1 And Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married : for he had married an Ethiopian woman.
2 And they said, Hath the Lord indeed spoken only by Moses? hath he not spoken also by us? And the Lord 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.
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.
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 .
7 My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all mine house .↗
8 With 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?
9 And 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.
12 Let her not be as one dead, of whom the flesh is half consumed when he cometh out of his mother’s womb.
13 And Moses cried unto the Lord, saying, Heal her now, O God, I beseech thee .
14 And 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.
15 And 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.
1 Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had married ; for he had married a Cushite woman.
2 They said, "Has Yahweh indeed spoken only with Moses? Hasn't he spoken also with us?" And Yahweh heard it .
3 Now the man Moses was very humble , more than all the men who were on the surface of the earth.
4 Yahweh spoke suddenly to Moses, to Aaron, and to Miriam, "You three come out to the Tent of Meeting!" The three of them came out.
5 Yahweh came down in a pillar of cloud, and stood at the door of the Tent, and called Aaron and Miriam; and they both came forward.
6 He said, "Now hear my words. If there is a prophet among you, I, Yahweh, will make myself known to him in a vision. I will speak with him in a dream .
7 My servant Moses is not so. He is faithful in all my house .↗
8 With him, I will speak mouth to mouth, even plainly, and not in riddles ; and he shall see Yahweh's form. Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant, against Moses?"
9 Yahweh's anger burned against them; and he departed.
10 The cloud departed from over the Tent; and behold, Miriam was leprous, as white as snow . Aaron looked at Miriam, and behold, she was leprous.
11 Aaron said to Moses, "Oh, my lord, please don't count this sin against us , in which we have done foolishly, and in which we have sinned.
12 Let her not, I pray, be as one dead, of whom the flesh is half consumed when he comes out of his mother's womb."
13 Moses cried to Yahweh, saying, "Heal her, God, I beg you !"
14 Yahweh said to Moses, "If her father had but spit in her face , shouldn't she be ashamed seven days? Let her be shut up outside of the camp seven days, and after that she shall be brought in again."
15 Miriam was shut up outside of the camp seven days, and the people didn't travel until Miriam was brought in again .
16 Afterward the people traveled from Hazeroth, and encamped in the wilderness of Paran.
1 And Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had married ; for he had married a Cushite woman.
2 And they said, Hath Jehovah indeed spoken only with Moses? hath he not spoken also with us? And Jehovah heard it .
3 Now the man Moses was very meek , above all the men that were upon the face of the earth.
4 And Jehovah spake suddenly unto Moses, and unto Aaron, and unto Miriam, Come out ye three unto the tent of meeting. And they three came out.
5 And Jehovah came down in a pillar of cloud, and stood at the door of the Tent, and called Aaron and Miriam; and they both came forth.
6 And he said, Hear now my words: if there be a prophet among you, I Jehovah will make myself known unto him in a vision, I will speak with him in a dream .
7 My servant Moses is not so; he is faithful in all my house :↗
8 with him will I speak mouth to mouth, even manifestly, and not in dark speeches ; and the form of Jehovah shall he behold: wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against my servant, against Moses?
9 And the anger of Jehovah was kindled against them; and he departed.
10 And the cloud removed from over the Tent; and, behold, Miriam was leprous, as white as snow : and Aaron looked upon Miriam, and, behold, she was leprous.
11 And Aaron said unto Moses, Oh, my lord, lay not, I pray thee, sin upon us , for that we have done foolishly, and for that we have sinned.
12 Let her not, I pray, be as one dead, of whom the flesh is half consumed when he cometh out of his mother’s womb.
13 And Moses cried unto Jehovah, saying, Heal her, O God, I beseech thee .
14 And Jehovah said unto Moses, If her father had but spit in her face , should she not be ashamed seven days? let her be shut up without the camp seven days, and after that she shall be brought in again.
15 And Miriam was shut up without the camp seven days: and the people journeyed not till Miriam was brought in again .
16 And afterward the people journeyed from Hazeroth, and encamped in the wilderness of Paran.
1 And Miriam speaketh--Aaron also--against Moses concerning the circumstance of the Cushite woman whom he had taken : for a Cushite woman he had taken;
2 and they say, `Only by Moses hath Jehovah spoken? also by us hath he not spoken? ' and Jehovah heareth.
3 And the man Moses is very humble , more than any of the men who are on the face of the ground.
4 And Jehovah saith suddenly unto Moses, and unto Aaron, and unto Miriam, `Come out ye three unto the tent of meeting;' and they three come out.
5 And Jehovah cometh down in the pillar of the cloud, and standeth at the opening of the tent, and calleth Aaron and Miriam, and they come out both of them.
6 And He saith, `Hear, I pray you, My words: If your prophet is of Jehovah--in an appearance unto him I make Myself known; in a dream I speak with him ;
7 not so My servant Moses; in all My house he is stedfast ;↗
8 mouth unto mouth I speak with him, and by an appearance, and not in riddles ; and the form of Jehovah he beholdeth attentively; and wherefore have ye not been afraid to speak against My servant--against Moses?'
9 And the anger of Jehovah burneth against them, and He goeth on,
10 and the cloud hath turned aside from off the tent, and lo, Miriam is leprous as snow ; and Aaron turneth unto Miriam, and lo, leprous!
11 And Aaron saith unto Moses, `O, my lord, I pray thee, lay not upon us sin in which we have been foolish, and in which we have sinned;
12 let her not, I pray thee, be as one dead, when in his coming out from the womb of his mother--the half of his flesh is consumed.'
13 And Moses crieth unto Jehovah, saying, `O God, I pray Thee, give, I pray Thee, healing to her .'
14 And Jehovah saith unto Moses, `And her father had but spat in her face --is she not ashamed seven days? she is shut out seven days at the outside of the camp, and afterwards she is gathered.'
15 And Miriam is shut out at the outside of the camp seven days, and the people hath not journeyed till Miriam is gathered ;
16 and afterwards have the people journeyed from Hazeroth, and they encamp in the wilderness of Paran.
Scripture text public domain: KJV (1611) · WEB (2020) · ASV (1901) · YLT (1862).
📜 Dead Sea Scrolls
4Q27 (4QNumb ), which begins at chapter 11, preserves fragments across this chapter, and it is an expansionist manuscript — at points longer than the Masoretic text and agreeing with the Samaritan Pentateuch. That is worth knowing on a chapter whose difficulties are so often about what the text does not say.
Miriam mattered at Qumran, and there is a fragment to prove it. 4Q365 , a Reworked Pentateuch manuscript of about 75 BC, follows Exodus 15:21 with at least seven previously unknown lines belonging to a Song of Miriam (fragment 6a col. ii + 6c). The piece is damaged and only nineteen words survive, but it is the only known pre-rabbinic expansion of her song — where the Masoretic text and every other ancient version confine her to a single verse. It shows a community that found the Bible’s treatment of her thin and supplied more.
The chapter’s central question was live there too. The community defined itself by who could speak with authority, and its rules order the assembly strictly by rank — priests, then elders, then the rest, each in his place, none speaking out of turn. A text in which two senior figures ask hath he not spoken also by us? and are answered by a statement of rank is exactly the kind of passage such a group would read closely.
☽ In the Quran
Aaron’s standing is settled in the Quran in the opposite direction. Ta-Ha 20:29-32 has Moses ask for Harun as a helper and share my task with him , and the request is granted at 20:36. Al-Furqan 25:35 says God gave Moses the Book and appointed his brother Aaron as his assistant . Aaron is a prophet in his own right (Maryam 19:53), and the question this chapter raises — whether God speaks by anyone but Moses — is answered before it can be asked.
The Quran also grades revelation, and its scheme is close to verses 6-8. Al-Shura 42:51 : God speaks to a human being only by inspiration , or from behind a veil , or by sending a messenger to reveal what He wills. Three channels, ranked by directness — the same move Numbers 12 makes with visions, dreams and mouth-to-mouth speech.
And Moses is singled out by the same criterion. Al-Nisa 4:164 notes that among the messengers Allah spoke to Moses directly — kallama Allahu Musa taklīman , an emphatic construction — which is why Islamic tradition calls him Kalīm Allah , the one God spoke with. Two scriptures, the same distinction, drawn in the same place.
The episode itself is absent. There is no quarrel, no Cushite wife, and no punishment of Miriam — who appears in the Quran only as Maryam, sister of Harun (19:28), a phrase that has its own long discussion.
The camp is at Hazeroth , and verse 16 moves it on to the wilderness of Paran — from which Numbers 13 will send the spies. Neither Hazeroth nor Paran is identified on the ground; the pin marks Paran loosely, in the north-eastern Sinai, since the Bible gives the region no boundaries. The seven days this chapter spends waiting are the last delay before the one that lasts forty years. Pin color follows evidence tier.