Miriam
Encyclopedia
Miriam was the sister of Moses
and Aaron
, and the daughter of Amram
and Jochebed
. She appears first in the Book of Exodus in the Hebrew Bible
.
’s order that newborn Hebrew
boys be killed. She watched as the Pharaoh’s daughter discovered the infant and decided to adopt him. Miriam then suggested that the princess take on a nurse for the child, and suggested Jochebed; as a result, Moses was raised to be familiar with his background as a Hebrew.
Miriam is called a prophet
ess, and is traditionally believed to have composed a brief victory song
after Pharaoh
’s army was drowned in the Red Sea
.
It is considered by many that this poetic couplet is one of the oldest parts of the Biblical account.
Later, she objected to the marriage of Moses to a Cush
ite woman, which made her guilty of speaking Lashon hara
(gossiping, or speaking negatively about someone), for which she was struck with tzaraat. After Aaron asked Moses to intercede for her, Moses uttered a five-word prayer:“O Lord, make her well,” and she recovered within seven days. A passage in Micah
suggests she had a legacy with significant regard among later prophets: “And I brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed you from the house of bondage, and I sent before you Moses, and Aaron, and Miriam.”
in Antiquities of the Jews
states that Miriam was the wife of Hur
, who is mentioned in Exodus as a close companion of Moses. However, in the Targum
to I Chron. ii. 19, iv. 4, Miriam is said to be Hur's mother, asserting that Ephrath
, the wife of Caleb, was another name for Miriam.
, Miriam and Aaron
speak against Moses
because:
Miriam and Aaron question Moses’ exclusive religious authority, since they consider themselves to also have been prophet
s.
God
hears and calls all three to the door of the tabernacle
. When they arrive, God states to them that Moses has a much greater authority than Miriam and Aaron; indeed, He chooses to speak to Moses face to face, rather than merely through dreams.
In anger, God subsequently visits a punishment on Miriam, giving her tzaraat turning her “white as snow.” According to the rules concerning tzaraat, Miriam must then live outside of the camp, in isolation, only being allowed back when Moses intercedes with God on her behalf. Nevertheless, God insists that she still be punished for seven days. . Tzaraat was an illness traditionally translated to be leprosy, while it really is something more like skin cancer or vitiligo.
anyone with tzaraat was tamei The Rabbis of the Talmud
noted that Aaron did not receive the same punishment as his sister, otherwise he would no longer have been able to perform his duties as high priest.
is identified as the wife of Moses, so the traditional Jewish and Christian view is that Zipporah is the woman that Miriam opposes. However, Zipporah is described as being a Cushite
from Midian. According to Richard E. Friedman
, because Cush refers to Ethiopia (Note: “Ethiopia” in ancient resources refers to the region of Nubia in modern Sudan.) or other lands well outside, the “Cushite woman” of the story is not Zipporah. Friedman, building on interpretations from the documentary hypothesis
, notes that Zipporah is only mentioned in the Jahwist
text, while the story of Snow-white Miriam is assigned to the Elohist
, and so, in each, Moses only ever has one wife.
According to Friedman's interpretation, these two accounts reflected the stories of two different, rival priesthoods, the Aaronid priesthood in the Kingdom of Judah
, which claimed descent from Aaron and which controlled the Temple in Jerusalem
, and a priesthood based at Shiloh, in the Kingdom of Israel. Friedman, following the tradition of the documentary hypothesis
, asserts that various Biblical tales were created or publicized by these factions in order to add an aura of legitimacy to their various claims to privilege and power. According to Friedman, the Elohist was from, or supported, the Shiloh priesthood, and thus had a strong motivation to repeat or create this tale.
’s commentary on this verse, based on the Mekhilta (Be-Shalah, ch. 10), states “Moses chanted a song for the men; he would chant for them and they would answer him. And Miriam chanted a song for the women.” In other words, the Song on the Sea was recited twice, for the men and the women in parallel. Moses chanted the song in its entirety for the men, who answered him in refrain, and Miriam repeated this procedure for the women.
Miriam is a popular figure among some Jewish feminists
. Some place a “Cup of Miriam,” filled with water, beside the customary “Cup of Elijah” (filled with wine) during the Passover Seder
. The cup contains water in memory of Miriam's well, which according to a Midrash
(see Ginzberg, Legends of the Jews 3, 50-54) accompanied the Israelites on their journey through the desert. Some Modern Orthodox Jews have revived a millennium-old custom of adding a piece of fish to the seder plate, with the lamb, egg and fish jointly symbolizing the three prophets referred to in Micah 6:4, and also alluding to the mythical beasts (the bird Ziz
, the animal Behemoth
, and the sea-creature Leviathan
) which, according to Midrash
, are to be served at the Seudat Chiyat HaMatim
, the feast for the righteous following the resurrection
of the dead, which the Passover Seder
(and the Cup of Elijah) allude to. The fish represents Leviathan as well as Miriam and is also a water symbol.
, and as in the Hebrew Bible
, she obeys her mother's request to follow the baby Moses
as he floats down the river in a basket, their mother having set him afloat so he would not be killed by the Pharaoh's servants and soldiers . Later on, the wife of the Pharaoh finds Moses at the river and adopts him as her own, but Moses refuses to be suckled by her. Miriam asks the Pharaoh's wife and her handmaidens to have his own mother act as nursemaid to Moses, the mother's identity not being known to the Pharaoh's wife .
Moses
Moses was, according to the Hebrew Bible and Qur'an, a religious leader, lawgiver and prophet, to whom the authorship of the Torah is traditionally attributed...
and Aaron
Aaron
In the Hebrew Bible and the Qur'an, Aaron : Ααρών ), who is often called "'Aaron the Priest"' and once Aaron the Levite , was the older brother of Moses, and a prophet of God. He represented the priestly functions of his tribe, becoming the first High Priest of the Israelites...
, and the daughter of Amram
Amram
In the Book of Exodus, Amram Arabic عمران Imran, is the father of Aaron, Moses, and Miriam and the husband of Jochebed.-In the Bible:In addition to being married to Jochebed, Amram is also described in the Bible as having been related to Jochebed prior to the marriage, although the exact...
and Jochebed
Jochebed
According to the Torah, Jochebed was a daughter of Levi and mother of Aaron, Miriam and Moses. She was the wife of Amram, as well as his aunt. No details are given concerning her life. According to Jewish legend, Jochebed is buried in the Tomb of the Matriarchs, in Tiberias.-Birth of Moses:The...
. She appears first in the Book of Exodus in the Hebrew Bible
Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible is a term used by biblical scholars outside of Judaism to refer to the Tanakh , a canonical collection of Jewish texts, and the common textual antecedent of the several canonical editions of the Christian Old Testament...
.
Biblical account
At her mother Jochebed's request, Miriam hid her baby brother Moses by the side of a river to evade the PharaohPharaoh
Pharaoh is a title used in many modern discussions of the ancient Egyptian rulers of all periods. The title originates in the term "pr-aa" which means "great house" and describes the royal palace...
’s order that newborn Hebrew
Hebrews
Hebrews is an ethnonym used in the Hebrew Bible...
boys be killed. She watched as the Pharaoh’s daughter discovered the infant and decided to adopt him. Miriam then suggested that the princess take on a nurse for the child, and suggested Jochebed; as a result, Moses was raised to be familiar with his background as a Hebrew.
Miriam is called a prophet
Prophet
In religion, a prophet, from the Greek word προφήτης profitis meaning "foreteller", is an individual who is claimed to have been contacted by the supernatural or the divine, and serves as an intermediary with humanity, delivering this newfound knowledge from the supernatural entity to other people...
ess, and is traditionally believed to have composed a brief victory song
Song of the sea
The Song of the Sea is a poem that appears in the Book of Exodus of the Hebrew Bible, at . It is followed in verses 20 and 21 by a much shorter song sung by Miriam and the other women...
after Pharaoh
Pharaoh
Pharaoh is a title used in many modern discussions of the ancient Egyptian rulers of all periods. The title originates in the term "pr-aa" which means "great house" and describes the royal palace...
’s army was drowned in the Red Sea
Red Sea
The Red Sea is a seawater inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. The connection to the ocean is in the south through the Bab el Mandeb strait and the Gulf of Aden. In the north, there is the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and the Gulf of Suez...
.
“Sing to the Lord, for he has
triumphed gloriously;
Horse and rider he has thrown into
the sea.”
It is considered by many that this poetic couplet is one of the oldest parts of the Biblical account.
Later, she objected to the marriage of Moses to a Cush
Biblical Cush
Cush was the eldest son of Ham, brother of Mizraim , Canaan and the father of Nimrod, and Raamah, mentioned in the "Table of Nations" in the Genesis 10:6 and I Chronicles 1:8...
ite woman, which made her guilty of speaking Lashon hara
Lashon hara
The Hebrew term lashon hara is a term for gossip. It also refers to the prohibition in Jewish Law of telling gossip....
(gossiping, or speaking negatively about someone), for which she was struck with tzaraat. After Aaron asked Moses to intercede for her, Moses uttered a five-word prayer:“O Lord, make her well,” and she recovered within seven days. A passage in Micah
Book of Micah
The Book of Micah is one of fifteen prophetic books in the Hebrew bible/Old Testament, and the sixth of the twelve minor prophets. It records the sayings of Mikayahu, meaning "Who is like Yahweh?", an 8th century prophet from the village of Moresheth in Judah...
suggests she had a legacy with significant regard among later prophets: “And I brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed you from the house of bondage, and I sent before you Moses, and Aaron, and Miriam.”
Marriage
JosephusJosephus
Titus Flavius Josephus , also called Joseph ben Matityahu , was a 1st-century Romano-Jewish historian and hagiographer of priestly and royal ancestry who recorded Jewish history, with special emphasis on the 1st century AD and the First Jewish–Roman War, which resulted in the Destruction of...
in Antiquities of the Jews
Antiquities of the Jews
Antiquities of the Jews is a twenty volume historiographical work composed by the Jewish historian Flavius Josephus in the thirteenth year of the reign of Roman emperor Flavius Domitian which was around 93 or 94 AD. Antiquities of the Jews contains an account of history of the Jewish people,...
states that Miriam was the wife of Hur
Hur (Bible)
Hur was a companion of Moses and Aaron in the Hebrew Bible. He was a member of the Tribe of Judah. His identity remains sketchy in the Torah itself, but it is elaborated in rabbinical commentary.Other individuals named Hur are also mentioned in the Bible....
, who is mentioned in Exodus as a close companion of Moses. However, in the Targum
Targum
Taekwondo is a Korean martial art and the national sport of South Korea. In Korean, tae means "to strike or break with foot"; kwon means "to strike or break with fist"; and do means "way", "method", or "path"...
to I Chron. ii. 19, iv. 4, Miriam is said to be Hur's mother, asserting that Ephrath
Ephrath
Ephrath or Ephratah is the name of a Biblical place.The first mention of Ephrath occurs in Genesis, in reference to where Rachel dies giving birth to Benjamin and is buried on the road from Bethel...
, the wife of Caleb, was another name for Miriam.
Snow-white Miriam
At HazerothHazeroth
Hazeroth is one of the locations that the Israelites stopped at during their forty years of wandering in the wilderness. It is referenced in the Torah in Numbers, chapters 11, 12 and 33, as well as in Deuteronomy, chapter 1. "Hazeroth" means yards.At Hazeroth, Miriam was afflicted with tzaraath...
, Miriam and Aaron
Aaron
In the Hebrew Bible and the Qur'an, Aaron : Ααρών ), who is often called "'Aaron the Priest"' and once Aaron the Levite , was the older brother of Moses, and a prophet of God. He represented the priestly functions of his tribe, becoming the first High Priest of the Israelites...
speak against Moses
Moses
Moses was, according to the Hebrew Bible and Qur'an, a religious leader, lawgiver and prophet, to whom the authorship of the Torah is traditionally attributed...
because:
- of the Cushite (Ethiopian) woman whom he had married: for he had married a Cushite womanTharbisA Cushite princess of Cush, Tharbis married the Hebrew Moses prior to his ascendancy to prophethood and better-known marriage to Zipporah.Tharbis is alleged to have been the daughter of King Merops, or the widow of Kikianus....
Miriam and Aaron question Moses’ exclusive religious authority, since they consider themselves to also have been prophet
Prophet
In religion, a prophet, from the Greek word προφήτης profitis meaning "foreteller", is an individual who is claimed to have been contacted by the supernatural or the divine, and serves as an intermediary with humanity, delivering this newfound knowledge from the supernatural entity to other people...
s.
- They said, 'Was it only to Moses that God spoke? Did he not speak to us as well?
God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
hears and calls all three to the door of the tabernacle
Tabernacle
The Tabernacle , according to the Hebrew Torah/Old Testament, was the portable dwelling place for the divine presence from the time of the Exodus from Egypt through the conquering of the land of Canaan. Built to specifications revealed by God to Moses at Mount Sinai, it accompanied the Israelites...
. When they arrive, God states to them that Moses has a much greater authority than Miriam and Aaron; indeed, He chooses to speak to Moses face to face, rather than merely through dreams.
In anger, God subsequently visits a punishment on Miriam, giving her tzaraat turning her “white as snow.” According to the rules concerning tzaraat, Miriam must then live outside of the camp, in isolation, only being allowed back when Moses intercedes with God on her behalf. Nevertheless, God insists that she still be punished for seven days. . Tzaraat was an illness traditionally translated to be leprosy, while it really is something more like skin cancer or vitiligo.
Rabbinic Interpretation
According to the Hebrew BibleHebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible is a term used by biblical scholars outside of Judaism to refer to the Tanakh , a canonical collection of Jewish texts, and the common textual antecedent of the several canonical editions of the Christian Old Testament...
anyone with tzaraat was tamei The Rabbis of the Talmud
Talmud
The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....
noted that Aaron did not receive the same punishment as his sister, otherwise he would no longer have been able to perform his duties as high priest.
Form criticism
ZipporahZipporah
Zipporah or Tzipora is mentioned in the Book of Exodus as the wife of Moses, and the daughter of Reuel/Jethro, the priest or prince of Midian...
is identified as the wife of Moses, so the traditional Jewish and Christian view is that Zipporah is the woman that Miriam opposes. However, Zipporah is described as being a Cushite
Cushite
Cushite may refer to :*Cushitic languages**North Cushitic**Central Cushitic**Highland East Cushitic**Lowland East Cushitic**South Cushitic*the historical Kingdom of Kush*a biblical tribal name, see Cush...
from Midian. According to Richard E. Friedman
Richard Elliott Friedman
Richard Elliott Friedman is a biblical scholar and the Ann and Jay Davis Professor of Jewish Studies at the University of Georgia. He joined the faculty of the UGA Religion Department in 2006. Prior to his appointment there, he was the Katzin Professor of Jewish Civilization: Hebrew Bible; Near...
, because Cush refers to Ethiopia (Note: “Ethiopia” in ancient resources refers to the region of Nubia in modern Sudan.) or other lands well outside, the “Cushite woman” of the story is not Zipporah. Friedman, building on interpretations from the documentary hypothesis
Documentary hypothesis
The documentary hypothesis , holds that the Pentateuch was derived from originally independent, parallel and complete narratives, which were subsequently combined into the current form by a series of redactors...
, notes that Zipporah is only mentioned in the Jahwist
Jahwist
The Jahwist, also referred to as the Jehovist, Yahwist, or simply as J, is one of the sources of the Torah. It gets its name from the fact that it characteristically uses the term Yahweh for God in the book of Genesis...
text, while the story of Snow-white Miriam is assigned to the Elohist
Elohist
The Elohist is one of four sources of the Torah described by the Documentary Hypothesis. Its name comes from the term it uses for God: Elohim; it is characterised by, among other things, an abstract view of God, using "Horeb" instead of "Sinai" for the mountain where Moses received the laws of...
, and so, in each, Moses only ever has one wife.
According to Friedman's interpretation, these two accounts reflected the stories of two different, rival priesthoods, the Aaronid priesthood in the Kingdom of Judah
Kingdom of Judah
The Kingdom of Judah was a Jewish state established in the Southern Levant during the Iron Age. It is often referred to as the "Southern Kingdom" to distinguish it from the northern Kingdom of Israel....
, which claimed descent from Aaron and which controlled the Temple in Jerusalem
Temple in Jerusalem
The Temple in Jerusalem or Holy Temple , refers to one of a series of structures which were historically located on the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem, the current site of the Dome of the Rock. Historically, these successive temples stood at this location and functioned as the centre of...
, and a priesthood based at Shiloh, in the Kingdom of Israel. Friedman, following the tradition of the documentary hypothesis
Documentary hypothesis
The documentary hypothesis , holds that the Pentateuch was derived from originally independent, parallel and complete narratives, which were subsequently combined into the current form by a series of redactors...
, asserts that various Biblical tales were created or publicized by these factions in order to add an aura of legitimacy to their various claims to privilege and power. According to Friedman, the Elohist was from, or supported, the Shiloh priesthood, and thus had a strong motivation to repeat or create this tale.
Death
According to , when the Israelites on their journey to the Land of Canaan came into the wilderness of Zin in the first month, and the people stayed in Kadesh, Miriam died and was buried there. True to her symbolism with water, after her death, God opened a spring of abundant water for the people, called Meribah. Unfortunately, this happened after the Israelites contended with God, also resulted in Moses and Aaron committing sin that prevented them to enter Canaan.Miriam in Jewish culture
The poetic couplet in Exodus 15 is considered by many to be one of the oldest parts of the Biblical account. RashiRashi
Shlomo Yitzhaki , or in Latin Salomon Isaacides, and today generally known by the acronym Rashi , was a medieval French rabbi famed as the author of a comprehensive commentary on the Talmud, as well as a comprehensive commentary on the Tanakh...
’s commentary on this verse, based on the Mekhilta (Be-Shalah, ch. 10), states “Moses chanted a song for the men; he would chant for them and they would answer him. And Miriam chanted a song for the women.” In other words, the Song on the Sea was recited twice, for the men and the women in parallel. Moses chanted the song in its entirety for the men, who answered him in refrain, and Miriam repeated this procedure for the women.
Miriam is a popular figure among some Jewish feminists
Jewish feminism
Jewish feminism is a movement that seeks to improve the religious, legal, and social status of women within Judaism and to open up new opportunities for religious experience and leadership for Jewish women...
. Some place a “Cup of Miriam,” filled with water, beside the customary “Cup of Elijah” (filled with wine) during the Passover Seder
Passover Seder
The Passover Seder is a Jewish ritual feast that marks the beginning of the Jewish holiday of Passover. It is conducted on the evenings of the 14th day of Nisan in the Hebrew calendar, and on the 15th by traditionally observant Jews living outside Israel. This corresponds to late March or April in...
. The cup contains water in memory of Miriam's well, which according to a Midrash
Midrash
The Hebrew term Midrash is a homiletic method of biblical exegesis. The term also refers to the whole compilation of homiletic teachings on the Bible....
(see Ginzberg, Legends of the Jews 3, 50-54) accompanied the Israelites on their journey through the desert. Some Modern Orthodox Jews have revived a millennium-old custom of adding a piece of fish to the seder plate, with the lamb, egg and fish jointly symbolizing the three prophets referred to in Micah 6:4, and also alluding to the mythical beasts (the bird Ziz
Ziz
The Ziz is a giant griffin-like bird in Jewish mythology, said to be large enough to be able to block out the sun with its wingspan. It is considered a giant animal/monster corresponding to archetypal creatures. Rabbis have said that the Ziz is comparable to the Persian Simurgh...
, the animal Behemoth
Behemoth
Behemoth is a mythological beast mentioned in the Book of Job, 40:15-24. Metaphorically, the name has come to be used for any extremely large or powerful entity.-Plural as singular:...
, and the sea-creature Leviathan
Leviathan
Leviathan , is a sea monster referred to in the Bible. In Demonology, Leviathan is one of the seven princes of Hell and its gatekeeper . The word has become synonymous with any large sea monster or creature...
) which, according to Midrash
Midrash
The Hebrew term Midrash is a homiletic method of biblical exegesis. The term also refers to the whole compilation of homiletic teachings on the Bible....
, are to be served at the Seudat Chiyat HaMatim
Seudat Chiyat HaMatim
The Seudat Chiyat HaMatim, a Hebrew term, is a Seudah for the righteous following the Chiyat Hamatim, the bodily Resurrection of the dead, which is referred to in a passage of the Talmud in the section on Passover which alludes to a relationship between the Passover Seder and this other feast of...
, the feast for the righteous following the resurrection
Resurrection
Resurrection refers to the literal coming back to life of the biologically dead. It is used both with respect to particular individuals or the belief in a General Resurrection of the dead at the end of the world. The General Resurrection is featured prominently in Jewish, Christian, and Muslim...
of the dead, which the Passover Seder
Passover Seder
The Passover Seder is a Jewish ritual feast that marks the beginning of the Jewish holiday of Passover. It is conducted on the evenings of the 14th day of Nisan in the Hebrew calendar, and on the 15th by traditionally observant Jews living outside Israel. This corresponds to late March or April in...
(and the Cup of Elijah) allude to. The fish represents Leviathan as well as Miriam and is also a water symbol.
Quranic account
Miriam is mentioned but not named in the Qur'anQur'an
The Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...
, and as in the Hebrew Bible
Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible is a term used by biblical scholars outside of Judaism to refer to the Tanakh , a canonical collection of Jewish texts, and the common textual antecedent of the several canonical editions of the Christian Old Testament...
, she obeys her mother's request to follow the baby Moses
Moses
Moses was, according to the Hebrew Bible and Qur'an, a religious leader, lawgiver and prophet, to whom the authorship of the Torah is traditionally attributed...
as he floats down the river in a basket, their mother having set him afloat so he would not be killed by the Pharaoh's servants and soldiers . Later on, the wife of the Pharaoh finds Moses at the river and adopts him as her own, but Moses refuses to be suckled by her. Miriam asks the Pharaoh's wife and her handmaidens to have his own mother act as nursemaid to Moses, the mother's identity not being known to the Pharaoh's wife .