Baruch Atah Ado-nai Elo-henu Melech Ha-olam asher kidshanu be-mitz-vo-tav ve-tzi-va-nu la-a-soak b-divray Torah.
Blessings to You Ado-nai Our God Sovereign of the Universe who made us holy with the mitzvoth and instructed us to busy ourselves with the study of Torah (i.e. to 'soak' ourselves in the study of Torah).
(1) A certain man of the house of Levi went and married a Levite woman. (2) The woman conceived and bore a son; and when she saw how beautiful he was, she hid him for three months. (3) When she could hide him no longer, she got a wicker basket for him and caulked it with bitumen and pitch. She put the child into it and placed it among the reeds by the bank of the Nile. (4) And his sister stationed herself at a distance, to learn what would befall him. (5) The daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe in the Nile, while her maidens walked along the Nile. She spied the basket among the reeds and sent her slave girl to fetch it. (6) When she opened it, she saw that it was a child, a boy crying. She took pity on it and said, “This must be a Hebrew child.” (7) Then his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and get you a Hebrew nurse to suckle the child for you?” (8) And Pharaoh’s daughter answered, “Yes.” So the girl went and called the child’s mother.
Miriam appears at a critical moment in Moses' life. With Pharaoh's decree that first born Israelite males are to be killed, the only person who can protect Moses must be within Pharaoh's house - in this case, Pharaoh's daughter, who, like Miriam's parents, is introduced as nameless. Moses himself is nameless at this time. Miriam follows the example of Shifra and Puah, Israelite midwives, who defied Pharaoh's order.
- Rashi, bringing down an earlier tradition, suggests the two midwives are in fact Miriam and her mother Yocheved.
- There is a parallel in the way the two midwives save Jewish children and the way they save Moses.
- In both cases, women defy Pharaoh and in both cases God blesses them as it turns out the individual who will lead the Israelites to freedom will ironically grow up in the house of the overlord who represses and enslaves his brothers and sisters.
(יג) כְּשֶׁרָאָה שֶׁהֵם פָּרִים וְרָבִים, גָּזַר עַל הַזְּכָרִים, הֲדָא הוּא דִכְתִיב (שמות א, טו): וַיֹּאמֶר מֶלֶךְ מִצְרַיִם לַמְיַלְּדֹת וגו'. מִי הָיוּ הַמְיַלְּדוֹת, רַב אָמַר כַּלָּה וַחֲמוֹתָהּ, יוֹכֶבֶד וֶאֱלִישֶׁבַע בַּת עֲמִינָדָב. רַבִּי שְׁמוּאֵל בַּר נַחְמָן אָמַר, אִשָּׁה וּבִתָּהּ, יוֹכֶבֶד וּמִרְיָם. וְלֹא הָיוּ לְמִרְיָם אֶלָּא חָמֵשׁ שָׁנִים, שֶׁאַהֲרֹן גָּדוֹל מִמּשֶׁה שָׁלשׁ שָׁנִים. אָמְרוּ רַבּוֹתֵינוּ זִכְרוֹנָם לִבְרָכָה הוֹלֶכֶת הָיְתָה עִם יוֹכֶבֶד אִמָּהּ וְעוֹשָׂה צְרָכֶיהָ, וְהָיְתָה זְרִיזָה, שֶׁעַד שֶׁהַתִּינוֹק קָטָן הוּא נִכָּר. הוּא שֶׁאָמַר שְׁלֹמֹה (משלי כ, יא): גַּם בְּמַעֲלָלָיו יִתְנַכֶּר נָעַר וגו'. אֲשֶׁר שֵׁם הָאַחַת שִׁפְרָה, שֶׁהָיְתָה מְשַׁפֶּרֶת אֶת הַתִּינוֹק, כְּשֶׁהוּא יוֹצֵא מָלֵא דָּם, פּוּעָה שֶׁהָיְתָה נוֹפַעַת יַיִן בַּתִּינוֹק אַחַר אִמָּהּ...
(13) And the king of Egypt said to the midwives, etc. Who are the midwives. Rav says a woman and her daughter in law - Yocheved and Elisheva bat Aminadav. And Rabi Shmuel bar Nachman says a woman and her daughter Yocheved and Miriam. That one of their names was Shifra - she beautified the baby when it would come out full of blood. Puah - that she squirted wine into the babies mouth after it came out of its mother. Another thing, Shifra: that B"Y were fruitful and multiplied under her. Puah: that she would cause the newborn to cry out when it was thought to be stillborn. Another thing, Shifra that she beautified her actions before Hashem Another thing, Puah - that she appeared to B"Y for Hashem - she taught B"Y. Puah - she was insolent (hofi’ah panim) toward Pharaoh and looked down her nose at him. She told him: “Woe to you on the day of judgment, when God will come to demand punishment of you.” Pharaoh immediately became enraged and wanted to kill her. Shifra, that she beautified her daughters words to Paraoh and mollified him and said to him: “Do you take notice of her? She is a baby, and knows nothing” (Ex. Rabbah, loc. cit.).
- According to the Encyclopedia Judaica, scholars believe the family relationship between Moses, Aaron, and Miriam as 'siblings' is a later overlay and editing of the original story.
- In the original, as we see in the prophet Micah, Miriam appears as a prophet sent in full partnership with Moses and Aaron to lead the people.
...I've done a great thing for You (the Israelites) to bring you up and liberate you from Egypt with the help of...Miriam...who prophesied to the women...And Miriam taught mitzvoth to the women...
(20) Then Miriam the prophetess, Aaron’s sister, took a timbrel in her hand, and all the women went out after her in dance with timbrels. (21) And Miriam chanted for them: Sing to the LORD, for He has triumphed gloriously; Horse and driver He has hurled into the sea.
(1) Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman he had married: “He married a Cushite woman!” (2) They said, “Has the LORD spoken only through Moses? Has He not spoken through us as well?” The LORD heard it. (3) Now Moses was a very humble man, more so than any other man on earth. (4) Suddenly the LORD called to Moses, Aaron, and Miriam, “Come out, you three, to the Tent of Meeting.” So the three of them went out. (5) The LORD came down in a pillar of cloud, stopped at the entrance of the Tent, and called out, “Aaron and Miriam!” The two of them came forward; (6) and He said, “Hear these My words: When a prophet of the LORD arises among you, I make Myself known to him in a vision, I speak with him in a dream. (7) Not so with My servant Moses; he is trusted throughout My household. (8) With him I speak mouth to mouth, plainly and not in riddles, and he beholds the likeness of the LORD. How then did you not shrink from speaking against My servant Moses!” (9) Still incensed with them, the LORD departed. (10) As the cloud withdrew from the Tent, there was Miriam stricken with snow-white scales! When Aaron turned toward Miriam, he saw that she was stricken with scales.
- The opening verb va-te-da-ber suggest only Miriam spoke against Moses.
- They raise two objections - about marrying a Cushite woman and about Moses' privileged position as a prophet who encounters God 'face to face'.
(ו) עֲשָׂרָה דְבָרִים נִבְרְאוּ בְּעֶרֶב שַׁבָּת בֵּין הַשְּׁמָשׁוֹת, וְאֵלּוּ הֵן, פִּי הָאָרֶץ, וּפִי הַבְּאֵר, וּפִי הָאָתוֹן, וְהַקֶּשֶׁת, וְהַמָּן, וְהַמַּטֶּה, וְהַשָּׁמִיר, וְהַכְּתָב, וְהַמִּכְתָּב, וְהַלּוּחוֹת. וְיֵשׁ אוֹמְרִים, אַף הַמַּזִּיקִין, וּקְבוּרָתוֹ שֶׁל משֶׁה, וְאֵילוֹ שֶׁל אַבְרָהָם אָבִינוּ. וְיֵשׁ אוֹמְרִים, אַף צְבָת בִּצְבָת עֲשׂוּיָה:
(6) Ten things were created on the eve of the Sabbath at twilight, and these are they: [1] the mouth of the earth, [2] the mouth of the well, [3] the mouth of the donkey, [4] the rainbow, [5] the manna, [6] the staff [of Moses], [7] the shamir, [8] the letters, [9] the writing, [10] and the tablets. And some say: also the demons, the grave of Moses, and the ram of Abraham, our father. And some say: and also tongs, made with tongs.
(ג) וְאִי תֵימָא הָא מִרְיָם דִּכְתִיב (במדבר כ׳:א׳) וַתָּמָת שָׁם מִרְיָם וַתִּקָּבֵר שָׁם. בְּגִין לְאַחֲזָאָה סָרְחָנָא דְיִשְׂרָאֵל קָא אֲתָא, דְּהָא מַיָיא לָא אָזְלֵי לְהוּ בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל אֶלָּא בִּזְכוּתָא דְמִרְיָם. אֲבָל לָא אִתְּמָר בְּמִיתָתָהּ כְּמָה דְאִתְּמָר בְּשָׂרָה.
(3) If you say that it is written of Miriam, "And Miriam died there, and was buried there" (Num. 20:1) (This was written) only to show that Yisrael sinned. Yisrael had no water there without Miriam, and (her days and years) were not specified when describing her death, as was done for Sarah.
Miriam: Bible
by Phyllis Trible (Jewish Women's Archive)
Exodus 2:1–10 features an unnamed sister of Moses who helps deliver him at the Nile River. Many commentators identify her as Miriam. Two genealogies listing Moses, Aaron, and Miriam as the sole children of Amram support the identification (Num 26:59; 1 Chr 6:3). She first appears by name, however, in the crossing of the Red Sea (Exod 15:20–21). Called “the prophet Miriam, Aaron’s sister,” she leads Hebrew women in singing, dancing, and playing drums.
Though the meaning of the term prophet is here indeterminate, Miriam is the first woman ever to bear it. She becomes thereby the archetype of the female prophetic tradition, even as Moses heads the male (compare Deut 34:10). Contrary to the impression that her one stanza sung at the sea (Exod 15:1–18) is but an abridgement of the lengthy song attributed to Moses (Exod 5:1–31), historical and literary studies show that the latter version is itself the Song of Miriam. It belongs to a corpus of women’s traditions that include the long Songs of Deborah (Judg 5:1–31) and Hannah (1 Sam 2:1–10).
After the episode at the sea, Miriam surfaces in the wilderness narratives. Accompanied by her brother Aaron, she speaks out against Moses (Num 12:1–6), faulting him for marrying a Cushite woman. But the text fails to explain the issue. The woman is not named. She may be Zipporah, the known wife of Moses (Exod 2:21, 18:2), or another woman. The meaning of “Cushite” is uncertain. It may refer to the African country of Cush (see Gen 10:6; 1 Chr 1:8) or to Midian, the region east of the Gulf of Aqabah from which Zipporah came (see Exod 3:1, 18:1; Hab 3:7). Most probably, the attack implicates Miriam in a struggle over the priestly leadership of Moses.
Miriam with Aaron also challenges the prophetic authority of Moses. She asks, “Has the Lord spoken only through Moses? Has he not spoken through us also?” (Num 12:2). She understands leadership to embrace diverse voices, female and male. But the price of speaking out is severe. Though God rebukes both Miriam and Aaron, the deity punishes only her. Metaphorically, the divine nostril burns in anger to leave her stricken with scales like snow. Aaron pleads with Moses on her behalf, and Moses appeals to God. God responds by confining her outside the camp for seven days. This period of time verifies her cleanliness but does not restore her to wholeness. Whatever her particular disease, Miriam remains a condemned woman, a warning for generations to come (see Deut 24:8–9). After her punishment, she never speaks, nor is she spoken to. Indeed, she disappears altogether from the narrative until the announcement of her death and burial at Kadesh (Num 20:1).
Negative as well as positive traditions about Miriam testify to her prominence, power, and prestige in early Israel. She participates with Moses and Aaron to lead the Israelite community during the exodus and the wanderings. Her role in saving her baby brother and in celebrating the crossing of the sea highlights her concern for her people. Later they reciprocate. Despite the instructions of God and Moses, the people refuse to continue the march in the wilderness until the diseased Miriam is restored (Num 12:15). Three references to them at her death further underscore their loyalty to her.
Nature also honors Miriam. At her triumphal entry, the living waters of the Red Sea surround her (Exod 15:19–20); at her demise the wells in the desert dry up (Num 20:2). Centuries later, prophecy remembers her as the equal of Moses and Aaron in representing God before the people (Mic 6:8). Moreover, prophecy includes her, though not by name, within its eschatological vision. Jeremiah says that in days to come, Israel will have a new exodus. It will go forth again with drums, dances, and merrymakers (Jer 31:4). As the inaugurator of a performance and composition tradition of song, drums, and dances in Israel, Miriam continues to resonate throughout its musical life (see Pss 68:25; 81:2; 150:4).
Unlike most women in the Bible, Miriam is never called wife or mother. She has neither husband nor children. Jewish traditions, however, cannot tolerate her status as single. The historian Josephus deems Hur the husband of Miriam (Antiquities 3.54; see Exod 17:10–12). Rabbinic sources give her Caleb for a husband and Hur for a son (but compare 1 Chr 2:19).
In the New Testament Miriam’s afterlife continues through her name and her deeds. The Greek name Mary is the equivalent of the Hebrew Miriam. In singing a song of deliverance (Luke 1:46–55), in embodying a demonic or diseased condition (Luke 8:2), and in challenging male authorities (Matt 28:10; Luke 24:10; John 20:11–18), the various Marys of the Gospels reflect their namesake.
Bibliography
Brenner, Athalya. The Israelite Woman: Social Role and Literary Type in Biblical Narrative. Sheffield, England: 1985.
Meyers, Carol, General Editor. Women in Scripture. New York: 2000.