Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1896-01-10
A WOMAN'S BIBLE.
REVISION IN FAVOR OF WOMAN
THE OBJECT.

New Testaments.
Here is specimen chapter from tile
Woman's Bible" which is being com.
| piled by a revising committee of lead
ing women Of most civilized nations.
They propose to comment simply on
all texts in the Old and New Testa-
ments that refer to women. Mrs. Eliza
beth Cady Stanton of 261 West Sixty
first street is chairman of the commit
tee, and information concerning the
work may be obtained from her. The
specimen chapter is Numbers xvii,
Ill, and, with Mrs. Stanton's COM
ments, is as follows:
l. Then came the daughters of Ze-
lophehad, the son of Hepher, the son
of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son
of Manssseh, of the families of Man
assch, the son of Joseph, and these are
the names of his daughters; Mahlah,
Noah and Hogiah and Micah and
Tirzah.
2. And they stood before Moses and
before Eleazer, the priest, and before
the princes and all the congregation,
by the door OF the tabernacle OF the
congregation, saying:
3. Our father died in the wilderness,
and he was not in the company Of
them that gathered themselves to-
gether against the Lord in the COM
pany of Korah.
4. Why should the name of our
father be done away from among his
family because he hath no son? Give
unto us therefore possession among
the brethren of our father.
5. And Moses brought their cause
before the Lord.
6. And the Lord spake unto Moses,
saying:
4. The daughters of Zelophehad
speak right; thou shalt surely give
them q possession OF an inheritance
among their fathers brethren, and
thou shalt cause the inheritance of
their father to pass unto them.
8. And thou shalt speak unto the
children of Israel, saying: If a man
die and have no son, then ye shall
cause his inheritance to pass unto his
daughter.
8. And il he have no daughter, then
ye shall give his inheritance unto his
brethren.
10. And if he have no brethren, then
ye shall give his inheritance unto his
fathers brethren.
IL. And if his father have no breth-
rem, then ye shall give his inheritance
unto his kinsman that is next to him
of his family. and he shall possess it,
and it shall be unto the children of
Israel a statute of judgment, as the
Lord commanded Moses.
The respect paid to the daughters of
Zelophehad at that early day is worthy
the imitation OF the rulers in our own
times. These daughters were no doubt
fine looking, we'll developed women,
gifted with the power of eloquence,
able to impress their personality and
arguments on that immense assem-
blsge of the people. They were al
lowed TO plead their own case in per-
son before the law-givers. the priests
and the princes, the rulers in state
and church, and all the congregation,
at the very door of the tabernacle.
They presented their case with such
force and clearness that all saw the
justice of their claims. Moses was 80
deeply impressed that he at once re-
tired to his closet to listen to the still
small voice of conscience and COM
muned with his maker. In response
the Lord said to him, "The daughters
of Zelophehad speak right, if a man
die and leave no son. then ye shall
cause his inheritance to pass unto his
daughters" 1t would have been COM
mendable if the members of the late
constitutional convention in New York
had, like Moses, asked the guidance of
the Lord in deciding the rights Of the
daughters OF the Van Renssel@rs, the
Stuyvesants, the Livingstons and the
Knickerbockers.
Their final action revealed the pain
:ul fact that they never thought to
take the case to the highest court in
the moral universe. The daughters of
Zelophehad were fortunate in being
all of one mind, none there to plead
the fatigue. the publicity, the respon.
sibility of paying taxes and investing
property, of keeping q bank account
aud having some knowledge Of math.
ematics. The daughters of Zelophehad
were happy to accept all the necessary
burdens inspired by the laws of inner.
itance, while the daughters of the
Knickerbockers trembled at the
thought of assuming the duties in
volved in self government.
As soon as Moses laid the case be-
fore tho Lord he not only allowed the
justice of the claim, but gave "a stat
ute of judgment" by which the Jewish
magistrates should determine all such
cases in the division of propertv in the