“Do you reject my gifts?” the old woman asked sternly.
“And what have you given me?!” Miriam exclaimed.
“The empty spaces,” said the woman with hair as white as lightning.
“The empty spaces?” asked the bewildered Miriam.
“I have given you all the empty spaces of the Torah,” said the old woman. “Every little place where there is no ink, every little place where there are no words, that I give to you as my gift.”
In her modern midrash, Jill Hammer (Jill Hammer) has very precisely portrayed the place of woman in the Old Testament. In the history of the people of Israel, men take wives, “beget” children, travel from one place to another, make covenants, decide the fates of families and peoples, and converse with God. To the other participants in the history of God’s people, women included, belong the “empty spaces” of the Torah – where there is “ink” and “words”, they appear only on very special occasions. And even on these special occasions, where women are mentioned, most often they are without a name. Thus in Exodus chapter 2 we read of the “sister” of the child Moses. It is usually assumed that this is the same sister mentioned later in the Exodus story – Miriam.
The Book of Exodus describes a very important event in the history of God’s people – the going out from the “house of slavery”, Egypt. This event and the special revelations of God at that time form the very foundations of what Israel is – God’s chosen people, who have a special contract with God and thus an especially close relationship. Every word of the Book of Exodus has been pored over and discussed in Israel’s later history, and so it is very important that it is precisely in the midst of this narrative and these laws that we find described a woman – a leader of the people.
The prophetess Miriam
Miriam is mentioned by name in five places in the books of the Torah and twice outside it. The first time in the texts, Miriam is mentioned in the story of what happened after the people crossed the divided Reed Sea, in which their pursuers, the Egyptians, drowned. Exodus chapter 15 begins with Moses’ song of praise, and it is followed by a similar, shorter song begun by “Miriam, the prophetess, Aaron’s sister..”. (15:20)
This is the only passage of Scripture in which Miriam is called a “prophetess”. This is also the first time a woman is called a prophet. Up to this point in the Old Testament only Abraham (Gen 20:7) and Aaron (Ex 7:1) are called prophets, even though many male prophets were active in Israel’s history. God calls Abraham a prophet in Abimelech’s dream, saying that Abraham as a prophet “will pray for you, and you shall live”. From this we can understand that a prophet has an especially close relationship with God and that a prophet’s prayers are especially answered. In Aaron’s case too, it is God who calls him a prophet, but Aaron is Moses’ prophet. In this revelation God appoints Moses “as a god to Pharaoh”. Aaron’s task is to interpret the mind of “the god Moses” into language understandable to Pharaoh.
In Miriam’s case there is no special revelation that appoints her as a prophet, and it is not explained what her functions as a prophetess are. The very word “prophet/prophetess” comes from a root that in various Semitic languages means “to proclaim, to call, to be exalted”. Prophesying has at various times meant various things, but often it is connected with proclaiming God’s Word in an intellectual (also written) way or in prophetic ecstasy, which may also include song and music. Susan Ackerman (Susan Ackerman) considers the typical functions of prophets to be “to utter proclamations about matters of concern to society and to be directly involved in public events”. The Old Testament mentions five “prophetesses”: (1) Miriam in the stories of Israel’s going out from Egypt, (2) Deborah in the time of the judges, (3) Huldah in the time of King Josiah, (4) Noadiah, briefly mentioned as a prophetess in the time of Nehemiah, and (5) an unnamed prophetess, the mother of Isaiah’s child. Wilda Gafney (Wilda Gafney) notes that female prophets are found in all periods of Israel’s history; they are mentioned in all three parts of the Jewish Scriptures: the Torah / the books of Moses, the Writings / the historical books, and the Prophets. She also lists the various ways in which prophetic activity is expressed in the biblical accounts: in orally or in writing uttered oracles, intercessions, dancing, drumming, singing, in giving and explaining laws, in resolving disputes, in working miraculous deeds, leading armies, experiencing visions. Rachel Elior (Rachel Elior) writes that in the biblical tradition “female prophets are described as a natural phenomenon. Their spirit of prophecy can inspire both women and men in such circumstances as require ‘divine knowledge’, inspired leadership, far-reaching vision, responsibility for public events, and the ability to articulate the revelation of society’s experience.” Miriam fits well such a description of who the prophets are and what their role is in the life of Israel. She utters her prophecies in words and in inspired singing and dancing. Miriam is also active in the public life of the people. In fact, of Miriam’s family activities we learn nothing; everything that is described about her in Scripture concerns her public activity. The only thing we know about her family is that she is the sister of Aaron and Moses.
Miriam – Aaron’s sister
For the great majority of Old Testament figures, both men and women, an important part of their identity is their special descent and family ties. Miriam is no exception in this respect. First she is introduced as the prophetess Miriam in Ex 15:20 and immediately also as Aaron’s sister. Miriam’s status as Aaron’s sister and partner is emphasized in almost every passage of Scripture where she is mentioned. Only in the account of her death in Num 20:1 and in the warning in Deut 24:8–9 are her kinship ties with Aaron not noted.
Aaron plays a very special role in the Old Testament. He is known above all for the fact that God first entrusted to him the office of the priesthood and the leadership of the temple. Aaron and his descendants, right up to the destruction of the last Jewish temple in AD 70, were the cultic mediators between God and the people. For example, they determined what was clean and acceptable to God and what was unclean and thus to be cast out of the people. The activity of the priests and the rituals they performed were decisive for restoring the relationship between God and the people.
Miriam’s connection with the priestly order and with the cultic leadership of the people is indicated by the emphasis on her kinship with Aaron. At the same time, in the biblical text up to Ex 15:20, where we read that she is “Aaron’s sister”, Aaron’s cultic role has not yet been described; he has only been introduced as Moses’ “brother” (Ex 4:14; 6:20) and his “prophet” (7:1), as well as a husband and father in his family (6:23). Traditional Christian commentaries therefore also explain Miriam’s status in this sense – as a technical description of the family arrangement, namely, that the unmarried Miriam lived in the family of her older brother Aaron. Acknowledging the fact that Aaron is, from the very beginning of the Exodus, singled out as one of the leaders of the people, other commentators understand the status of “Aaron’s sister” as a description of Miriam’s leadership role. Thus Moshe Reiss (Moshe Reiss) offers the explanation that Miriam was the leader of the women, Aaron led the men, and Moses, as leader of the whole people, had an entirely different status.
Traditional Jewish commentators, for their part, observe the principle – “there is no ‘earlier’ and ‘later’ in the Torah”, that is, the Torah is not arranged in chronological order. And so the fact that Miriam was Aaron’s sister was directly connected with Aaron’s standing as the cultic leader of the people. From this one may conclude that Miriam, Aaron’s sister, belongs to the priestly family and takes part in the cultic life of the people. The rabbinic tradition has preserved commentators’ discussions about whether Miriam primarily belongs to the political or the cultic elite of the people. Those who see her as a representative of the cultic leadership tried to prove that Miriam’s son was Hur, whose descendant Bezalel was one of the chief makers of the Tent of Meeting and all its furnishings. Yet another tradition links Miriam not with the priests, but with the kings. According to this tradition, Miriam married Caleb, who was one of the ancestors of King David. The rabbis in their own way tried to discern Miriam’s significance in the history of the people and gave her, like Moses and Aaron, important descendants. Yet in doing so the rabbinic commentators belittled the significance of Miriam herself, and instead ranked her among those Old Testament women who acquire value by giving birth to significant children. Scripture says nothing of Miriam’s descendants, and in it her value is revealed only in her own activity.
Miriam, as prophetess and Aaron’s sister, appears in two stories in the Old Testament where she is one of the main participants. One of them is the so-called Song of the Sea, which the Israelites sang after going out through the divided Reed Sea. The other story is about how Miriam and Aaron stood up against Moses. Next I will briefly sketch the various levels in these stories, where Miriam appears as a leader of the prophetic and cultic life of the people.
Miriam at the sea
As mentioned above, the Song of the Sea is begun by “Moses and the sons of Israel” (Ex 15:1). The text of the song repeats in poetry the events at the crossing of the Reed Sea and the great significance of this event for the people’s relationship with God and with other peoples. At the end of the song, either as a footnote or, on the contrary, as a dotting of the “i”, it is mentioned that Miriam led the women in dance, singing and drumming. Their song was the first words of Moses’ song.
The victory dance with singing and the playing of hand drums is an activity that other women in Old Testament times also performed, although it was certainly not an activity that was exclusively a women’s affair. In all the passages of Scripture where it is mentioned, women’s singing, drumming, and dancing is a celebration of victory over the enemies of Israel and of God. Yet such a celebration of victory is not merely a retelling of the victory after the event – the celebration is part of the victory itself. The cultic celebration of victory, as is the case also in the Passover event (where the event itself is described after the command to celebrate it cultically, Ex 12), helps the people of Israel to understand the essence and significance of this event. And so Miriam, like the other women who take part in the Song of the Sea and other songs, is a “prophetess” in the sense that she helps the people understand the significance of God’s action in human life and helps them to experience and express it. The experiencing and expressing of such an event is usually also part of the cultic ritual, which Miriam too represents as a priest’s sister. And so Miriam’s two roles – prophetess and Aaron’s sister – interweave well and complement each other in this event.
Here it should be mentioned that the Latvian translations unfortunately suggest that Miriam at the sea had to do only with women. Our text in Ex 15:21: “And Miriam said to them..” – suggests that Miriam addressed only the women. In the Hebrew text Miriam addresses “them” (masculine), which would rather denote a mixed group of people or else only men.
Likewise, commentators have noted that the song of Miriam and the women begins in Hebrew with “Sing!” in the masculine, which also means a general address to a group containing both women and men. Moses’ song, in turn, begins with “I will sing”, which sounds like a response to the call of Miriam’s song.
In this article I will not try to prove which version of the Song of the Sea – Moses’ or Miriam’s – is older (this is a frequently examined topic in theological literature). I want to note that Miriam is not the exclusive leader of a group of women; her song, dance, and drumming are part of the celebration of the whole people, men and women. Both Moses’ and Miriam’s songs were different parts of one event, and they are all important for understanding the event of God. Thus Miriam became one of the three principal leaders of the people in the Exodus story, as is also noted in the book of the prophet Micah: “I brought you up out of the land of Egypt, / I redeemed you from the house of slaves / and sent before you / Moses, Aaron, and Miriam!” (Mic 6:4)
Miriam’s leprosy
The second story in which Miriam plays a significant role is described in Num 12. The aforementioned Song of the Sea in Ex 15:20–21 shows Miriam at the zenith of her glory, but the story in Num 12:1–15 shows the lowest point of her leadership. Like most of the human leaders of the people in the Old Testament, Miriam too has her hour, when her humanity comes into conflict with the divine will and she has to experience divine wrath.
To understand this story, we must read the previous chapter, which describes the attempt to divide the burden of Moses’ responsibility with the seventy elders of the people. Except for two, they all gather around the Tent of Meeting, receive the spirit that the Lord takes from Moses, and begin to prophesy (11:25). The two who had not come, but had remained in the camp, also begin to prophesy. When Joshua demands that this be forbidden, Moses replies: “Would that all the Lord’s people were prophets..” (11:29)
After such a statement by Moses, one might expect a confirmation that God too wishes all the people to become prophets. Yet chapter 12 turns to another aspect – the leaders of the people with prophetic gifts are nonetheless not on the same level of authority as Moses. At the beginning of the chapter we read that Miriam and Aaron object to Moses’ Cushite wife and conclude their objection with a challenge to Moses’ exclusive authority: “Has the Lord spoken only with Moses; has he not spoken with us as well?!” (12:2)
The text does not describe why Miriam and Aaron believed that God had spoken also with them, but the context suggests that Miriam and Aaron too were among those leaders of the people who had prophetic gifts. This is also indicated by the words from God’s revelation to Miriam and Aaron, answering their challenge: “If any of you were [here one may also translate “is” or “will be” – R. S.] a prophet, I, the Lord, would reveal myself to him in a vision, in a dream I would speak with him! Not so my servant Moses! He is faithful in all my house! With him I speak in person, I appear to him clearly, not in riddles!” (12:6–8)
What God says clearly sets Moses apart from the prophets, raising him to a different level of relationship with God. Miriam and Aaron therefore have no right to dispute Moses’ authority. Although they are prophets, and the seventy elders too are prophets, Moses nevertheless stands above all. Those who dispute this hierarchy must be punished. In this case it is Miriam who is punished with the skin disease “tsaraath”, which is usually translated as leprosy. Aaron intercedes for Miriam before Moses, and she is healed. Later in the Bible we read that Miriam became a byword for those who fall ill with leprosy.
Naomi Graetz (Naomi Graetz) lists seven questions that remain unanswered in this text and so do not allow us to understand part of the essence of this story. For example, it is unclear who this Cushite woman is and what objections Miriam and Aaron raised because of her. We also do not know why only Miriam was punished and not Aaron, and what this leprosy is. Finally, it is not really understood what the role of the people was in this event, when they “did not set out until Miriam was back”. (12:15)
Many interesting answers have been given to these questions. I want to note two things that seem important to me. First, Miriam here is undoubtedly portrayed as one of the leaders of the people. The text makes it clear that it is precisely Miriam who starts the dispute with Moses, because the Hebrew verb “spoke” in Num 12:1 is in the feminine. She was certainly not the first and only one to question Moses’ special status among the people. The chapters of the Book of Numbers (11–21) are full of stories about how the people were not satisfied with Moses’ leadership and threw down challenges to it (for example, the scouts of the Promised Land, the rebellion of Korah). They all ended with one and the same thing – God confirms Moses as the only one fit to lead his people.
The account of Miriam’s challenge undoubtedly emphasizes that she must receive punishment for her rebellion before Moses and thus before God. Yet similar errors are also committed by men – leaders of the people. Even Moses receives God’s punishment for striking the rock to make water flow from it instead of only speaking to it (Num 20:11–13). For this transgression Moses and Aaron are punished even more severely than Miriam for hers – they are sentenced to a premature death. The account of Moses’ error directly follows the narrative of Miriam’s death (Num 20:1), which makes the reader remember that Miriam’s death was natural, not a punishment, and reminds us once again that all the leaders of Israel are only human and at some point err in their activity.
The second thing I want to emphasize in connection with chapter 12 of Numbers is Miriam’s leprosy. The disease “tsaraath” is mentioned several times in the Old Testament. The first time it infected Moses’ hand, when God showed him a sign that he was to demonstrate before Pharaoh (Ex 3:4). In this passage of Scripture exactly the same expression is used as in Num 12 – “tsaraath – like snow”. This disease is described in more detail in Lev 13–14, where we also read of the procedure by which a person who has fallen ill with this disease can be declared clean again – the priest has him confined for seven days (13:4). Part of the cleansing procedure after recovery includes being led outside the camp (14:3). All this recalls the event with Miriam in Num 12, although it is clear that Miriam’s case of leprosy is most certainly not handled according to the order described in Lev 13–14.
Although “tsaraath” is the most serious way in which a person becomes unclean according to the Israelite purity code, nowhere in Miriam’s case is it mentioned that she is unclean. Despite this, she is set apart from the rest of the people for seven days. Rather, her and Aaron’s transgression is moral, not cultic. When he asks for Moses’ help, Aaron acknowledges that he and Miriam have sinned (12:11). Although as a priest Aaron is involved in the process of healing lepers, in this story his role is to acknowledge sin and to intercede for the one who has fallen ill. This resembles more the functions of a prophet than of a priest. And yet he, like the later priests, here becomes a mediator between a person who has fallen ill with “tsaraath” and God.
Just as Miriam is not directly called a prophetess in Num 12, she is also not directly called Aaron’s sister. And yet both of these roles are indicated indirectly. Miriam and Aaron are together in this event, so they have a special relationship. If Miriam belongs to the priestly family, her falling ill with a disease that makes her unclean gives this punishment from God a special significance. This could have an entirely practical significance: in later times she would not be allowed to eat of the remainder of the offerings, on which the priests live. And it certainly has a very great symbolic significance, because the very foundation of the priestly order is to demonstrate and maintain purity among the people.
Yet in the text we find indications that God has not abandoned Miriam in this event either. In his answer to Moses’ intercession God says: “If her father had spat in her face..” (12:14)
In this situation, when Miriam became leprous after God’s wrath and revelation, it would be logical to conclude that God here calls himself her father, who has spat in her face. God’s naming of himself as Miriam’s father even in such a situation suggests that, in spite of everything, she retained the leadership of the people and a special standing before God.
Miriam’s well
The biblical text that describes the woman Miriam before the people, leading them and expressing their view, fits into the general structure and composition of Scripture. In the stories of Miriam we read nothing especially unique; something of her activity and attitude is found in other places in the Bible as well.
And yet Miriam is special, because no other woman is ascribed so high a status, especially at such a time in the life of the people – the going out from Egypt, a time when the people themselves were defining who they are and who they will be. According to Susan Ackerman’s analysis, it was precisely this situation that allowed Miriam to become a leader of the people – women come into leading roles when the usual structures of society are in disarray and new ones have not yet formed. When society is “on the threshold”, women can find the opportunity to show themselves not only as mothers and family members, but also to express themselves in leading roles in the wider society. An echo of this theory can also be seen in the tradition that perceives Miriam’s connection with water.
In two of the three stories where she traditionally has a leading role, Miriam is on the bank of a river and a sea, “on the threshold” between dry land and water.
This tradition emphasizes one more thing that follows from her stories in the Bible, namely, that Miriam was beloved and respected among the people. From the passage of Scripture about Miriam’s death, after which we read that the people lacked water, this tradition has formed a wonderful midrash about how a well followed Miriam in the wilderness. From it she gave her people water to drink right up to her death. Whatever Miriam’s relationship with Moses and God may be, the people never condemned her or turned away from her.
Miriam’s stories show that a woman naturally fit into the biblical stories of the leaders of the people in so significant an event as the going out from Egypt. In my view, she is a very inspiring biblical example for all modern women too who are ready to take on leadership in the prophetic or cultic life of the people.
Bibliography
Reiss, Moshe, “Miriam Rediscovered”, Jewish Bible Quarterly vol.38, no.3 (2010): 183-190.
Ackerman, Susan, “Why Is Miriam Also among the Prophets? (And Is Zipporah among the Priests?), Journal of Biblical Literature, Vol. 121, No. 1 (Spring, 2002), pp. 47-80
Bach, Alice “With a Song in her Heart: Listening to Scholars Listening for Miriam”, A Feminist Companion to Exodus to Deuteronomy. Ed. Athalya Brenner (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 2001), 242-254.
Elior, Rachel, “Female Prophets in the Bible”, HYPERLINK http://jbooks.com/secularculture/Elior/Prophets.htm
Gafney, Wilda C. Daughters of Miriam: Women Prophets in Ancient Israel (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2008)
Graetz, Naomi, “Did Miriam Talk Too Much?”, A Feminist Companion to Exodus to Deuteronomy. Ed. Athalya Brenner (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 2001), 231-242.
Janzen, Gerald J. “Song of Moses, Song of Miriam: Who is Seconding Whom?”, A Feminist Companion to Exodus to Deuteronomy. Ed. Athalya Brenner (Sheffield Academic Press: Sheffield, 2001), 185-199.
Meyers, Carol, “Miriam the Musician”, A Feminist Companion to Exodus to Deuteronomy. Ed. Athalya Brenner (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 2001), 207-230.
Pimpinella, Denise, “Miriam in Numbers 12”, HYPERLINK http://concept.journals.villanova.edu/article/view/274/237
Sprinkle, Joe M., “The Rationale Of the Laws of Clean and Unclean in the Old Testament,” Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, 43.4 (2000): 637-657.
The Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon, ed. Francis Brown, sixth printing (Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, 2001)
Trible, Phyllis, “Bringing Miriam out of the Shadows”, A Feminist Companion to Exodus to Deuteronomy. Ed. Athalya Brenner (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 2001), 166-186.
Jill Hammer, Sisters at Sinai: New Tales of Biblical Women (The Jewish Publication Society: Philadelphia, 2001), 132.
Midrash usually refers to a Jewish way of interpreting the Bible, in which the biblical narrative is supplemented with stories.
Ex 15:20-21; Num 12:1-16, 26:59; Num 20:1; Deut 24:8-9; 1 Chron 5:29 (the name “Miriam” is also mentioned in 1 Chron 4:17, but this text is unclear and most likely refers to another person); Mic 6:4
Susan Ackerman (Susan Ackerman) lists twenty-nine male prophets called by name in the Old Testament, noting many other unnamed prophets; see Susan Ackerman, “Why Is Miriam Also among the Prophets? (And Is Zipporah among the Priests?)”, Journal of Biblical Literature, Vol. 121, No. 1 (Spring, 2002), 49-50.
The Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon, ed. Francis Brown, sixth printing (Hendrickson Publishers: Peabody, Massachusetts, 2001), 611.
Ackerman, “Why Is Miriam Also among the Prophets?”, 49.
See Judg 4-5 on Deborah, 2 Kgs 22:14-20 and 2 Chron 34:22-28 on Huldah, Neh 6:14 on Noadiah, Isa 8:3 on the prophetess, the mother of Isaiah’s child. In the Jewish tradition Sarah, Abigail, and Esther are also recognized as prophetesses. (see Rachel Elior, “Female Prophets in the Bible”, HYPERLINK http://jbooks.com/secularculture/Elior/Prophets.htm
Wilda C. Gafney, Daughters of Miriam: Women Prophets in Ancient Israel, (Fortress Press: Minneapolis, 2008), 6.
Rachel Elior, “Female Prophets in the Bible”, HYPERLINK http://jbooks.com/secularculture/Elior/Prophets.htm
Even if we acknowledge that she is “Moses’ sister” in Exodus chapter 2, there her family role is one with public significance – to save the future leader of the people.
Phyllis Trible (Phyllis Trible) writes: “Quite certainly nowhere in the received tradition does Miriam or any other woman take on the title of ‘priest’ or fulfill cultic functions. And yet, a few threads, scattered throughout the Book of Numbers, confirm her connection with the priesthood.” (Trible, “Bringing Miriam out of the Shadows”, 174.)
See the commentary of John Gill (John Gill) HYPERLINK http://biblehub.com/commentaries/gill/exodus/15.htm
Moshe Reiss, “Miriam Rediscovered”, Jewish Bible Quarterly vol.38, no.3 (2010): 184.
Pesahim 6b
Sotah 12a
See Ex 17:10
See Ex 31:6ff
Sotah 11a
See Num 14:6
See Reiss, “Miriam Rediscovered”, 186.
For a critique of the classical rabbinic commentaries and their inconsistency with the biblical text, see Elior, “Female Prophets in the Bible,” HYPERLINK http://jbooks.com/secularculture/Elior/Prophets.htm
See Trible, “Bringing Miriam out of the Shadows”, 170.
On the fact that Miriam’s instrument was a drum, not a tambourine, see Carol Meyers, “Miriam the Musician”, A Feminist Companion to Exodus to Deuteronomy, ed. Athalya Brenner (Sheffield Academic Press: Sheffield, 2001), 207-230.
Judg 11:34, 1 Sam 18:6, Jer 31:4
See 2 Sam 6:14, which describes how King David dances; he is also traditionally regarded as the author of a large part of the psalms.
Gerald J. Janzen, “Song of Moses, Song of Miriam: Who is Seconding Whom?”, A Feminist Companion to Exodus to Deuteronomy, ed. Athalya Brenner (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 2001), 196.
In Hebrew there is also a specific imperative form in the feminine.
Janzen, “Song of Moses, Song of Miriam: Who is Seconding Whom?”, 192-193.
Alice Bach calls this a “counterpoint”, Alice Bach, “With a Song in her Heart: Listening to Scholars Listening for Miriam”, A Feminist Companion to Exodus to Deuteronomy, ed. Athalya Brenner (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 2001), 244.
Deut 24:8-9: “Beware of the plague of leprosy… Remember what the Lord, your God, did to Miriam when you came out of Egypt!”
see Naomi Graetz, “Did Miriam Talk Too Much?”, A Feminist Companion to Exodus to Deuteronomy, ed. Athalya Brenner (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 2001), 232. and see Denise Pimpinella, “Miriam in Numbers 12”, HYPERLINK http://concept.journals.villanova.edu/article/view/274/237 , 3.
Pimpinella, “Miriam in Numbers 12”, 9.
Joe M. Sprinkle, “The Rationale Of the Laws of Clean and Unclean in the Old Testament”, Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 43.4 (2000): 642.
In this connection it is interesting to note that Lev 13:12-13 describes a case in which a person whose whole body is covered with white tsaraath is to be declared clean. Miriam’s disease seems to be just such a case.
On the connection between the two, see Sprinkle, “The Rational Of the Laws of Clean and Unclean in the Old Testament,” 653.
Trible draws the opposite conclusion about this text; see Trible, “Bringing Miriam out of the Shadows”, 177.
Ackerman, “Why is Miriam Also Among the Prophets?”, 51-53, 64.
see BT Taanit 9a, Mekhilta De Rabbi Yishmael Be-Shallah 7, Mekhilta De Rabbi Shiman bar Yohai 15:25, Midrash Tanhuma, 2 Va-Yedabber
Several commentators point to the fact that the people did not set out until Miriam had recovered; see Pimpinella, “Miriam in Numbers 12”, 9-10.