1 And Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married: for he had married an Ethiopian woman.
2 And 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 were upon the face of the earth.)
4 And 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.
5 And 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.
6 And 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.
7 My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all mine house.
8 With 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?
9 And the anger of the LORD was kindled against them; and he departed.
10 And 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.
11 And 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.
12 Let her not be as one dead, of whom the flesh is half consumed when he cometh out of his mother's womb.
13 And Moses cried unto the LORD, saying, Heal her now, O God, I beseech thee.
14 And 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.
15 And Miriam was shut out from the camp seven days: and the people journeyed not till Miriam was brought in again.
16 And afterward the people removed from Hazeroth, and pitched in the wilderness of Paran.
1 And Miriam H4813 and Aaron H175 spake H1696 against Moses H4872 because of H182 the Ethiopian H3571 woman H802 whom he had married: H3947 for he had married H3947 an Ethiopian H3571 woman. H802
2 And they said, H559 Hath the LORD H3068 indeed spoken H1696 only by Moses? H4872 hath he not spoken H1696 also by us? And the LORD H3068 heard H8085 it.
3 (Now the man H376 Moses H4872 was very H3966 meek, H6035 H6035 above all the men H120 which were upon the face H6440 of the earth.) H127
4 And the LORD H3068 spake H559 suddenly H6597 unto Moses, H4872 and unto Aaron, H175 and unto Miriam, H4813 Come out H3318 ye three H7969 unto the tabernacle H168 of the congregation. H4150 And they three H7969 came out. H3318
5 And the LORD H3068 came down H3381 in the pillar H5982 of the cloud, H6051 and stood H5975 in the door H6607 of the tabernacle, H168 and called H7121 Aaron H175 and Miriam: H4813 and they both H8147 came forth. H3318
6 And he said, H559 Hear H8085 now my words: H1697 If there be a prophet H5030 among you, I the LORD H3068 will make myself known H3045 unto him in a vision, H4759 and will speak H1696 unto him in a dream. H2472
7 My servant H5650 Moses H4872 is not so, who is faithful H539 in all mine house. H1004
8 With him will I speak H1696 mouth H6310 to mouth, H6310 even apparently, H4758 and not in dark speeches; H2420 and the similitude H8544 of the LORD H3068 shall he behold: H5027 wherefore then were ye not afraid H3372 to speak H1696 against my servant H5650 Moses? H4872
9 And the anger H639 of the LORD H3068 was kindled H2734 against them; and he departed. H3212
10 And the cloud H6051 departed H5493 from off the tabernacle; H168 and, behold, Miriam H4813 became leprous, H6879 white as snow: H7950 and Aaron H175 looked H6437 upon Miriam, H4813 and, behold, she was leprous. H6879
11 And Aaron H175 said H559 unto Moses, H4872 Alas, H994 my lord, H113 I beseech thee, lay H7896 not the sin H2403 upon us, wherein we have done foolishly, H2973 and wherein we have sinned. H2398
12 Let her not be as one dead, H4994 H4191 of whom the flesh H1320 is half H2677 consumed H398 when he cometh out H3318 of his mother's H517 womb. H7358
13 And Moses H4872 cried H6817 unto the LORD, H3068 saying, H559 Heal H7495 her now, O God, H410 I beseech thee.
14 And the LORD H3068 said H559 unto Moses, H4872 If her father H1 had but H3417 spit H3417 in her face, H6440 should she not be ashamed H3637 seven H7651 days? H3117 let her be shut H5462 out H2351 from the camp H4264 seven H7651 days, H3117 and after H310 that let her be received H622 in again.
15 And Miriam H4813 was shut H5462 out H2351 from the camp H4264 seven H7651 days: H3117 and the people H5971 journeyed H5265 not till Miriam H4813 was brought H622 in again.
16 And afterward H310 the people H5971 removed H5265 from Hazeroth, H2698 and pitched H2583 in the wilderness H4057 of Paran. H6290
1 And Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had married; for he had married a Cushite woman.
2 And they said, Hath Jehovah indeed spoken only with Moses? hath he not spoken also with us? And Jehovah heard it.
3 Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men that were upon the face of the earth.
4 And Jehovah spake suddenly unto Moses, and unto Aaron, and unto Miriam, Come out ye three unto the tent of meeting. And they three came out.
5 And Jehovah came down in a pillar of cloud, and stood at the door of the Tent, and called Aaron and Miriam; and they both came forth.
6 And he said, Hear now my words: if there be a prophet among you, I Jehovah will make myself known unto him in a vision, I will speak with him in a dream.
7 My servant Moses is not so; he is faithful in all my house:
8 with him will I speak mouth to mouth, even manifestly, and not in dark speeches; and the form of Jehovah shall he behold: wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against my servant, against Moses?
9 And the anger of Jehovah was kindled against them; and he departed.
10 And the cloud removed from over the Tent; and, behold, Miriam was leprous, as `white as' snow: and Aaron looked upon Miriam, and, behold, she was leprous.
11 And Aaron said unto Moses, Oh, my lord, lay not, I pray thee, sin upon us, for that we have done foolishly, and for that we have sinned.
12 Let her not, I pray, be as one dead, of whom the flesh is half consumed when he cometh out of his mother's womb.
13 And Moses cried unto Jehovah, saying, Heal her, O God, I beseech thee.
14 And Jehovah said unto Moses, If her father had but spit in her face, should she not be ashamed seven days? let her be shut up without the camp seven days, and after that she shall be brought in again.
15 And Miriam was shut up without the camp seven days: and the people journeyed not till Miriam was brought in again.
16 And afterward the people journeyed from Hazeroth, and encamped in the wilderness of Paran.
1 And Miriam speaketh -- Aaron also -- against Moses concerning the circumstance of the Cushite woman whom he had taken: for a Cushite woman he had taken;
2 and they say, `Only by Moses hath Jehovah spoken? also by us hath he not spoken?' and Jehovah heareth.
3 And the man Moses `is' very humble, more than any of the men who `are' on the face of the ground.
4 And Jehovah saith suddenly unto Moses, and unto Aaron, and unto Miriam, `Come out ye three unto the tent of meeting;' and they three come out.
5 And Jehovah cometh down in the pillar of the cloud, and standeth at the opening of the tent, and calleth Aaron and Miriam, and they come out both of them.
6 And He saith, `Hear, I pray you, My words: If your prophet is of Jehovah -- in an appearance unto him I make Myself known; in a dream I speak with him;
7 not so My servant Moses; in all My house he `is' stedfast;
8 mouth unto mouth I speak with him, and `by' an appearance, and not in riddles; and the form of Jehovah he beholdeth attentively; and wherefore have ye not been afraid to speak against My servant -- against Moses?'
9 And the anger of Jehovah burneth against them, and He goeth on,
10 and the cloud hath turned aside from off the tent, and lo, Miriam `is' leprous as snow; and Aaron turneth unto Miriam, and lo, leprous!
11 And Aaron saith unto Moses, `O, my lord, I pray thee, lay not upon us sin `in' which we have been foolish, and `in' which we have sinned;
12 let her not, I pray thee, be as `one' dead, when in his coming out from the womb of his mother -- the half of his flesh is consumed.'
13 And Moses crieth unto Jehovah, saying, `O God, I pray Thee, give, I pray Thee, healing to her.'
14 And Jehovah saith unto Moses, `And her father had but spat in her face -- is she not ashamed seven days? she is shut out seven days at the outside of the camp, and afterwards she is gathered.'
15 And Miriam is shut out at the outside of the camp seven days, and the people hath not journeyed till Miriam is gathered;
16 and afterwards have the people journeyed from Hazeroth, and they encamp in the wilderness of Paran.
1 And Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had taken; for he had taken a Cushite as wife.
2 And they said, Has Jehovah indeed spoken only to Moses? has he not spoken also to us? And Jehovah heard it.
3 But the man Moses was very meek, above all men that were upon the face of the earth.
4 Then Jehovah spoke suddenly to Moses, and to Aaron, and to Miriam, Come out ye three unto the tent of meeting. And they went out, they three.
5 And Jehovah came down in the pillar of the cloud, and stood at the entrance of the tent, and called Aaron and Miriam; and they both came forth.
6 And he said, Hear now my words: If there be a prophet among you, I Jehovah will make myself known to him in a vision, I will speak to him in a dream.
7 Not so my servant Moses: he is faithful in all my house.
8 Mouth to mouth do I speak to him openly, and not in riddles; and the form of Jehovah doth he behold. Why then were ye not afraid to speak against my servant, against Moses?
9 And the anger of Jehovah was kindled against them, and he went away;
10 and the cloud departed from off the tent. And behold, Miriam was leprous as snow; and Aaron turned toward Miriam, and behold, she was leprous.
11 Then Aaron said to Moses, Alas, my lord, I beseech thee, lay not this sin upon us, wherein we have been foolish, and have sinned!
12 Let her not be as one stillborn, half of whose flesh is consumed when he comes out of his mother's womb.
13 And Moses cried to Jehovah, saying, O ùGod, heal her, I beseech thee!
14 And Jehovah said to Moses, But had her father anyways spat in her face, should she not be shamed seven days? She shall be shut outside the camp seven days, and afterwards she shall be received in [again].
15 And Miriam was shut outside the camp seven days; and the people did not journey till Miriam was received in [again].
16 And afterwards the people journeyed from Hazeroth, and encamped in the wilderness of Paran.
1 Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had married; for he had married a Cushite woman.
2 They said, Has Yahweh indeed spoken only with Moses? Hasn't he spoken also with us? Yahweh heard it.
3 Now the man Moses was very humble, above all the men who were on the surface of the earth.
4 Yahweh spoke suddenly to Moses, and to Aaron, and to Miriam, Come out you three to the tent of meeting. They three came out.
5 Yahweh came down in a pillar of cloud, and stood at the door of the Tent, and called Aaron and Miriam; and they both came forth.
6 He said, Hear now my words: if there be a prophet among you, I Yahweh will make myself known to him in a vision, I will speak with him in a dream.
7 My servant Moses is not so; he is faithful in all my house:
8 with him will I speak mouth to mouth, even manifestly, and not in dark speeches; and the form of Yahweh shall he see: why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant, against Moses?
9 The anger of Yahweh was kindled against them; and he departed.
10 The cloud removed from over the Tent; and, behold, Miriam was leprous, as [white as] snow: and Aaron looked at Miriam, and, behold, she was leprous.
11 Aaron said to Moses, Oh, my lord, please don't lay sin on us, for that we have done foolishly, and for that we have sinned.
12 Let her not, I pray, be as one dead, of whom the flesh is half consumed when he comes out of his mother's womb.
13 Moses cried to Yahweh, saying, Heal her, God, I beg you.
14 Yahweh said to Moses, If her father had but spit in her face, shouldn't she be ashamed seven days? let her be shut up outside of the camp seven days, and after that she shall be brought in again.
15 Miriam was shut up outside of the camp seven days: and the people didn't travel until Miriam was brought in again.
16 Afterward the people traveled from Hazeroth, and encamped in the wilderness of Paran.
1 Now Miriam and Aaron said evil against Moses, because of the Cushite woman to whom he was married, for he had taken a Cushite woman as his wife.
2 And they said, Have the words of the Lord been given to Moses only? have they not come to us? And the Lord took note of it.
3 Now the man Moses was more gentle than any other man on earth.
4 And suddenly the Lord said to Moses and Aaron and Miriam, Come out, you three, to the Tent of meeting. And the three of them went out.
5 And the Lord came down in a pillar of cloud, taking his place at the door of the Tent, and made Aaron and Miriam come before him.
6 And he said, Now give ear to my words: if there is a prophet among you I will give him knowledge of myself in a vision and will let my words come to him in a dream.
7 My servant Moses is not so; he is true to me in all my house:
8 With him I will have talk mouth to mouth, openly and not in dark sayings; and with his eyes he will see the form of the Lord: why then had you no fear of saying evil against my servant Moses?
9 And burning with wrath against them, the Lord went away.
10 And the cloud was moved from over the Tent; and straight away Miriam became a leper, as white as snow: and Aaron, looking at Miriam, saw that she was a leper.
11 Then Aaron said to Moses, O my lord, let not our sin be on our heads, for we have done foolishly and are sinners.
12 Let her not be as one dead, whose flesh is half wasted when he comes out from the body of his mother.
13 And Moses, crying to the Lord, said, Let my prayer come before you, O God, and make her well.
14 And the Lord said to Moses, If her father had put a mark of shame on her, would she not be shamed for seven days? Let her be shut up outside the tent-circle for seven days, and after that she may come in again.
15 So Miriam was shut up outside the tent-circle for seven days: and the people did not go forward on their journey till Miriam had come in again.
16 After that, the people went on from Hazeroth and put up their tents in the waste land of Paran.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Numbers 12
Commentary on Numbers 12 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 12
Nu 12:1-9. Miriam's and Aaron's Sedition.
1. an Ethiopian woman—Hebrew, "a Cushite woman"—Arabia was usually called in Scripture the land of Cush, its inhabitants being descendants of that son of Ham (see on Ex 2:15) and being accounted generally a vile and contemptible race (see on Am 9:7). The occasion of this seditious outbreak on the part of Miriam and Aaron against Moses was the great change made in the government by the adoption of the seventy rulers [Nu 11:16]. Their irritating disparagement of his wife (who, in all probability, was Zipporah [Ex 2:21], and not a second wife he had recently married) arose from jealousy of the relatives, through whose influence the innovation had been first made (Ex 18:13-26), while they were overlooked or neglected. Miriam is mentioned before Aaron as being the chief instigator and leader of the sedition.
2. Hath the Lord indeed spoken only by Moses? hath he not also spoken by us?—The prophetical name and character was bestowed upon Aaron (Ex 4:15, 16) and Miriam (Ex 15:20); and, therefore, they considered the conduct of Moses, in exercising an exclusive authority in this matter, as an encroachment on their rights (Mic 6:4).
3. the man Moses was very meek—(Ex 14:13; 32:12, 13; Nu 14:13; 21:7; De 9:18). This observation might have been made to account for Moses taking no notice of their angry reproaches and for God's interposing so speedily for the vindication of His servant's cause. The circumstance of Moses recording an eulogium on a distinguishing excellence of his own character is not without a parallel among the sacred writers, when forced to it by the insolence and contempt of opponents (2Co 11:5; 12:11, 12). But it is not improbable that, as this verse appears to be a parenthesis, it may have been inserted as a gloss by Ezra or some later prophet. Others, instead of "very meek," suggest "very afflicted," as the proper rendering.
4. the Lord spake suddenly unto Moses, and unto Aaron, and unto Miriam—The divine interposition was made thus openly and immediately, in order to suppress the sedition and prevent its spreading among the people.
5. the Lord came down in the pillar of the cloud, and stood the door of the tabernacle—without gaining admission, as was the usual privilege of Aaron, though it was denied to all other men and women. This public exclusion was designed to be a token of the divine displeasure.
6, 7. Hear now my words—A difference of degree is here distinctly expressed in the gifts and authority even of divinely commissioned prophets. Moses, having been set over all God's house, (that is, His church and people), was consequently invested with supremacy over Miriam and Aaron also and privileged beyond all others by direct and clear manifestations of the presence and will of God.
8. with him will I speak mouth to mouth—immediately, not by an interpreter, nor by visionary symbols presented to his fancy.
apparently—plainly and surely.
not in dark speeches—parables or similitudes.
the similitude of the Lord shall he behold—not the face or essence of God, who is invisible (Ex 33:20; Col 1:15; Joh 1:18); but some unmistakable evidence of His glorious presence (Ex 33:2; 34:5). The latter clause should have been conjoined with the preceding one, thus: "not in dark speeches, and in a figure shall he behold the Lord." The slight change in the punctuation removes all appearance of contradiction to De 4:15.
Nu 12:10-16. Miriam's Leprosy.
10. the cloud departed from the tabernacle—that is, from the door to resume its permanent position over the mercy seat.
Miriam became leprous—This malady in its most malignant form (Ex 4:6; 2Ki 5:27) as its color, combined with its sudden appearance, proved, was inflicted as a divine judgment; and she was made the victim, either because of her extreme violence or because the leprosy on Aaron would have interrupted or dishonored the holy service.
11-13. On the humble and penitential submission of Aaron, Moses interceded for both the offenders, especially for Miriam, who was restored; not, however, till she had been made, by her exclusion, a public example [Nu 12:14, 15].
14. her father had but spit in her face, should she not be ashamed seven days?—The Jews, in common with all people in the East, seem to have had an intense abhorrence of spitting, and for a parent to express his displeasure by doing so on the person of one of his children, or even on the ground in his presence, separated that child as unclean from society for seven days.
15. the people journeyed not till Miriam was brought in again—Either not to crush her by a sentence of overwhelming severity or not to expose her, being a prophetess, to popular contempt.
16. pitched in the wilderness of Paran—The station of encampments seems to have been Rithma (Nu 33:19).