Women of the Bible Miriam

In this study we will take a look at the women within the Bible. We will look at each one of them and see how their story influences our lives today.

As we continue our study in this fantastic insight of the Women of the Bible, this morning we shall finish up with Zipporah and then take a look at Miriam the sister of Moses.

Miriam (rebellion) – Moses Sister – A Prophetess
Miriam was the older sister of Moses, and it was she who watched over him when he was placed in a basket on the River Nile. She went on to become a leader of the Hebrews when they escaped from Egypt and went in search of the Promised Land.

Miriam is best known for helping to deliver Moses at the Nile River and leading the Hebrew women in singing, dancing, and playing drums after crossing the Red Sea. Later, she and her brother Aaron challenge the actions and authority of Moses. She understands leadership to embrace diverse voices, female and male. But the price of speaking out is severe; Yahweh punishes her, after which she never speaks, nor is she spoken to. Centuries later, prophecy remembers her as the equal of Moses and Aaron in representing Yahweh before the people, and as the inaugurator of a performance and composition tradition of song, drums, and dances in Israel.

"I will pour out My Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy."—Joel 2:28.

         Miriam, the prophetess, the sister of Aaron (Exod. 15:20.), is the first of her order mentioned in the Word of Yahweh. While Yahweh never ordained a woman to be priest, nor do we read of women as bishops or pastors in the New Testament, the vocation of "prophetess" is common to both dispensations. Hannah (1Sam. 1:2) was practically a prophetess, and so was Huldah, to whom King Josiah went in his time of perplexity. Deborah (Judges 4:5) was a prophetess (2Kings 22:14), and there were also false prophetesses, such as Noadiah (Neh. 6:14), as well as false prophets.

         In the New Testament, Peter expressly declares that the pouring out of the Spirit of Yahweh upon all flesh should be upon sons and daughters, servants, and handmaids, "and they shall prophesy," quoting from the Old Testament. (Joel 2:28-32); compare (Acts 2:17-18.)  A number of those who "spake" "AS THE SPIRIT GAVE THEM UTTERANCE," (Acts. 2:4.) of the wonderful works of Yahweh on the Day of Pentecost, were women speaking in the spirit of prophecy. Philip, the deacon, we read, had four daughters "which did prophesy" (Acts 21:9); the Apostle Paul speaks of those women who labored with him in the Gospel. (Phl. 4:3.) It is he who especially recommends that, when women pray and prophesy, their heads should be covered; and explains what is this office of prophesying in the words: "He that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort." (1Chorin. 11:5; 14:3.) And while Paul commands that women should not speak in church, he ordains that all, i.e., both men and women, may prophesy, one by one, that all may learn, and may be comforted. (1Corin. 14:31-34.)

          Yahweh's order in the family is not according to earthly birthright. Speaking of the leaders of His people Israel, He says: "I sent before thee Moses, Aaron, and Miriam." (Micah 6:4.) All these children of Amram were of the prophet order. Miriam was the eldest, Moses the youngest; yet Moses is first mentioned, because he knew his Yahweh more fully than either his brother or his sister. Aaron, his elder brother, ranks next, and Miriam, the eldest of the three, ranks last.

Miriam was a leader of the Hebrew people during the Exodus, the great founding event of Judaism. The episodes we have about her are disjointed and probably only represent a fraction of the stories originally told in the oral tradition of the Hebrew people. 

 The story of Miriam contains four different episodes:  
 
1 Miriam saved her brother Moses, Exodus 2:1-10. This well-known story shows that the survival of the leader of the Exodus, Moses, depended on the courage and ingenuity of one young woman, his sister Miriam.  

 2 The song of Miriam, Exodus 15:20-21. This fragment of the Song of Miriam is one of the oldest poetic couplets in the Old Testament. It is an example of a literary genre devoted to celebrating military victories with triumphal poems. 

 3 Miriam's ordeal, Numbers 12. This story is about the authority of established law. Moses was the great lawgiver of the Hebrew people Moses' legislation formed the basis of Hebrew life. The story acknowledged that Miriam and Aaron were both popular leaders, but the Law, represented by Moses, bound them. 

 4 Miriam's death, Numbers 20:1-2. Miriam died in a waterless place in the wilderness, but Yahweh subsequently caused water to appear there. 

 In this study we take a look #2 The Song of Miriam and #3 Miriam’s ordeal

Exodus 15:20-21

20.          Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron = This is the first mention of Miriam by name, and she is described as the sister of Aaron, so she is therefore also the sister of Moses (Exodus 4:14).

We also see that Miriam had some kind of prophetic gift. Later she used her leadership position in an unwise and ungodly way – to challenge the authority of Moses (Numbers 12).

Miriam was with Moses throughout the nine plagues. She came out of Egypt with Moses. Miriam was a woman of Yahweh. She was indeed a prophet herself (Exodus 15:20). The fact that Miriam was a prophet is a little known fact because everyone concentrates on Moses. Miriam was called to play a less prominent role than Moses but nevertheless a vital one.

 Miriam's role as a leader of the Hebrew women was obviously more extensive than is shown in the biblical text. Despite her personal charisma and power, her story has to a large extent been subsumed into the story of her brother Moses. 

Rulers in the ancient world led through force of arms and military might. Miriam and Moses proposed a different model of leadership. They led by example served their people rather than ruled them did what they believed Yahweh wanted rather than serving their own ends.     

 When the Hebrew’s were escaping from Egypt, they crossed what was probably a large papyrus marsh, called the Red Sea in the biblical text. Moses, Miriam, and her second brother Aaron led them.

 Numbers 12

This part of Miriam's story described an incident at Hazeroth (villages), as the Hebrew people wandered in search of their promised land.

Going to Moses, Miriam and Aaron raised two points that were troubling them: 

1.      They questioned his marriage to the Cushite (Ethiopian or Midianite) woman, not because of any personal rivalry, but because Hebrews condemned marriage with a foreigner. Some Bible translations call the woman a Cushite, others Ethiopian and some even say Sudanese. What is clear is that the woman was a foreigner. Bible scholars are divided over whether she was of African decent, as names and geography have changed in meaning over the centuries. In the ancient world the whole of the southern world from Africa to India was denoted by the word Ethiopia (English travelers as late as the 17th Century still used the name in that sense). All this leaves the possibility but not confirmation that Moses wife could have been of African decent.

 2.      They questioned Moses' authority over them, since Moses was the youngest of the three siblings. Yahweh had communicated with all three of them. Why then should Moses dominate the other two? 

 Join me as we go Chapter by Chapter, Verse by Verse, Unraveling the Words of Yahweh!

Have any questions? Feel free to email me; keitner2024@outlook.com