Ezel van Bileam / De dochters van Selofchad 1716 - 1791

This etching by Pieter Tanjé depicts two scenes from the Book of Numbers in the Bible. The top scene shows the angel of the Lord appearing to Balaam's donkey, as described in Numbers 22:22-35. The bottom scene depicts the daughters of Zelophehad, who were denied their inheritance by their father, going to Moses to plead for their right to inherit their father's land, as described in Numbers 27:1-11. Tanjé's work highlights the importance of these biblical stories in the 18th century and is a good example of the Dutch artistic style of the period.