Reading the Mishnah taught these rules for the order of inheritance: the son preceded the daughter, and the son's offspring preceded the daughter. The daughter preceded the decedent's brothers, and the daughters' offspring preceded the brothers. The decedent's brothers precede the decedent's father's brothers, and the brothers' offspring precede the father's brothers. The general rule was that the offspring of one who had precedence in inheritance also had precedence. The father had precedence over all his offspring (if none were the direct offspring of the decedent).