1And Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married: for he had married an Ethiopian woman.
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1And Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married: for he had married an Ethiopian woman.
Miriam and Aaron (Moses's sister and brother) criticize Moses for marrying an Ethiopian woman. [1]
2 And they said, Hath the LORD indeed spoken only by Moses? hath he not spoken also by us? And the LORD heard it.
Has God only spoken to Moses? Hasn't he also spoken to us?
And God heard it.
3 (Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth.)
4 And the LORD spake suddenly unto Moses, and unto Aaron, and unto Miriam, Come out ye three unto the tabernacle of the congregation. And they three came out.
Come out, all three of you, to the tabernacle.
And they came out.
5 And the LORD came down in the pillar of the cloud, and stood in the door of the tabernacle, and called Aaron and Miriam: and they both came forth.
God came down in a cloud-like pillar, stood at the door of the tabernacle, and called to Aaron and Miriam.
They both came out.
6 And he said, Hear now my words: If there be a prophet among you, I the LORD will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream.
7My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all mine house.
8With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the LORD shall he behold: wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?
Hear my words.
If there is a prophet among you, I, God, will make myself known to him in a vision and speak to him in a dream. [3]
But not with my servant, Moses. With him, I speak mouth to mouth. Not in dark speeches. He sees me as I am. [4]
Why weren't you afraid to speak against him?
9And the anger of the LORD was kindled against them; and he departed.
10 And the cloud departed from off the tabernacle; and, behold, Miriam became leprous, white as snow: and Aaron looked upon Miriam, and, behold, she was leprous.
11 And Aaron said unto Moses, Alas, my lord, I beseech thee, lay not the sin upon us, wherein we have done foolishly, and wherein we have sinned.
Don't punish us for our foolish sin.
12Let her not be as one dead, of whom the flesh is half consumed when he cometh out of his mother's womb.
Don't make Miriam like a dead person, whose flesh is half consumed like a newborn baby.
13And Moses cried unto the LORD, saying, Heal her now, O God, I beseech thee.
Moses cried to God, saying,
Please God, heal her now. [6]
14And the LORD said unto Moses, If her father had but spit in her face, should she not be ashamed seven days? let her be shut out from the camp seven days, and after that let her be received in again.
If her father had spit in her face, shouldn't she be ashamed for seven days? [7]
Expel her from the camp for seven days.
15And Miriam was shut out from the camp seven days: and the people journeyed not till Miriam was brought in again.
16 And afterward the people removed from Hazeroth, and pitched in the wilderness of Paran.
This is the first (and only) time Moses's Ethiopian wife is mentioned. The only wife we've heard of so far has been Zipporah, and she was from Midian, not Ethiopia. So did Moses have two wives - Zipporah and an Ethiopian woman? And what were Aaron and Miriam complaining about? That he married a non-Hebrew woman? That he married a black woman? Or that he already had a wife (which he apparently abandoned) and was marrying another?
That's a strange way to describe one of the cruelest men to have ever lived. (If he ever did live, which he probably didn't.)
Moses, as he is described in the Bible, is anything but meek (See Num 31:14-18 for an example of his "meekness").
The NRSV translates this as: "Now the man Moses was very humble, more so than anyone else on the face of the earth." But if Moses wrote the entire Pentateuch, then he must have written this verse, too. Which seems like a strange thing for the humblest man on earth to say!
Now there's a reliable way to communicate with someone!
In the Bible, leprosy is caused by the wrath of God or the malice of Satan.
Notice that only Miriam is punished, though both she and Aaron complained.
And Moses cried unto the LORD, saying, Heal her now, O God, I beseech thee. (v.13)
Although both Aaron and Moses beg God to remove the leprosy with which he cursed Miriam, there is nothing in the text that says that he did.
God says the darndest things! (Cf. Dt 25:9)