seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Numbers 12:1 Miriam and Aaron began to talk against Moses because of his Cu####e wife, for he had married a Cu####e. 2 “Has the Lord spoken only through Moses?” they asked. “Hasn’t he also spoken through us?” And the Lord heard this.
3 (Now Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth.)
4 At once the Lord said to Moses, Aaron and Miriam, “Come out to the tent of meeting, all three of you.” So the three of them went out. 5 Then the Lord came down in a pillar of cloud; he stood at the entrance to the tent and summoned Aaron and Miriam. When the two of them stepped forward, 6 he said, “Listen to my words:
“When there is a prophet among you,
I, the Lord, reveal myself to them in visions,
I speak to them in dreams.
7 But this is not true of my servant Moses;
he is faithful in all my house.
8 With him I speak face to face,
clearly and not in riddles;
he sees the form of the Lord.
Why then were you not afraid
to speak against my servant Moses?”
9 The anger of the Lord burned against them, and he left them.
10 When the cloud lifted from above the tent, Miriam’s skin was leprous[a]—it became as white as snow. Aaron turned toward her and saw that she had a defiling skin disease, 11 and he said to Moses, “Please, my lord, I ask you not to hold against us the sin we have so foolishly committed. 12 Do not let her be like a stillborn infant coming from its mother’s womb with its flesh half eaten away.”
13 So Moses cried out to the Lord, “Please, God, heal her!”
14 The Lord replied to Moses, “If her father had spit in her face, would she not have been in disgrace for seven days? Confine her outside the camp for seven days; after that she can be brought back.” 15 So Miriam was confined outside the camp for seven days, and the people did not move on till she was brought back.
16 After that, the people left Hazeroth and encamped in the Desert of Paran.
3 (Now Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth.)
4 At once the Lord said to Moses, Aaron and Miriam, “Come out to the tent of meeting, all three of you.” So the three of them went out. 5 Then the Lord came down in a pillar of cloud; he stood at the entrance to the tent and summoned Aaron and Miriam. When the two of them stepped forward, 6 he said, “Listen to my words:
“When there is a prophet among you,
I, the Lord, reveal myself to them in visions,
I speak to them in dreams.
7 But this is not true of my servant Moses;
he is faithful in all my house.
8 With him I speak face to face,
clearly and not in riddles;
he sees the form of the Lord.
Why then were you not afraid
to speak against my servant Moses?”
9 The anger of the Lord burned against them, and he left them.
10 When the cloud lifted from above the tent, Miriam’s skin was leprous[a]—it became as white as snow. Aaron turned toward her and saw that she had a defiling skin disease, 11 and he said to Moses, “Please, my lord, I ask you not to hold against us the sin we have so foolishly committed. 12 Do not let her be like a stillborn infant coming from its mother’s womb with its flesh half eaten away.”
13 So Moses cried out to the Lord, “Please, God, heal her!”
14 The Lord replied to Moses, “If her father had spit in her face, would she not have been in disgrace for seven days? Confine her outside the camp for seven days; after that she can be brought back.” 15 So Miriam was confined outside the camp for seven days, and the people did not move on till she was brought back.
16 After that, the people left Hazeroth and encamped in the Desert of Paran.
a. Numbers 12:10 The Hebrew for leprous was used for various diseases affecting the skin.
Miriam was jealous. The commentary at the easy English site says it's because God talked directly to Moses, face to face and He only talked to them through Moses.
Miriam started attacking Moses because of his wife. She was not an Israelite. I think Miriam might have been a little jealous because Moses had listened to his father-in-law as well. That was back in Exodus 18.
This is from the easy English commentary.
Miriam and Aaron had no right to complain about this. So God acted against them. He punished Miriam. He gave to her a disease that affected her skin. However, he did not punish Aaron like this. Perhaps Miriam was more guilty than Aaron. The author puts Miriam’s name before Aaron’s name in verse 1. This was not the custom usually, because Miriam was a woman. Also, the word ‘said’ in verse 1 actually means ‘she said’ in Hebrew.
But Moses was not glad because God punished Miriam. When Aaron asked Moses to help Miriam, Moses prayed immediately. It was a very short prayer. But it was very sincere. Immediately, God answered Moses. He cured Miriam!
But Miriam had to stay outside the camp for a week. This was because she was unclean (see Leviticus 13:1-6). So everyone in the camp knew that Miriam had done a bad thing. It was a sign of shame for a parent to spit in their child’s face (Deuteronomy 25:9; Job 30:10; Isaiah 50:6). (To spit means to send liquid out of the mouth.) Miriam felt this kind of shame. The camp could not move until she returned. People with diseases that affected the skin had to live away from other people. This was so that they did not give the disease to other people. But also, they had to stay outside the camp after the disease had gone. They had to show that it had gone. Also, they had to purify themselves by means of special ceremonies (Leviticus 14:1-32). These were the rules about people with diseases that affected the skin. So her sin delayed the Israelites’ journey to the Promised Land.
But Moses was not glad because God punished Miriam. When Aaron asked Moses to help Miriam, Moses prayed immediately. It was a very short prayer. But it was very sincere. Immediately, God answered Moses. He cured Miriam!
But Miriam had to stay outside the camp for a week. This was because she was unclean (see Leviticus 13:1-6). So everyone in the camp knew that Miriam had done a bad thing. It was a sign of shame for a parent to spit in their child’s face (Deuteronomy 25:9; Job 30:10; Isaiah 50:6). (To spit means to send liquid out of the mouth.) Miriam felt this kind of shame. The camp could not move until she returned. People with diseases that affected the skin had to live away from other people. This was so that they did not give the disease to other people. But also, they had to stay outside the camp after the disease had gone. They had to show that it had gone. Also, they had to purify themselves by means of special ceremonies (Leviticus 14:1-32). These were the rules about people with diseases that affected the skin. So her sin delayed the Israelites’ journey to the Promised Land.
