In the Book of Exodus, we are introduced to Miriam, the older sister of Moses and Aaron, all of whom are descended from the Levites. Her story is an interesting one. When Moses was born, his mother placed the baby in a buoyant reed basket (hence the “Moses basketâ€) into the Nile river in an effort to hide him from the Pharaoh. You see, it was Pharaoh’s orders that all Hebrew baby boys be killed at birth. One day, as Miriam is watching the baby Moses from afar, she sees the Pharaoh’s daughter (taking pity on the child) retrieve him from the river with plans to take him home. Miriam interjects and suggests the Pharaoh’s daughter use her own mother (i.e., Moses mother) as a hired wet-nurse. This way, Miriam cleverly returns the child back to his own family without detection. Fast forward to the Exodus from Egypt, Miriam is important as she leads the Israeli women, and once across the Red Sea, they sing a triumphant hymn. She is a prophet (along with her brothers) to whom God has spoken directly, and as a result, many Jewish women revere Miriam as a feminist symbol. Her one faux pas was criticizing Moses’ choice for a wife (a Cushite woman) and was therefore struck by God with leprosy. Moses came to the rescue by uttering a five-word prayer (“O Lord, make her wellâ€); which God graciously accommodated, but not without making her suffer for seven days. Still, Miriam goes down as one of Israel’s most influential prophets and one kick-ass lady.
