The prophet Miriam appears in relatively few scenes in Exodus and Numbers, but her role in the Judeo-Christian tradition cannot be underestimated. Miriam's importance was such that by the time Jesus was born, 40 percent of all women were named either Mary (Maryam, Miriam, Mariamne, Maria, all of them variant names of the Great Goddess), after the first woman named as a prophet in the Hebrew Scriptures, or Salome, which is a variant spelling of shalom — the Hebrew concept encompassing hope, wholeness, harmony, health, and peace.

What follows is my translation of the references in Exodus and Numbers (in the Septuagint) that relate to the prophet Miriam. For a lengthy and detailed discussion of the same material, click here.

Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, “Every boy [every potential troublemaker] that is born to the Hebrews you shall throw into the Nile, but you shall let every girl [every potential mother] live.” (Ex. 1:22)

Now a man from the [priestly] house of Levi went and married a Levite woman. [The man was Amram, great-grandson of Jacob/Israel; the woman was Jochebed, the sister of Amram’s father. This all took place in approximately 1270 B.C.E.] The woman conceived and bore a son; and when she saw that he was a fine baby, she hid him for three months. When she could hide him no longer she got an ark-type chest made of papyrus for him, and daubed it with bitumen and pitch to make it water-tight; she put the child in it and placed it among the reeds on the bank of the Nile. His sister stood at a distance, to see what would happen to him.(Ex. 2:1-4)

The daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river, while her attendants walked beside the river. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her maid to bring it. When she opened it, she saw the child — and how it wept! She took pity on the baby, saying, “This must be one of the Hebrews’ children.” (Ex. 2:5-6)

Then his sister said to Pharaoh's daughter, “Shall I go and get you a nurse from the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?” Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Yes.” So the girl went and called the child’s mother. Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this child and nurse it for me, and I will give you your wages.” So the woman took the child and nursed it.(Ex. 2:7-9)

When the child grew up, she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and she took him as her son. She named him Moses, “because,” she said, “I drew him out of the water.” (Ex. 2:10)

Then the prophet Miriam, Aaron’s sister, took a tambourine in her hand; and all the women went out after her with tambourines and with dancing. (Ex. 15:20)

And Miriam sang to them:
      “Sing to YHWH, for Godde
            has triumphed gloriously;
      horse and rider
            Godde has thrown into the sea.” (Ex. 15:21)

(The following passage appears to help explain the passage from Numbers that follows.)

[As this excerpt begins, Godde and Moses are discussing how to impress the Pharaoh with Moses's powers, so as to persuade Pharaoh to allow the Hebrews to attend a pilgrimage festival, or hag (today's hadj), in the desert.] YHWH said to Moses, “What is that in your hand?” He said, “A staff.” And Godde said, “Throw it on the ground.” So Moses threw the staff on the ground, and it became a snake; and Moses drew back from it. (Ex. 4:2-3)

Then YHWH said to Moses, “Reach out your hand, and seize it by the tail” — so he reached out his hand and grasped it, and it became a staff in his hand — “so that the Egyptians may believe that YHWH, the Godde of their ancestors, the God of Sarah and Abraham, the Godde of Rebekah and Isaac, and the God of Leah and Rachel and Jacob, has appeared to you.” (Ex: 4:4-5) (This is evidence of the ancientness of the text: YHWH is not the Godde of the Egyptians' ancestors.)

YHWH said to Moses, “Put your hand inside your cloak.” He put his hand into his cloak; and when he took it out, his hand was covered with the scaling and flaking of an infectious skin disease, and was as white as snow. Then Godde said, “Put your hand back into your cloak” — so he put his hand back into his cloak, and when he took it out, it was restored like the rest of his body. And Godde said, “If the Pharaoh isn’t impressed when you turn your staff into a snake, maybe he’ll be impressed by this.” (Exodus 4:6-8)

Needless to say, these two miraculous powers fail to impress the Pharaoh, and YHWH ends up having to visit the ten plagues upon Egypt before the Pharaoh will let the Hebrews go, not to mention killing the Pharaoh and his entire army after they set out to pursue and recover what they saw as their property.

The Bible says that Moses was approximately 100 years old during the confrontation that follows; the average man was dead by 40, and probably Moses was around 60. But however old and full of years and masculine dignity Moses was, remember that both Aaron and Miriam were at least ten years older — and that while Moses was reared by an Egyptian princess, Aaron and Miriam were reared by at least one Hebrew priest.

Miriam and Aaron talked down Moses because of the Ethiopian wife he had married, who was black-red as pitch — and a higher social class to boot. They said, “Is Moses the only one who speaks on behalf of Our Godde? Don’t we? What are we, chopped liver?” (Num. 12:1-ff.)

And Our Godde heard. Now, Moses was the most God-loving, gentle, and devout human being in the whole world. So Godde said immediately to Moses and Miram and Aaron, “You three — come into the tent of witness.” And they did.

And, descended as a pillar of cloud, Our Godde came and stood at the entrance of the tent of witness, and called Aaron and Miriam and they both came out.

And Godde said to them, “Listen to my words:

“When I create prophets, I speak to them in visions, in revelations, and in dreams. Not so my servant Moses, who gets my full support; I speak to him face to face, plainly and not in enigmas, and he sees the glory of Your Godde.

“I go to that much trouble for my servant Moses, and you are still not afraid to talk him down? What am I, chopped liver?” And in righteous indignation, Godde left, and the cloud withdrew from the tent.

At some point in the confusion, Miriam had turned white as snow with an infectious skin disease.

And Moses said, “Oops.”

When Aaron saw Miriam’s disease, he said to Moses, “I ask you, my lord — do not you, Moses, join Godde in attacking our sin; because you know we were as blameless as little white lambs. Do not transform Miriam into someone as good as dead, like a premature fetus that comes from its mother's womb half consumed by disease.”

And Moses bellowed to Godde like a lion, “O Godde, I ask you — heal her!”

And Godde said to Moses, “It's not that easy, smart guy. If her father had spat [Greek: ptui] in her face, would she not have to live in shame for seven days? Let her go through the seven-day ritual for purifying a sufferer of disease or readying someone for ordination, out of the camp, and then she can come back in.”

So Miriam was shut out of the camp for seven days, and no one would stir a foot until Miriam had been returned to the camp, purified and ordained.

The Israelites, the whole congregation, came into the desert between the Dead Sea and Arabia in the first month, and the people stayed in the holy city. Miriam died there, and was buried there. (Num. 20:1)

For I brought you up from the land of Egypt, and redeemed you from the house of slavery; and I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam. (Micah 6:4) This is the only place in the Bible where a female prophet is mentioned outside of whatever story she is a participant in, and is another indication of Miriam's extraordinarily high status in Judaism.

Godde has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does YHWH require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your Godde? (Micah 6:8)