Women in the Bible

Miriam (Prophetess, Sister of Moses and Aaron)

Exodus 15; Numbers 12, 20, 26; Deuteronomy 24:9; 1 Chronicles 6:3; Micah 6:4

*According to some strains of Rabbinic interpretation, Miriam is another name for Puah.

• Exodus 15:20-21 Then the prophet Miriam, Aaron’s sister, took a tambourine in her hand, and all the women went out after her with tambourines and with dancing. And Miriam sang to them: “Sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously; horse and rider he has thrown into the sea.”

• 1 Chronicles 6:3 The children of Amram: Aaron, Moses, and Miriam. The sons of Aaron: Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.

• Micah 6:4 For I brought you up from the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery, and I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam.

List of Reading & Resources:

Articles

• “Women are the first liberators in the Exodus story” by Karen Gonzalez

• “Miriam the Prophetess” by Joel Baden on My Jewish Learning

• “Miriam: Bible” by Phyllis Trible in Jewish Women’s Archive

• "Miriam" by Hanna Tervanotko

• "Lessons from the Prophet Miriam: When You Mess Up, Step Up" by Wilda C. Gafney

• "Will the Real Miriam Please Stand Up?" by Prof. Tamar Kamionkowski

Books

• “Exodus” (pp. 30-39) by Drora O’Donnell Setel in Women’s Bible Commentary (1992)

• “Miriam Cast Out” (pp. 76-79) poem by Miriam Axel-Lute in Bridges: A Jewish Feminist Journal (2007)

• "Exodus" by Nyasha Junior in Women’s Bible Commentary, edited by Carol A. Newsom and Sharon H. RInge (2012)

• "Miriam and Her Interpreters" by Elaine James in Women’s Bible Commentary, edited by Carol A. Newsom and Sharon H. RInge (2012)

• “The Magnitude of Miriam Through Midrash” blog post by Abigail Fisher in Jewish Women’s Archive (2017)