Miriam’s Rhythms

The Leadership of Miriam: Miriam the Prophetess

The drama of the Exodus reached its ultimate crescendo as the Red Sea split and the people of Israel traversed the raging waves unscathed. That jubilant moment is biblically recorded in a song harmoniously sung in two voices; the voice of Moses and the voice of his sister Miriam. Moses’ well-known Song of the Sea is quoted by Scripture, in full, whereas, Miriam’s song appears, at first glance, to be a refrain simply echoing Moshe’s oratorio:

Then Miriam, the prophetess, Aaron’s sister, took a timbrel in her hand, and all the women went out after her in dance with timbrels. And Miriam chanted for them: Sing to the Lord, for He is highly exalted; Horse and driver He has hurled into the sea.

(Exod. 15:20-21)

Though limited to merely two biblical verses, the portrait of Miriam, triumphantly, leading the women of the Exodus in song and dance has been etched for posterity in the collective consciousness of the nation of Israel. The short biblical account not only quotes her chant, it accentuates her leadership role. Just as Moses led the children of Israel in song, Miriam led the women’s chorus. Her role in the process of redemption was corroborated by the prophet Micah who stated:

In fact, I brought you up from the land of Egypt, I redeemed you from the house of bondage, And I sent before you Moses, Aaron and Miriam.

(Micah 6:4)

The precise part played by Miriam in the triumvirate from the House of Levi is open to interpretation. In Exodus 15:20, Miriam is introduced as the first prophetess in the Bible. This epithet perhaps intimates the divine inspiration that led her to song. However, Targum Jonathan [click to definition] expands upon Miriam’s function, translating Micah 6:4 in a fashion that presents her as a teacher of Israel.

For I have brought you up from the land of Egypt, redeemed you from the house of bondage, and sent before you Moshe to teach the law, Aaron to atone for the nation and Miriam to teach the women.

(Targum Jonathan, Micah 6:4)

The Rabbis in Taanit 9a suggests that each of the three leaders from the House of Levi contributed to the sustenance and well being of the nation during their sojourn in the desert. Moses was responsible for the manna, Aaron for the pillar of cloud, and Miriam for the itinerant well.

But returning to Miriam’s grand performance at the Red Sea, the Bible is explicit — Miriam is called a prophetess.  How was it that she merited that honor in the Bible and entered the Talmudic hall of fame among the seven women chosen as prophetesses in Israel ? [Click to Megilla 14a sheva niviot man ninhu…]

Listening carefully to Miriam’s voice will allow for a broader definition of prophecy. The voice of Miriam is not heard for the first time as the Red Sea split, but rather in the context of the story of the birth and salvation of the infant Moses. [1]Exod 2:4, 15;20, Num 12:1, 20:1, 26:59, Dt 24:9, Mica 6:4, I Chron 5:29

As she stands watch over the ark built by her mother to set the baby afloat upon the Nile, she catches sight of Pharaoh’s daughter bathing. Witnessing the Egyptian princess discovering and bonding with her baby brother, she approaches, suggesting that she might be of assistance obtaining the services of a wet nurse. Unbeknownst to the princess, the wet nurse she procures is Moses’ very own mother.

Consider if you will the course of events. Jocheved, Moshe’s mother was unable to bear witness to the final demise of her baby. Miriam the young girl was appointed to report the painful details to her mother. When she saw the child saved by, none other than, the princess herself, she could have run home and shared her joy and relief with her parents. The disastrous fate of the child had been averted. Despite the sad reality that Moshe could not be raised at home, he would become part of the royal court. Miriam could have brought that unexpected report home and thereby fulfilled her mission. But Miriam went beyond all that. She braved approaching the princess and ingeniously returned the child to his family. Although her considerations might be viewed as personal and pragmatic they, in fact, reflect a degree of long-range vision on the part of Miriam. She concerned herself with the spiritual well-being of the child not merely his physical safety. Even at this early stage, her budding  prophetic proclivities were not a function of prognostication, in the classic sense of the word,  but rather of her farsightedness. It is no wonder, then, that Phyllis Trible[2]Phyllis Trible,” Bringing Miriam Out of the Shadows”, A Feminist Companion to Exodus and Deuteronomy (Sheffield, 1994), pp. 166-186. has called her the alpha and omega of deliverance. She was the enabler whose opening words set the process of redemption in motion. And it was her words which brought redemption to a close with the final movement of the Exodus from Egypt — the Song of the Sea.

Rabbinic literature also credits Miriam with insight and foresight. The Rabbis embellished her portrait through the following Midrash:

When Amram heard of the decree of Pharaoh [to cast the Hebrew male babies into the Nile] he separated from his wife figuring that bringing children into the world was counter-productive. Miriam contested her father’s decision arguing that his action was worse than the royal decree. Pharaoh, she argued, devised to kill only the male infants not the female.  Pharaoh’s intent was to destroy the infants in body not in soul. Pharaoh’s evil plan might not come to fruition, whereas her father’s righteous intentions would, in all probability, bear fruit.

(Sotah 12a)

It has been argued that this Midrash suggests a clear distinction between the linear thinking of men versus the cyclical thinking of women. Miriam’s dispute with her father was aimed at resolving the cognitive dissonance between masculine logic and feminine hope and faith.  But the rabbis used the exchange between Amram and Miriam to enhance Miriam’s image as a prophetess. This was not only because her prediction came about, but because the story illustrates her ability to rise above circumstance and raise others beyond an uncertain present to a future of greater clarity. In this rabbinic portrait Miriam is depicted as a woman of extraordinary vision.

Then Miriam, the prophetess, Aaron’s sister, took a timbrel in her hand and all of the women went out after her in dance and timbrels.

(Exod. 15:20)

One is left wondering from where all of the women acquired their timbrels? Fleeing from their enemies, surely, they had no time to properly pack their bags. From the impenetrable darkness of Egypt they could not anticipate tomorrow’s celebrations. Yet Miriam, the prescient leader of the women, issued the directive. It was she who encouraged her constituency to lift their eyes and their spirits and prepare themselves to sing the glorious song of redemption.[3]Rashi Exodus 15:20 B’tupim ub’micholot

Bibliography

Rebecca Schwartz, All the Women Followed Her, (USA, 2001).

Athalia Brenner, Exodus to Deuteronomy, (Sheffield, 2000).

Phyllis Trible, “Bringing Miriam Out of the Shadows”, A Feminine Companion to Exodus  and Deuteronomy (England, 1994) pp. 166-186.

Norman J. Cohen, “Miriam’s Song: A Modern Midrashic Reading”, Judaism 33 (1984) pp 179-190.

Ellen Frankel, The Five Books of Miriam, (New York, 1996).

S.D. Goitein, “Women as Creators of Biblical Genres”, Prooftexts 8(1988), pp. 1-33.

Susan Ackeman, “Why is Miriam Also Among the Prophets? (And is Zipporah Among the Priests?), JBL 121/1 (2002) pp. 47-80.

Naomi Graetz, “Miriam Guilty or Not Guilty?” Judaism 40/2, p. 184-192.

Devora Steinmetz, “A Portrait of Miriam in Rabbinic Midrash”, Prooftexts, 1988, Vo. 8 No 1. pp 35-65.

Nehemia Polen, “Miriam’s Dance: Radical Egalitarianism in Hasidic Thought”, Modern Judaism 12 (1992) pp1-21.

Carol Meyers, “Miriam the Musician”, A Feminine Companion to Exodus and Deuteronomy, (England, 1994), pp. 207-230.

 Uziel Fuchs, “Miriam HaNeviah V’eshet Haadmor“, Massekhet 3 (2005), pp. 65-78.

 Yael Levine Katz, “Sheva Niviot usheva sifirot“, Daat 44 (2000), pp 123-130.

 Irit Aminoff, “Miriam bein perishut l’nevuah” Dimui 20 (2001), p???

 Nerya, Moshe Zvi, Kirvat Michnech l’Talmidav, Techumin 16, 1996, p. 8

———————-, Hashaah Haachat shel Miriam, Al Mishkenot Haroim

Yehudah Shaviv, Be’er Miriam; Iyyun Midrashi Raayoni, Al Atar 6 (2000) pp 113-120.