Miriam, Leader of Israel (4)

Miriam in Biblical Memory and Legend

Part 3 of 4

Miriam in Biblical Memory

Miriam is accounted for in three genealogies and one epitaph of sorts. First, she is listed in Exodus 6:20 in the Septuagint (the name of the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, abbreviated LXX). It reads “And Amram took Iochabed, the daughter of his father’s brother, for his own wife, and she bore him both Aaron and Moyses and Mariam, their sister.” In Numbers 26:59, she is again named alongside her brothers, “The name of Amram’s wife was Jochebed daughter of Levi, who was born to Levi in Egypt; and she bore to Amram: Aaron, Moses, and their sister Miriam.” A final biblical genealogy lists her with her brothers in 1 Chronicles 5:29 (6:3 in English Bibles), “The children of Amram: Aaron, Moses, and Miriam.”

Her leadership is assumed in an epitaph found in Micah 6:4: “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.”  Pseudo-Philo 20:8 serves as an extra-biblical epitaph: “And these are the three things that God gave to his people on account of three persons; that is, the well of the water of Marah for Miriam and the pillar of cloud for Aaron and the manna for Moses. And when these came to their end, these three things were taken away from them.”

Miriam the Legend

Several legends developed around Miriam in various Jewish circles. There was a belief (reflected in the Pseudo-Philo passage above) that because of Miriam, a mysterious well accompanied the Hebrew people in the desert. Further, the height measurement of the altar, three cubits, was said to correspond to the three deliverers of Israel: Moses, Aaron, and Miriam.¹

Several traditions refer specifically to the death of Miriam. One legend says that upon her death Moses, Aaron, and the people wept. Additionally, “For six hours, Moses was ignorant of the disappearance of Miriam’s well with Miriam’s death.”² Miriam is the only woman listed whose death is considered atypical in Jewish tradition:

Beside the three Patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, only Moses, Aaron, and Miriam breathed their last in this manner, through the kiss of the Shekinah.  And these six, together with Benjamin, are the only ones whose corpses are not exposed to the ravages of the worms, and they neither corrupt nor decay.”³

When he [Moses] spoke of the remarkable death that awaited Aaron, Moses meant to allude to the fact that Aaron, like his sister Miriam and later Moses, was to die not through the Angel of Death, but by a kiss from God.⁴

Finally, she is, even in extended tradition, considered a prophet. One name (of four) for the mountain upon which Moses first saw the Promised Land is Nebo, “for upon it died three sinless nebi’im, “prophets,” Moses, Aaron, and Miriam.”⁵

Overall reflections

Miriam was a prophet and a cultic leader. Her leadership is presented without introduction or credentials, it is assumed. She is bold, clever, and capable of dealing with the (unmerited) repercussions of her actions. She is unafraid of approaching and challenging authority. She is caring, nurturing, and concerned for the well being of those entrusted to her. Further, Miriam is loved, deeply and profoundly, by brothers who are willing to take on God to ensure her healing.  She is respected and admired by a community that will delay their journey to their Promised Land for her sake. She is remembered as a sinless prophet worthy of being named alongside Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 

But the most striking thing about Miriam is simply that she is remembered. Her stories could easily have been ignored or recast. Instead, multiple traditions have developed and her legacy can be felt today.