal participation of all God's people in the inheritance of the kingdom (Galatians 3:28; Romans 8:17).

Authority Records

Wikidata

FatherZelophehadSiblingMahlahSiblingMilcahSiblingTirzahSiblingNoa

Verse Appearances (4)

Numbers

Numbers 26:33 Numbers 27:1 Numbers 36:11

Josh

Josh 17:3

References

Orr, J. (ed.) (1915) The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Chicago: Howard-Severance Company. [Public Domain]
Tyndale House, Cambridge (n.d.) Translators Individualised Proper Names with all References (TIPNR). STEPBible. Available at: https://www.stepbible.org. [CC BY 4.0]
Wikidata contributors (n.d.) Wikidata. Available at: https://www.wikidata.org. [CC0]
Church of England (1769) The Holy Bible, Authorized (King James) Version. [Public Domain]

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