The Word Am I

The Fourth Book of Moses: Numbers

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- Chapter 12 -

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And Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses, because of his wife, an Ethiopian,(a) (b)
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and they said: “Has the Lord spoken only through Moses? Has he not also spoken similarly to us?” And when the Lord had heard this,(c)
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(for Moses was a man exceedingly meek, beyond all the men who were living upon the earth)(d)
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immediately he spoke to him, and to Aaron and Miriam, “Go out, you three only, to the tabernacle of the covenant.” And when they had gone out,
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the Lord descended in a column of cloud, and he stood at the entrance of the tabernacle, calling to Aaron and Miriam. And when they had advanced,
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he said to them: “Listen to my words. If there will be among you a prophet of the Lord, I will appear to him in a vision, or I will speak to him through a dream.
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But it is not so with my servant Moses, who is the most faithful in all my house.
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For I speak with him mouth to mouth, and plainly. And not through enigmas and figures does he perceive the Lord. Therefore, why were you not afraid to disparage my servant Moses?”
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And being angry against them, he went away.
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Likewise, the cloud which was over the tabernacle withdrew. And behold, Miriam appeared to be white with a leprosy, like snow. And when Aaron had looked upon her, and he had seen the spreading of the leprosy,
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he said to Moses: “I beg you, my lord, not to impose upon us this sin, which we have committed foolishly.
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Do not let this one be like one who is dead, or like an abortion that has been cast from the womb of her mother. Behold, half of her flesh is already consumed by leprosy.”
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And Moses cried out to the Lord, saying, “O God, I beg you: heal her.”
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And the Lord answered him: “If her father had spit on her face, should she not have been filled with shame for at least seven days? Let her be separated, outside the camp, for seven days, and after that, she will be called back.”
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And so Miriam was excluded from the camp for seven days. And the people did not move from that place, until Miriam was called back.

Footnotes

(a)12:1 Notice that Miriam’s name is listed first. This indicates that she was putting herself above Aaron as well as Moses, and it is a foreshadowing of those women who wish to put themselves above men by claiming to be ordained as Bishops and priests. Notice also that they first denigrate Moses by criticizing him unfairly. Then they try to life themselves up.(Conte)
(b)12:1 Ethiopian:Sephora the wife of Moses was of Madian, which bordered upon the land of Chus or Ethiopia: where note, that the Ethiopia here spoken of is not that of Africa but that of Arabia.(Challoner)
(c)12:2 This event was a foreshadowing of the rebellion in the Church against proper Church authority, against the authority of the Pope over the Bishops, against the authority of the Pope and Bishops over priests, deacons, and religious, and against the teaching of the Church that women cannot be Pope, Cardinal, Bishop, or priest in the Church. Miriam speaks as if she were equal to Moses in his role over Israel, just as some women speak as if they could be ordained as priests or Bishops, or as if it could ever be God’s will for them to lead men. God rebukes Aaron and Miriam for disdaining the roles given to each of them by God and for desiring a role not given to them. Notice also that even Miriam and Aaron know that God speaks to them, but through Moses. Yet they ignore that difference.(Conte)
(d)12:3 Exceeding meek:Moses being the meekest of men, would not contend for himself; therefore, God inspired him to write here his own defence: and the Holy Spirit, whose dictate he wrote, obliged him to declare the truth, though it was so much to his own praise.(Challoner)
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Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had married; for he had married a Cushite woman.
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They said, “Has the LORD indeed spoken only with Moses? Hasn’t he spoken also with us?” And the LORD heard it.
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Now the man Moses was very humble, more than all the men who were on the surface of the earth.
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The LORD spoke suddenly to Moses, to Aaron, and to Miriam, “You three come out to the Tent of Meeting!” The three of them came out.
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The LORD 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.
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He said, “Now hear my words. If there is a prophet among you, I, the LORD, will make myself known to him in a vision. I will speak with him in a dream.
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My servant Moses is not so. He is faithful in all my house.
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With him, I will speak mouth to mouth, even plainly, and not in riddles; and he shall see the LORD’s form. Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant, against Moses?”
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The LORD’s anger burned against them; and he departed.
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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.
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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.
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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.”
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Moses cried to the LORD, saying, “Heal her, God, I beg you!”
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The LORD 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.”
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Miriam was shut up outside of the camp seven days, and the people didn’t travel until Miriam was brought in again.
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Afterward the people traveled from Hazeroth, and encamped in the wilderness of Paran.
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