Biblical portraits: Miriam the Prophetess

As the Pentateuch comes to a close, the Israelites reach the Land of Israel, but, sadly, they cannot share their joy with the three who led them on the arduous journey out of Egypt: Moses, Aaron and Miriam all die before entering the Holy Land. The three deaths in close sequence appear to signal that the Israelites must adjust to new leadership as well as to new terrain. But the deaths also encourage us to reflect on what has passed, on the lives led by this famous sibling triumvirate.

One of the most striking aspects of each death is how it mimics, in style and substance, the life of each figure: The hero dies as the hero lived. These parallels are often only hinted at, scarcely discernible in the shadowy, at times mysterious, accounts of their deaths. Only by reading between the lines of each death scene can we come closer to understanding the contribution of Miriam, Aaron and Moses in their lives.

Miriam

“The Israelites arrived in a body at the wilderness of Zin on the first new moon, and the people stayed at Kadesh. Miriam died there and was buried there. The community was without water, and they joined against Moses and Aaron.” Numbers 20:1–2

No one mourns Miriam publicly. We receive no forewarning of her solitary and sudden death, and no comment on her loss. We hear only the aggravated complaining of a congregation once again in need. The self-centeredness of the people in the face of this personal and national tragedy is shocking. Miriam has been a faithful servant to the Israelites, a protective sister and an obedient daughter. Why then does she not receive the burial she merited? Does Miriam deserve a death of ignominy?
Perhaps Miriam’s life can shed light on her death.

We first encounter Moses’ sister—she is not yet named—on the banks of the Nile, as she watches her mother place the baby Moses in a basket in the reeds: “And his sister stood from afar, to learn what would befall him” (Exodus 2:4). When Pharaoh’s daughter arrives and finds the infant, Miriam intervenes for her brother: “Shall I go and get you a Hebrew nurse to suckle the child for you?” (Exodus 2:7). Pharaoh’s daughter agrees, not knowing that Miriam will recommend Moses’ own mother to nurse the child.

Miriam then fades from the story, only to reappear many years later, at what may be the climax of her leadership. Once again we find Miriam on the banks of a body of water, this time the Reed Sea. The waters of the sea, which parted to allow the Israelites to cross safely, are now closing on their pursuers, the Egyptians. As the Egyptians drown, Moses sings a long hymn praising God. Miriam leads the Israelite women in a celebratory song, echoing Moses’ hymn, but only two verses long:

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. And Miriam chanted for them:
“Sing to the Lord,
for He has triumphed gloriously;
Horse and driver
He has hurled into the sea.” Exodus 15:20–21

Miriam’s Song of the Sea is cut short, however, with the pronouncement:

“Then Moses caused Israel to set out from the Sea of Reeds. They went on into the wilderness of Shur; they traveled three days in the wilderness and found no water. They came to Marah, but they could not drink the water of Marah because it was bitter; that is why it was named Marah [meaning “bitter”]” (Exodus 15:22–23).

Following the Song of the Sea, Miriam is not mentioned again until Numbers 12, the longest narrative involving her.

Aaron and Miriam are speaking against Moses for having married a Cushite woman when Miriam is stricken with a skin disease (often translated as leprosy) and is expelled from the camp for seven days. This passage is less concerned with the details of Miriam’s illness than with defending Moses to his siblings. Miriam’s name is mentioned only in the first verse and then, later in the chapter, in several verses devoted to her illness. The next reference to Miriam records her death.

The paucity of words surrounding Miriam’s death is disturbing, but no longer surprising. We no longer expect to find much information about Miriam’s death, since her life is offered to the reader only in fleeting glimpses. Yet by carefully comparing the brief accounts of her life and death, we may find greater insights hidden in the text than we initially detected. Stylistic parallels provide valuable clues to a pattern of character development—or, perhaps, arrested development.

The most striking parallel between Miriam’s death and her life is the brevity of each account. In each story, Miriam is scarcely introduced before the narrative turns in another direction (usually to follow the Israelites as they head off to another location).

In addition, almost every reference to Miriam mentions water: We see Miriam standing by the Nile or the Reed Sea, or we hear the Israelites complaining of their thirst for water. Further, almost every reference to her is cut short by the needs of others. Often these two elements are connected: It is the Israelites need for water’s saving powers that distracts us from Miriam. No wonder her name means “bitter waters.”

Both the abruptness of the passages and the constant references to the needs of others suggest that Miriam’s own story has been curtailed—perhaps suppressed—so that others’ needs can be attended. In Miriam’s life as in her death, the needs of others—especially the need for nourishment—eclipse her own.

Three passages in Numbers (20:2, 20:19, 21:5) describing the water shortage following Miriam’s death prompted several early commentaries to recognize Miriam as a symbolic supplier of water. In the midrash,e the appearance of a mysterious well not mentioned in the Bible is attributed to Miriam’s merit. When she dies, the well is removed. But in the Bible, the children of Israel fail to acknowledge Miriam as the source of the water. Only by searching in the shadowy recesses of the text do we find that the Israelites understood the threat Miriam’s death posed for their survival. Miriam’s life and death narratives are overshadowed by the needs of others, yet, ironically, it is she who can supply those needs. Her loss will be felt as a thirst: Just as the children of Israel thirst for water, the reader thirsts for more about Miriam, whose very character mimics the qualities of water—almost unnoticeable, perhaps even colorless, until it evaporates.