Numbers 12

12:1-16 Rebellion was not restricted to the “foreign rabble” or to the Israelites who were bored with manna (11:4). Moses’ own brother and sister, Aaron the high priest (Exod 29:30) and Miriam the prophet (Exod 15:20), rebelled against him. Israel was near the nadir of its rebellion against God (Num 13:25–14:12).12:1-2 Miriam and Aaron might have perceived Moses’ marriage as a threat to their status and ambitions. Miriam is named first, which suggests that she instigated this family feud and could explain why God punished her and not Aaron (12:9-10).12:1 Most interpreters understand the Cushite woman to be Moses’ wife Zipporah from Midian (Exod 2:16-22), understanding Cush as referring here to Cushan, a region and people near Midian (Hab 3:7). Other interpreters, taking Cushite in its usual sense as referring to Kusi (in northern Arabia), Ethiopia, or Sudan, think that she was a different wife. In either case, it is possible that Miriam and Aaron disapproved of his having married a non-Israelite or that they were jealous of her influence over Moses.

12:2 The challenge to Moses’ authority was, by implication, a rejection of the Lord’s choice of Moses as Israel’s leader. • the Lord heard: The same phrase in 11:1 foreshadows the Lord’s response.

12:3 Moses’ incomparable humility contrasts his godly character (see also Prov 3:34; Matt 5:5) with Miriam and Aaron’s jealousy. • This parenthetical comment, a simple statement of the truth from God’s perspective, could be the words of Moses or of a later editor.

12:4-8 In response, the Lord reconfirmed Moses’ special status and authority.

12:6-8 The Lord’s trust in Moses resulted in an intimate relationship. God spoke to prophets in visions and dreams, but he spoke to Moses face to face (literally mouth to mouth; see Exod 33:8-11, 18-23; Deut 34:10).

12:9-16 Miriam bore the brunt of God’s wrath (see study note on 12:1-2). Once Aaron saw what had happened to her, he admitted his error and sought Moses’ intercession (cp. 11:2). Both Moses and the Lord accepted Aaron’s confession.

12:14 Miriam was required to follow the normal procedure for achieving ritual purity after a skin disease (5:2-4; Lev 13–14).

12:16 The camp in the wilderness of Paran was at Kadesh-barnea (13:26; Deut 1:19-22).