A cursory survey of the texts where the women prophets… Miriam is the elder sister of Aaron and Moses. When the children of Israel miraculously crossed the Red Sea, Miriam was one of the first to pick up an instrument and lead in worship (Exodus 15:20). A leader of God's people at a crucial moment in history, she led the celebration after crossing the Red Sea and spoke God's word to his … Moses was the man who led Israel out of Egypt. Although the Bible shows Miriam did not hold a position equal to that of Moses, she seems to have been viewed as a near equal to Aaron in importance. Some of the prophetesses were good, but others were not. Jealousy led Miriam to reject both the position of Moses as the leader of the host, and his partner in the wife he took unto himself. She was recognized as a prophet of Israel and led the women in worship to remember what God had done. One of the Bible’s strongest female leaders with the highest post ever held by a woman in the Bible, yet even at the advanced age of 92 this prophetess fell for the lowest of sins: gossip and slander. Miriam, sadly, went from unifying the people to sowing discord. 12:1-2: Mic. Miriam and Aaron truly were leaders whom God was using. Miriam first appears in the biblical book of Exodus not long after Pharaoh decrees that all newborn Hebrew boys will be drowned in the Nile river.Miriam's mother, Yocheved, has been hiding Miriam's infant brother, Moses, for three months. She was one of the triad leaders of Israel during the Exodus from Egypt (Exodus 15:24). Moses was the youngest of the three yet became the leader of the pack (Exodus 2:3-4; Exodus 6:20; Numbers 26:59). Miriam was a prophet and led a nation in worship (Exodus 15:20). She was born four years before Aaron and seven years before Moses. What does the Bible say? Unlike most women in the Bible, Miriam is never called wife or mother. Exodus 15:20 says, “Then Miriam the prophet, Aaron’s sister, took a tambourine and led all the women as they played their tambourines and danced” (NLT). 2. In the first place, Miriam rebelled against the bride of Moses whose first wife, Zipporah, was a Midianite or Gentile ( Exodus 2:21 ). The Torah refers to her as "Miriam the Prophetess" and the Talmud names her as one of the seven major female prophets of Israel. Miriam as Prophet (Numbers 12) I know of no female prophet in the Bible who only spoke to women. Moses: leader-lawgiver-legend. Miriam as the Leader of Israel in the Wilderness Miriam is portrayed as an integral member of the Moses-Aaron-Miriam leadership triumvirate. The Lord struck Miriam with leprosy. Miriam. Miriam (c. 13th century B.C.) And Miriam answered them, 'Sing ye to the Lord, for He hath triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider hath He thrown into the sea. Exodus 2.4-6, Exodus 15.20-21, Numbers 12.1, Micah 6.4, Numbers 20:1 Gloria by Micah Hayns This blog series all began because of Miriam. 3 Ibid. Notice that Miriam was one of God’s special gifts to the people of Israel. Exodus Leader. Miriam the prophetess and Aaron the high priest wanted equal billing with Moses. [4] Throughout the Bible we see that there was a recognised place for female prophets in their communities, with at least one female prophet mentioned in each period of Israel’s history. In her criticism, Miriam was questioning the Lord’s wisdom in choosing Moses as the leader. Through her unique brand of feminine leadership, Miriam was able to bridge the gap between the grumbling masses and their “distant” leader. Although her jealously later in life led to disaster, Miriam's quick wit as a young girl helped change the course of Israel's history by protecting its greatest spiritual leader. Was this the case? And Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand; and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances. Image: Miriam - Anselm Feuerbach (1829–1880) Credit: Wikipedia Today I continue my series of studies on the women prophets in the Old Testament. Miriam is the older sister of Moses; she’s also the sister of Aaron, but we don’t know which one is older. Exodus 15:20 Exodus 15:20 And Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a tambourine in her hand; and all the women went out after her with tambourines and with dances. The gifts the two had, the privileges they each enjoyed as spiritual leaders, somehow were not enough. Reformer The Bible doesn’t portray its heroes and heroines as paragons of virtue. Miriam is no exception. The title appears in Exodus when Miriam leads the women of the Israelites in a victory chant after the destruction of pharaohs army in the Red Sea: A study of Miriam can lead us into a deeper understanding of leadership, roles , and the amazing “Team Moses.” Miriam (מִרְיָם ‎ Mīrəyām) was described in the Hebrew Bible as the daughter of Amram and Jochebed, and the older sister of Moses and Aaron.She was a prophetess and first appears in the Book of Exodus.. Miriam is identified as a prophet and as a leader in the Bible, but some say her ministry was only to women. ... through us?’” (Numbers 12:2). When her mother puts Moses in a basket and places it among the reeds of the Nile, Miriam watches from a distance to see what will happen to him. She took the place of leadership that the LORD gave her, and used it to direct the woman to praise the Lord. The next time we see Miriam in the Bible, she is a leader along with her brothers, taking the Israelites across the Red Sea into freedom. In Exodus 15:20, Miriam’s first response to God’s miraculous deliverance of his people from many years of bondage (slavery,) was to dance. 3. Miriam was a prophet and leader during the time of the patriarchs (Numb. What ate at Miriam was that others did not perceive her as being as important as Moses was. Miriam as a Child . At the end of this post I provide a list of previous posts dealing with the women prophets in the Hebrew Bible. 6:4). When we have grievances against those in authority It was also Moses who served as Israel's first political leader, the one to whom the nation looked for governance. Miriam was a leader among the Hebrew women, and she was gifted musically. She became a leader among the women of Israel during the exodus. She is the only daughter of Amram and Jochebed. Micah 6:4 names Miriam as a leader of the nation, along with Moses and Aaron. As the big sister of the family Miriam knew all the secrets. She has neither husband nor children. Her name means: "Bitterness" Her character: Even as a young girl, she showed fortitude and wisdom. . Deborah, Huldah, and Anna were recognised and respected as prophets, and they spoke to men. She was the older sister to Aaron and Moses. Miriam was the firstborn child of Amram and Jochobed, born in Egypt about 90 years before the Exodus. Deborah – A prophetess judge who headed the army of ancient Israel. In fact, the Bible tells us that in Micah 6:4: She was a godly influence in their lives. Deborah was chosen by God to lead as a prophet, judge, and even led the men into battle ( Judges 4-5 ). Miriam's major mistake, for which she is punished and secluded outside the camp for seven days, is Lashon Hara (negative speech) about Moses: Miriam spoke with Aaron about Moses regarding the Kushite woman whom he married. Jewish traditions, however, cannot tolerate her status as single. Perhaps Miriam felt threatened by Moses’ new wife in her role as the leader of Israel’s women (Eugene Merrill, The Bible Knowledge Commentary [Victor Books], ed. Amram and Jochebed were the father and mother of Miriam, Aaron and Moses. Women often get to know about things that men don't. At the time Moses is born, there’s a degree to kill all baby boys. Miriam, the daughter of Amram and Yocheved, and older sister of her two famous brothers, Aaron and Moses, was born in Egypt just when the Jewish people were reduced to slavery, oppression and hard labor.This was in the year 2362 (after Creation), eighty-six years before the liberation. Miriam was the first woman in the Bible to be given the title prophetess. Miriam – The daughter of Aaron and a prophetess. Women in the Bible: Miriam. I was in a shop getting some pictures framed whilst wearing my clerical collar and the man at the desk said: ‘you’ll know the answer to this as you're a Vicar’. Tradition says she is the unnamed sister who kept watch over Moses and arranged for their mother to nurse the child for Pharaoh’s daughter. Often, the reader sees the good in the heroes as well as the bad. Answer: Miriam in the Bible is Moses’ older sister. As a young girl she watched over the basket with Moses in it, assuring that an Egyptian princess would retrieve him, fulfilling the plan by which her mother saved him. Miriam would have been in her 90s at this point. This is the only time the Bible mentions this wife. He is nowhere called a king, but the Bible testifies that he functioned, under God, as Israel's human governor and judge both in its internal needs and in its dealings with other nations as it proceeded to the Promised Land. Church leaders… God was angry that Miriam and Aaron were so willing to speak against the servant He had chosen. Moses’s mom hides him as long as she can, then she puts him in a basket and places him in the Nile River. She found the management and marriage of Moses most irksome. Early 1900s drawing of Miriam and Moses1 The first woman in the Bible to be given the appellation prophetess was Miriam, the sister of Moses and Aaron. But this wasn’t her only ministry role. Miriam was also a prophet, worship leader, and a co-leader with Moses and Aaron (Micah 6:4). She was a great leader and influenced Barak, the commanding army general during that time (Judges 4-5) Miriam, the Jealous Sister. Moses, Hebrew-born and Egyptian-educated leader of the Hebrews in their flight from Egypt; Miriam, his shrewd and protective sister who led the women in the flight from Egypt; Aaron, brother of Moses and second-in-command on the initial segment of the flight; Pharaoh, who refused to let the Hebrews go from Egypt, and suffered the consequences (Numbers 12:1) It seems outrageous that someone like Miriam should engage in gossip. Miriam is a fascinating woman who is often only remembered because of her sin of challenging the role of her brother as leader. The authority of God’s chosen leader must be respected, for to rebel against such a leader is to rebel against God himself. where Miriam excelled. She stopped praising God and started grumbling about her brother. There is much more. His punishment falls first on Miriam who becomes leprous to the point of death, and Aaron begs Moses to forgive them (Num. by John Walvoord and Roy Zuck, 1:228). Miriam’s leadership was guided not by stressing her individuality but by forming a network of human relations.8 It was Miriam who enabled dialogue with the people. The historian Josephus deems Hur the husband of Miriam (Antiquities 3.54; see Exod 17:10–12). Miriam burned to be viewed by all as someone who was on a par with Moses, not subordinate to him. 12:10-12). 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