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Miriam

 

Harper’s Bible Dictionary

edited by Paul J. Achtemier (San Francisco: Harper and Row, 1985)

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Miriam, the sister of Moses and Aaron. We first hear of her when the infant Moses was placed in a basket on the Nile and his sister (not named here) watched from a distance; when the baby was discovered by Pharaoh’s daughter, the sister offered to find a Hebrew wetnurse and fetched Moses’mother (Exod. 2:4-8). After the Exodus, Miriam had a prominent position among the women, for Exod. 15:20-21 records her leading the women in the victory song after the events at the Red Sea. Miriam is called a prophetess in this passage. She later considered her prophecy equal to that of Moses when she and Aaron complained about the marriage of Moses to the Cushite woman (Num. 12); for that, she was struck with leprosy and was healed a week later after Aaron asked Moses to intercede for her. Miriam died and was buried at Kadesh. In later biblical tradition the leprosy of Miriam was presented as a caution to Israel (Deut. 24:9), and Miriam was remembered together with Moses and Aaron as leaders sent by God (Mic. 6:4). In postbiblical Jewish legends the prophecy of Miriam is stressed, and she was considered to have foretold the birth of Moses as savior of his people.

 

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