1 And Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married: for he had married an Ethiopian woman.

2And they said, Hath the LORD indeed spoken only by Moses? hath he not spoken also by us? And the LORD heard it.

3(Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which wereupon the face of the earth.)

4And the LORD spake suddenly unto Moses, and unto Aaron, and unto Miriam, Come out ye three unto the tabernacle of the congregation. And they three came out.

5And the LORD came down in the pillar of the cloud, and stood in the door of the tabernacle, and called Aaron and Miriam: and they both came forth.

6And he said, Hear now my words: If there be a prophet among you, I the LORD will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream.

7My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all mine house.

8With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the LORD shall he behold: wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?

9And the anger of the LORD was kindled against them; and he departed.

10And the cloud departed from off the tabernacle; and, behold, Miriam became leprous, white as snow: and Aaron looked upon Miriam, and, behold, she was leprous.

11And Aaron said unto Moses, Alas, my lord, I beseech thee, lay not the sin upon us, wherein we have done foolishly, and wherein we have sinned.

12Let her not be as one dead, of whom the flesh is half consumed when he cometh out of his mother's womb.

13And Moses cried unto the LORD, saying, Heal her now, O God, I beseech thee.

14And the LORD said unto Moses, If her father had but spit in her face, should she not be ashamed seven days? let her be shut out from the camp seven days, and after that let her be received in again.

15And Miriam was shut out from the camp seven days: and the people journeyed not till Miriam was brought in again.

16And afterward the people removed from Hazeroth, and pitched in the wilderness of Paran.

1 And Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses, because of the Ethiophian woman, whom hee had married: for he had married an Ethiopian woman.

2And they said, Hath the Lord indeed spoken onely by Moses? Hath hee not spoken also by vs? And the Lord heard it.

3(Now the man Moses was very meeke, aboue all the men which were vpon the face of the earth.)

4And the Lord spake suddenly vnto Moses, and vnto Aaron, and vnto Miriam, Come out ye three vnto the Tabernacle of the Congregation: and they three came out.

5And the Lord came downe in the pillar of the cloude, and stood in the doore of the Tabernacle, and called Aaron and Miriam: and they both came foorth.

6And hee saide, Heare now my words: If there be a Prophet among you, I the Lord will make my selfe knowen vnto him in a vision, and will speake vnto him in a dreame:

7My seruant Moses is not so, who is faithfull in all mine house.

8With him will I speake mouth to mouth euen apparantly, and not in darke speeches, and the similitude of the Lord shall hee behold: wherefore then were yee not afraid to speake against my seruant Moses?

9And the anger of the Lord was kindled against them, and he departed.

10And the cloud departed from off the Tabernacle, and behold, Miriam became leprous, white as snow: and Aaron looked vpon Miriam, and behold, she was leprous.

11And Aaron said vnto Moses, Alas my lord, I beseech thee, lay not the sinne vpon vs, wherein we haue done foolishly, and wherein we haue sinned:

12Let her not bee as one dead, of whom the flesh is halfe consumed, when he commeth out of his mothers wombe.

13And Moses cryed vnto the Lord, saying, Heale her now, O God, I beseech thee.

14 And the Lord said vnto Moses, If her father had but spit in her face, should she not bee ashamed seuen dayes? let her be shut out from the campe seuen dayes, and after that let her be receiued in againe.

15And Miriam was shut out from the campe seuen dayes: and the people iourneied not, til Miriam was brought in againe.

16And afterward the people remoued from Hazeroth, and pitched in the wildernesse of Paran.

I == Ex 2:21

 

 

II == Gen 29:33 ; Ex 15:20 ; 2nd Kings 19:4 ; Isa 37:4 ; Ezek 35:12-13 ; Mic 6:4

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

VI == Gen 15:1 ; 31:10-11 ; 46:2 ; 1st Kings 3:5 ; Job 33:15 ; Ezek 1:1 ; Dan 8:2 10:8 , 16-17 ; Matt 1:20 ; Luke 1:11 , 22 ; Acts 10:11 , 17 ; 22:17-18

VII == Ps 105:26 ; 1st Tim 3:15 ; Heb 3:2 , 5

VIII == Ex 33:11 , 19 ; Deut 34:10 ; 1st Cor 13:12 ; 2nd Peter 2:10 ; Ude 1:8

 

 

X == Deut 24:9 ; 2nd Kings 5:27 ; 15:5 ; 2nd chr 26:19-20

 

 

XI == 2nd Sam 19:19 ; 24:10 ; Prov 30:32

 

 

 

 

 

 

XIV == Lev 13:46 ; Num 5:2-3 ; Heb 12:9

 

 

 

XV == Deut 24:9 ; 2nd Chr 26:20-21

 

 

1 While they were in Hazeroth, Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses on the pretext of the marriage he had contracted with a Cushite woman.

2 They complained, "Is it through Moses alone that the LORD speaks? Does he not speak through us also?" And the LORD heard this.

3 Now, Moses himself was by far the meekest man on the face of the earth.

4 So at once the LORD said to Moses and Aaron and Miriam, "Come out, you three, to the meeting tent." And the three of them went.

5 Then the LORD came down in the column of cloud, and standing at the entrance of the tent, called Aaron and Miriam. When both came forward,

6 he said, "Now listen to the words of the LORD: Should there be a prophet among you, in visions will I reveal myself to him, in dreams will I speak to him;

7 Not so with my servant Moses! Throughout my house he bears my trust:

8 face to face I speak to him, plainly and not in riddles. The presence of the LORD he beholds. Why, then, did you not fear to speak against my servant Moses?"

9 So angry was the LORD against them that when he departed,

10 and the cloud withdrew from the tent, there was Miriam, a snow-white leper! When Aaron turned and saw her a leper,

11 "Ah, my lord!" he said to Moses, "please do not charge us with the sin that we have foolishly committed!

12 Let her not thus be like the stillborn babe that comes forth from its mother's womb with its flesh half consumed."

13 Then Moses cried to the LORD, "Please, not this! Pray, heal her!"

14 But the LORD answered Moses, "Suppose her father had spit in her face, would she not hide in shame for seven days? Let her be confined outside the camp for seven days; only then may she be brought back."

15 So Miriam was confined outside the camp for seven days, and the people did not start out again until she was brought back.

16 After that the people set out from Hazeroth and encamped in the desert of Paran.

Moses vs. Aaron and Miriam

v 1. There is wide open speculation regarding Moses marrying an Ethiopian (KJV) woman. Ethiopian is better translated Cush. In Egyptian it is “Nubian”, and “Phinehas” in Egyptian is also “Nubian”. Perhaps Aaron’s grandson Phinehas was born when Moses returned to Egypt with news that he had married a “Nubian” woman. Although the timing is right, that seems unlikely. It is also unlikely Zipporah had died or Moses had taken a second wife. The best explanation is that she, born in Midian was a descendent of Cush, which could be in either Ethiopia or Arabia.

v 2. Miriam perhaps thought Zipporah had influenced Moses in the selection of the seventy elders, and as in Aaron’s weakness regarding the golden calf, she got him to side in with her. Any friction with Zipporah was probably just an excuse. Their real jealousy was no doubt that even though Miriam was a prophetess and Aaron was a priest, Moses had not consulted them in the selection of the seventy elders of 11:16. Also, the Spirit had not come upon Aaron to prophesy with them. There have been young men in our day who have been jealous because they wanted to teach or preach when they were still novices and not ready.

3-9. This was not an insertion later by another writer, as some claim. Moses mentions his meekness only to show that such envy was not needed, but the Lord took up his case abruptly. The three were not allowed into the tabernacle, but the pillar of the Lord’s presence came out to meet them. The Lord spoke in dreams and visions to prophets, but He spoke clearly and without mediation with Moses, and he would one day see God’s similitude (but not all His glory), Ex. 33:20-23. After the rebuke, the cloud departed from them and resumed it’s place over the mercy seat. It is sad when the presence of the Lord departs from us, as it did from Samson, Jud. 16:20.

v 10-13. God struck Miriam, the instigator, with extreme leprosy. In horror, Aaron admits their sin and pleads with Moses on her behalf, and Moses interceded at once.

v 14-16. Spitting on some one showed great contempt, and God had shown His contempt upon Miriam. Though she was immediately healed, she had to go through the seven day ritual of cleansing described in Lev. 13 and 14. The people did not journey during this time, and sometimes the sin of one individual make keep an entire church from going forward. They had been moving northeast from Sinai toward the Gulf of Aqaba. Now they move from their location farther north and somewhat inland into the wilderness of Paran.