When Miriam Speaks against Moses

In Numbers chapter 12, we see Miriam and Aaron questioning Moses's unique role. God replies, "Why then were you not afraid to speak against My servant Moses?" So the Lord's anger was aroused against them, and He departed. God is going to great lengths to bring this people unto himself, establishing a way to commune with God; mankind is being reunited to God, and yet we ruin it with our judgment of others, and here especially, the lesson is directly pointed at our speaking against those in the clergy.

And then, Moses's response to Miriam's punishment of leprosy is the very icon of what the priest must do for his flock (or closer to home for most of us, what the parent should do for the children). He immediately goes before God on Miriam's behalf, begs for her healing, and asks for a penance, a consequence which will be to her benefit and for her salvation. Moses is clearly afraid that this will crush her under too heavy a weight. And as for our response, we may even, like St. Nectarios of Aegina, ask our children for a penance, and then do that penance ourselves.

Comments

  1. Questioning ReaderFriday, January 17, 2020

    Dn. Ignatius, I read through Numbers 12 this morning. I'm fascinated by Numbers 12, for many reasons! One thing I'm thinking, and I'm wondering if you agree: Moses isn't a priest. (Do you agree?) How are you seeing Moses as clergy? To me, in this story, Aaron is the "clergy" figure not Moses? Because Aaron was ordained a priest but Moses wasn't. (Is this right?) And the thing being judged, the thing that Miriam and Aaron are charging Moses with is that Moses married an Ethiopian or Cushite woman. The way I see the story is that a Prophetess and a Priest (who are sister and brother) are judging their other brother, who is a special servant of the Lord, one whom the Lord spoke face to face with. My main question/clarification is: Should Moses be considered "clergy"? It seems to me that in this story, Clergy is judging (putting on trial) not being judged (being put on trial).????

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  2. Questioning ReaderFriday, January 17, 2020

    Dn Ignatius, first, thank you for taking the time to engage with my questions! I was telling my husband about our discussion, so Miriam, Moses, and Aaron are a hot topic in our home. So thank you, again, for pointing out Numbers 12. I am absolutely in love with this part; as I have been studying it, I keep seeing more and more. And I agree: we are not given enough information to see what is really going on. One thing I find very interesting, esp. in your comments: WHY is Aaron left out? Literally, BOTH Aaron and Miriam are questioning Moses.. and he calls all three of them into the tabernacle of testimony... then the Lord descends in the pillar of cloud and called both Aaron and Miriam and they went forward... and The Lord talked with both of them (ironic, actually!?... is the Lord speaking to Miriam the prophetess and Aaron the priest now in a vision, a dream, indirectly or face to face, directly?). Anyway, the Lord's anger was aroused against THEM, but only Miriam receives the discipline.

    Also, because you focused on this part, I learned that Righteous Miriam is considered a saint in the Orthodox Church. We get to venerate her as a leader, leading the children out of Egyptian slavery. Man alive, why do the children want to become slaves again?! It's just so easy being a slave instead of being free. More pain in freedom. Anyway... Contentious Miriam the saint-- because the Lord loved her enough to discipline her. Thanks Dn.!

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  3. Questioning ReaderSaturday, January 18, 2020

    Thank you, Dn. Ignatius. I read the passage in a concordance, looking at the Greek, to see what you meant. I see that in Numbers 12:1 the first verb for speak is the 3rd singular, ἐλάλησεν but then in 12:2 it is 3rd plural, εἶπαν... So literally, I see what you mean. It could be that only Miriam was the one to charge Moses for doing wrong by marrying the Cushite woman. Or maybe she was the only one to speak against Moses for doing that. (Being a prophet....) But in Numbers 12:2, I see only 3rd plural... It seems, literally, that BOTH Aaron and Miriam said, "Has the Lord indeed spoken only through Moses? Has He not spoken through us also?" Side note, those "throughs" are the translation of the dative, right? so it could be "with" or "to"... But anyway... Yes, I agree, we don't have the full story of what is happening, and it makes me wonder if the audience of Numbers is supposed to already know this story already.... so they would have got it. Another weird thing is that, literally, in Leviticus, sometimes the Lord only speaks to Moses, but sometimes Aaron is included as the direct object. I was tracking that wondering why sometimes the Lord spoke only to Moses, and why sometimes Aaron was included. One a side note, it's interesting what the Lord picks up to respond to with Miriam and Aaron. He doesn't respond to the charge about the Cushite woman. But only about to whom and how he speaks, and how Moses is unique. This whole thing makes me compare Moses to Christ. And I don't think I'll ever forget Numbers 12. So much to hide in my heart and ponder. (Side note, Miriam, as you know, is the Greek for Mary). LOVE THAT!

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