Sermon Tone Analysis

18:1–31 Judges 17 introduced Micah, an Israelite from Ephraim who worshiped Yahweh using an idol and his own household shrine.

After meeting a Levite from Judah, Micah invites the Levite to be his personal priest.

In this chapter, the migrating Danites encounter the Levite.

The wording here does not mean that Dan had not received an inheritance, only that Dan had not secured their inheritance.

Inheritance

An inheritance is property or rights passed from one party to another via means other than purchase or exchange.

This property is then expected to become the possession of the receiving party in perpetuity.

Property may be claimed via conquest, given by a leading figure, or passed down from one family generation to another.

Inheritance

An inheritance is property or rights passed from one party to another via means other than purchase or exchange.

This property is then expected to become the possession of the receiving party in perpetuity.

Property may be claimed via conquest, given by a leading figure, or passed down from one family generation to another.

Concept Summary

In the Bible, an inheritance consists of substantial property or rights that are passed on from one person to another person or group (the “heir”).

Once given, the inheritance remains in the heir’s family.

A biblical heir is almost always identified prior to the time of the actual property transfer, and once the heir is identified, the property is usually identified as well.

The Hebrew verb נָחַל (nāḥal, “to inherit”) is used of inheriting land, not of inheriting movable possessions such as treasures or flocks of animals.

The thing inherited (nāḥal) is called a נַחֲלָה (naḥălâ).

This dual concept is well illustrated in Num 36:2–9, in which naḥălâ refers to both the land granted by Joshua to Zelophehad’s daughters and the land as it will be passed down from generation to generation.

The word nāḥal is not used with respect to purchased property.

The meanings and uses of יָרַשׁ (yāraš, “to inherit”) are similar to those of nāḥal.

The OT writers prefer to use the infrequent form יְרֻשָּׁה (yĕruššâ, “possession”) for land granted to nations surrounding Israel.

The word נִיר (nîr), which technically means “light,” is used in the OT as a metaphor for an eternal possession.

The wordבְּכוֹר (bĕkôr, “firstborn”) refers to the “firstborn” in the sense of the sibling invested with special rights of inheritance, while פֶּטֶר (peṭer, “firstborn”) refers specifically to the first issue of a womb, who may not have special inheritance rights.

In the NT, πρωτότοκος (prōtotokos, “firstborn”) refers to the sibling with special rights or prominence, usually the literal first to be born.

A κληρονόμος (klēronomos) is an heir, usually (but not always) the firstborn (prōtotokos).

The word συγκληρονόμος (synklēronomos) means “joint heirs,” indicating one member of a group of people who share inheritance rights.

The verb κληρονομέω (klēronomeō, “to inherit”) is related to klēronomos.

It often translates נָחַל (nāḥal) in the Septuagint.

Similarly, κληρονομία (klēronomia, “inheritance”) often translates נַחֲלָה (naḥălâ) in the Septuagint.

The word κληρόω (klēroō) means “to appoint by lot” (i.e., to make a decision by throwing a κλῆρος [klēros, “lot”], which usually consisted of a pebble or a stick).

The idea is that God makes known his will on a matter by causing the klēros to land in a particular way.

The word klēros can also refer to the portion decided by the process of appointing by lot (klēroō).

The word κτάομαι (ktaomai, “to acquire”) is a more general term for the acquisition of something of significance, usually as compensation.

Theological Overview

While the Bible sometimes references human bequests of property (especially in the OT), the most important theological ideas involving inheritance involve the relationship of God to his people.

God gives the land of Canaan to Israel as a נַחֲלָה (naḥălâ, “inheritance”; Deut 4:21; 12:9; Josh 11:23; 23:4; 1 Chr 16:8).

At the same time, the OT identifies Israel as the inheritance (naḥălâ) of God (Deut 4:20; 1 Sam 10:1; 2 Sam 14:6; 21:3; 1 Kgs 8:51, 53).

This idea is further explained in Deut 31:9, in which Israel is assigned to God.

In both cases, naḥălâ indicates something permanent and given (using the verbs נָחַל [nāḥal] and יָרַשׁ [yāraš], which both indicate the permanent transfer of real or intangible property).

Besides land, naḥălâ often refers to the rights and blessings associated with being part of a family or group.

In the Historical Books, the northern tribes, feeling that they have been treated badly by Davidic kings, reject their inheritance (naḥălâ) “in the son of Jesse” (i.e., David’s line; 2 Sam 20:1; 1 Kgs 12:16).

This suggests that David’s installation as king came with the understanding (clarified in 2 Sam 7) that David’s line had become the permanent property of the tribes of Israel.

In this context, the rarer word נִיר (nîr) is used to describe the everlasting inheritance of David, consisting of 2 of the original 12 tribes of Israel (1 Kgs 11:36; 15:4).

Thus the concept of inheritance becomes mutually binding: David is the inheritance of Judah and Benjamin, while at the same time these two tribes are the inheritance of David.

The OT tends not to directly associate inheritance with the idea of the firstborn son.

Exodus 4:22–23 may be a rare exception, as it expresses Israel as God’s בְּכוֹר (bĕkôr; “firstborn”; usually the eldest son), but even here, “inheritance” is not mentioned.

The NT only occasionally refers to the concept of inheritance, but the theological ideas are significant.

Christ is represented as the πρωτότοκος (prōtotokos, “first born”) of creation in Col 1:15–18.

Those who put their faith in Christ can become a κληρονόμος (klēronomos, “heir”) receiving the benefits of sonship just like Abraham (Gal 3:19–4:7).

Acts 7:5 explains that Abraham himself did not receive any land of Canaan as a κληρονομία (klēronomia, “inheritance”) but that Canaan would in the future become a possession of Abraham and his descendants.

According to Galatians (Gal 3:29; 4:1, 7), the inheritance that God promised to Abraham’s original heirs (klēronomos; i.e., the Jewish people) now passes to those who are redeemed in Christ.

Since with Christ’s death and resurrection Christ’s followers become God’s heirs, these followers become entitled to the klēronomia due to such heirs.

Lexical Information

Old Testament

נַחֲלָה (naḥălâ).

n. fem.

inheritance.

This word refers to property that is inherited by descendants and cannot be permanently sold.

In the OT, naḥălâ primarily refers to enduring property (normally land) that is inherited by descendants.

The family in which the inheritance is passed may initially gain it through a grant or through dispossession of its previous owner (Num 18:20–26; Josh 13:6–14; 1 Kgs 21:3).

The word naḥălâ is also often used metaphorically to refer to intangible things, such as participation in a group (2 Sam 20:1; 1 Kgs 12:16) or the fate of an individual (Job 20:29; 31:2).

Sometimes the people of Israel are referred to as God’s inheritance (naḥălâ; Deut 31:9; 2 Sam 14:16; 20:19; 21:3).

Verbal usages depict events which involve נַחֲלָה (naḥălâ).

The word נָחַל (nāḥal) in the Qal with a human subject means to receive or possess property (Num 18:20; Exod 23:30; Jer 16:19; Zeph 2:9).

God as subject owns or accepts a people or territory (Exod 34:9; Psa 82:8).

The Piel is used to designate or apportion land to someone (Num 34:29; Josh 19:51).

The Hiphil indicates the actual distribution of bequeathed property (1 Sam 2:8; Isa 49:8; Ezek 46:18; 1 Chr 28:8).

נָחַל (nāḥal).

vb. to receive or transfer property (without purchasing it).

Different forms of this verb express having, giving, and receiving an inheritance.

This verb is related to the noun נַחֲלָה (naḥălâ, “inheritance”); different verbal stems express several verbal concepts that relate to naḥălâ, including receiving or possessing an inheritance (e.g., Num 18:20; Exod 23:30; Jer 16:19; Zeph 2:9), designating or apportioning land to someone (e.g., Num 34:29; Josh 19:51), and passing on an inheritance to one’s descendants (e.g., 1 Sam 2:8; Isa 49:8; Ezek 46:18; 1 Chr 28:8).

נִיר (nîr).

n. masc.

(everlasting) lamp, heir.

Symbolic of something lasting.

This word probably derives from the more common נֵר (nēr, “lamp”).

However, in the OT, nîr is never used to refer to a literal lamp.

It occurs four times in the OT as a symbol of the kingdom of Judah, the beneficiary of God’s covenant with David in 2 Sam 7.

While the sins of Solomon caused David’s line to lose rule of Israel, 1 Kgs 11:36; 15:4 stipulate that Judah will continue to be ruled by David’s descendants, as a nîr for David’s sake.

בְּכוֹר (bĕkōr).

n. masc.

firstborn.

Privileged descendant, usually first in birth order.

This word often indicates the first person or animal to be born from a given womb, as in Gen 4:4 (cattle) and Gen 25:13 (humans), especially the oldest son (Judg 8:20; 1 Chr 1:13; 1 Sam 8:2).

It is also used metaphorically to refer to Israel as the firstborn (bĕkōr) of God in Exod 4:22.

יָרַשׁ (yāraš).

vb. to inherit, take possession.

Gain control of territory through means other than purchase or exchange: either bequest or conquest.

The core meaning of this verb is “take into possession,” with a term for “land” acting as object.

The subject of this sense is always a human being (with the possible exception of the deity Milcom in Jer 49:1).

God is not directly involved in the action; the term instead functions in a secular, juridical manner, even in important theological passages.

For example, the formulae “you will enter and take possession (yāraš) of the land” (Deut 4:1; 8:1, 11) and “the land to which you will pass, in order to take it into possession (yāraš)” (Deut 4:14, 26; 6:1; 11:8, 11) feature Israel as subject in a context in which God clearly directs the action.

Frequent objects include land in general (Deut 1:8, 21, 39; Josh 1:11, 15), land belonging to another people or ruler (Deut 2:24, 31, 4:47; Josh 24:8), the earth as a whole (Deut 28:21, 63; 30:18), and נַחֲלָה (naḥălâ, “inheritance”; Num 27:11; 36:8).

The Hiphil forms usually mean “to make poor” or “to destroy.”

God sometimes acts as the subject (Num 14:12; 1 Sam 2:7; Job 20:15).

In Joshua and Judges, however, the meaning seems to be destroying someone so that another can possess his property (e.g., Josh 13:12; Judg 1:19).

יְרֻשָּׁה (yĕruššâ).

n. masc.

possession.