Five Sisters Ask

Five young women waka go di front of one big crowd. Every leader for Israel dey watch. Di high priest dey watch. Moses imself dey watch. Nobody don ever ask wetin dem wan ask.

Forty years don pass for di wilderness. Israel dey camp for di plains of Moab, near River Jordan, dey look di promised land for di other side. Moses just count di people again, tribe by tribe and family by family, because soon dem go share di land among dem. Each family go collect im portion through di sons. But for di tribe of Manasseh, one family get problem. One man wey dem dey call Zelophehad don die for di wilderness. E get five daughters, and no son at all. Dem write dia names down: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah and Tirzah. And as di custom be dat time, dia family wan disappear from di map.

So di five sisters come forward. Dem stand for di door of di tent of meeting, before Moses, before Eleazar di priest, before di leaders and di whole community. And dem talk. Our papa die for di wilderness, dem talk. E no dey among di people wey follow Korah rebel against Di Lord. E die for im own sin, as everybody for im generation die. And e no get son. Why our papa name go disappear from im family just because e no get son? Give us property among our papa relatives. Na request wey clear, wey get respect, wey dem think through well well. Dem no dey complain against God. Dem dey trust say God promise of land na for dia family too.

Now everybody look Moses. E don lead Israel for forty years. E don hear thousands of cases. E for fit decide am there and then. But e no do am. Moses carry dia case go meet Di Lord. Think am well. Di greatest leader for Israel no push five young women aside. E no talk say, na so we dey do am. Wetin e dey talk be say, dis question important reach to carry go before God. And so di whole camp wait to hear wetin God go talk.

And Di Lord answer Moses. Di daughters of Zelophehad talk true. You must give dem property as inheritance among dia papa relatives, and pass dia papa inheritance give dem. But God no stop for di five sisters. E make new law for everybody. If man die and e no get son, im inheritance go go to im daughter. If e no get daughter, e go go to im brothers. If e no get brothers, to im papa brothers. And if none of dem dey, to im closest relative. Five sisters ask one bold question, and because of am, every family for Israel get protection. Years after, when Joshua dey share di land, di sisters go meet am come remind am of God command. And dem collect dia land.

Archaeologists wey dey work for di old city of Samaria find plenty pieces of broken pot wey get writing on top, from di eighth century before Christ. Na record of wine and oil wey dem deliver. Some of dem name di districts wey di goods come from. Among dat names, for di hill country of Manasseh, scholars don recognise two of di sisters names: Noah and Hoglah. E be like say, long after dem, some places for di map still dey carry dia names.

Five sisters ask. You go find dia story for Numbers chapter twenty-seven, verse one reach eleven. Dem talk with respect, one leader listen, and God talk say, dem dey right. So see one question wey you go carry dey go. Something dey wey dey fair wey you need courage to ask for, and person dey wey you need to listen to?