Chapter Twelve
Miriam and Aaron Speak Against Moses
12:1 Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had married, for he had married a Cushite woman. 2 And they said, “Has the LORD indeed spoken only through Moses? Has he not spoken through us also?” And the LORD heard it. 3 Now the man Moses was very meek, more than all people who were on the face of the earth. 4 And suddenly the LORD said to Moses and to Aaron and Miriam, “Come out, you three, to the tent of meeting.” And the three of them came out. 5 And the LORD came down in a pillar of cloud and stood at the entrance of the tent and called Aaron and Miriam, and they both came forward. 6 And he said, “Hear my words: If there is a prophet among you, I the LORD make myself known to him in a vision; I speak with him in a dream. 7 Not so with my servant Moses. He is faithful in all my house. 8 With him I speak mouth to mouth, clearly, and not in riddles, and he beholds the form of the LORD. Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?” 9 And the anger of the LORD was kindled against them, and he departed.
Moses’ sister and brother spoke negatively about him regarding his Cushite wife. There is no direct statement as to whom they are referencing. Most consider Cush the ancient name for Ethiopia, making the reference to someone other than Zipporah (see Exodus 2:21), while others connect this reference to a person being from Cushan, which is in the same Midianite region Zipporah was from (see Habakkuk 3:7). Regardless of nationality or who the wife was, the objection to her was clear. But then the real issue emerges, when they begin to compare themselves to Moses and how YHWH talks through them as well, they were essentially calling themselves equal leaders. God heard the conversation but, before He responds, the author tells us that Moses was very meek, more than anyone else on earth (Hebrew ‘ā·nāw’,[1] to be humble, it is first appearance of the word in the Bible, used to describe a person who puts others ahead of themselves). This is undoubtedly a statement submitted by God, as it would have been counterproductive to say a humble person wrote that passage.
God then called all three, Moses, Miriam, and Aaron, to come out to the entrance of the Tabernacle. Then He spoke to Miriam and Aaron saying, “If there were prophets among you, I, the LORD, would reveal myself in visions. I would speak to them in dreams. But not with my servant Moses. Of all my house, he is the one I trust. I speak to him face to face, clearly, and not in riddles! He sees the LORD as he is. So why were you not afraid to criticize my servant Moses?” (Numbers 12:6-8, NLT), clearly giving additional evidence that Moses was not an ordinary person.[2]
This is also the first use of the Hebrew word ‘ḥî·ḏōṯ’,[3] referring to a riddle or enigmatic saying, a story that requires the audience to determine the meaning. God uses several literary devices in His Word, here God is helping readers to understand that some things stated will need to be closely examined to fully understand the Bible.[4] If He is stating that when He speaks with Moses without riddles, that would imply that at times He does communicate in riddles.
12:10 When the cloud removed from over the tent, behold, Miriam was leprous, like snow. And Aaron turned toward Miriam, and behold, she was leprous. 11 And Aaron said to Moses, “Oh, my lord, do not punish us because we have done foolishly and have sinned. 12 Let her not be as one dead, whose flesh is half eaten away when he comes out of his mother’s womb.” 13 And Moses cried to the LORD, “O God, please heal her—please.” 14 But the LORD said to Moses, “If her father had but spit in her face, should she not be shamed seven days? Let her be shut outside the camp seven days, and after that she may be brought in again.” 15 So Miriam was shut outside the camp seven days, and the people did not set out on the march till Miriam was brought in again. 16 After that the people set out from Hazeroth, and camped in the wilderness of Paran.
When God left them, it was visible that Miriam was leprous, being white as snow. When Aaron saw their sister being leprous, he admitted to Moses that they had foolishly sinned and pleaded with him to not punish them for that sin. Moses immediately prayed to God to heal her. Instead of healing her at that moment, God told Moses, “If her father had but spit in her face, should she not be shamed seven days?” The idea of spitting in the face of another was considered a condescending and humiliating response for some insult or offense, ultimately disgracing the offender (see also Deuteronomy 25:9; Isaiah 50:6) It is interesting to note that the usual temporary quarantine for skin related diseases was also for seven days (see Leviticus 13:4-5, 21, 26, 31, 33, 50, 54; 14:8). God wanted her to stay outside of the camp for that time. The people of Israel stayed at that location until Miriam was cured and brought back into the camp again. Shortly afterwards they resumed traveling and next camped in the wilderness of Paran.
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[1] Strong’s Hebrew 6035.
[2] See Considerations under Exodus chapter 25.
[3] Strong’s Hebrew 2420.
[4] See Appendix 1.