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.
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.
I had an e-mail conversation with some about this passage, so I am going to post that conversation down here in the comments in a conversational form. I apologize for the oddity of creating my own conversation down here.
ReplyDeleteDn. 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).????
ReplyDeleteI should clear up a couple of things, first. Yes, we should apply Scripture to our situation, but first, we have to understand what we are reading. This is one of those stories, so common in the Old Testament especially, that our distance from the story in time, culture, and such makes it hard to really understand what was going on. I will avoid some of those key words that I think are obscuring the message: priest, clergy, judge, sin, curse, punish. How about the story this way:
ReplyDeleteMiriam is questioning Moses's decisions. I do not totally understand what the actual issue was; sure we know superficially, but not really. What I do know is that the same God that became flesh, who suffered for our sake, who allowed Judas to betray him, and who pursues me who am so pitifully faithful, is the same God who is reacting to Miriam's actions. It is that same God who sees a problem with Miriam's actions. "Were you not afraid to speak against my servant?" I am basing what I am saying on the assessment of God himself on this situation.
God is not asking for blind obedience to an abusive leader. It seems a bit closer to saying that we should be extremely cautious (afraid) to contradict, rebel against, struggle with, push back, argue, with those who God has placed in a role of spiritual authority over us.
I am dealing with this right now. I know it will be no huge surprise to my priest, but I am all too quick to question those in authority over me. I think I have a better way to do things. I think I have it all figured out. I speak to others, not in the presence of the person in question, about how things should be done. And I, too, like Miriam, need a penance to help me struggle with this engrained way of functioning which is harming me. And it is for my salvation.
Notice also, Moses had nothing to say about this issue. It was between Miriam and God, and Miriam says, "Has the Lord indeed spoken only through Moses? Has he not spoken through us also?"
ReplyDeleteMoses reaction to Miriam being afflicted with leprosy, though, is that it will be too much for her to bear, and he begs for healing. Especially as parents, there is a strong lesson in there for us.

As a "companion chapter" to this one, I noticed that chapter 16 is on a very similar theme: Korah's rebellion. This is one of the most spoken-of rebellions against Moses; we certainly see references in the Psalms. It might be helpful to read 16, taken together with 12, and see if we understand these a bit better.
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.
ReplyDeleteAlso, 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.!
I just looked up some information on this, and there is an interesting clue: in verses one and two, a 3rd person singular verb is used with a plural subject (Miriam and Aaron). I do not want to get in over my head in textual criticism, but to say it simply, it seems there is a more to the history of the development of this passage than we can see in its present form.
ReplyDeleteAgain, I turn to our knowledge of God to help us understand this passage. A loving and just God would not punish Miriam only, just because male clergy are above punishment. That is silly. God knows better than anybody that we need reproached, too. And, similarly, Aaron does not get a pass on this one just because of some special place he holds. I can see a couple of possible options (one specific possibility and one general, catch-all possibility). One, Aaron and Miriam are equally culpable, and God knew Miriam needed to be shocked by the leprosy episode; he also knew Aaron would learn his lesson just seeing all this happen. That feels like a stretch. Two, Miriam was indeed more guilty--whether she was the leader, she took it further, or she was the only one that actually questioned the authority of Moses--and even though we do not quite understand in the text's present form, Aaron was not as involved as Miriam was.
The key, for me, is to keep in mind God as we know him to be. That, alone, helps us rule out some of the interpretations of this passage.
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!
ReplyDeleteAs for the singular verb and the plural subject, I was referring to something I read in English, and which was probably referring to the Hebrew. I am Hebrew-less, but I would find it fascinating if the Septuagint Greek text actually copied even something like that, a mix-matched subject and verb. It is an interesting clue. This is a very old text, and I think there is more to it than we can see in its present version.
ReplyDeleteWhen I read the Greek--understanding these passages via the Septuagint is a generally good idea, since it was translated 2,300 years closer to the source, and is more likely to have a better understanding of the passage--I get the idea that verse one and verse two are almost separate stories. I see a singular verb "spoke against" concerning Moses's wife. Then, in verse two, I see a different verb for 'saying', with more of a 'bid' or 'tell' emphasis, and plural, which is speaking of Moses not being the only one who speaks to and is heard by God. Curious.
However, the main point of my original comments on Numbers 12 were focused on Moses's response. He begs for healing for the one who spoke against him and finds a way to bring her back in to the community. That is applicable to all our dealings with others, but especially for parents to children...well, clergy too, but more of us are parents than clergy.