Miriam

Miriam (מִרְיָם Mīryām, lit. 'Rebellion') is described in the Hebrew Bible as the daughter of Amram and Jochebed, and the older sister of Moses and Aaron. She was a prophetess and first appears in the Book of Exodus. The Torah refers to her as "Miriam the Prophetess" and the Talmud names her as one of the seven major female prophets of Israel. Scripture describes her alongside of Moses and Aaron as delivering the Jews from exile in Egypt: "For I brought you up out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery, and I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam". According to the Midrash, just as Moses led the men out of Egypt and taught them Torah, so too Miriam led the women and taught them Torah. Miriam was the daughter of Amram and Jochebed; she was the sister of Aaron and Moses, the leader of the Israelites in ancient Egypt. The narrative of Moses' infancy in the Torah describes an unnamed sister of Moses observing him being placed in the Nile (); she is traditionally identified as Miriam. In the biblical narrative of The Exodus, Miriam is described as a "prophetess" when she leads the Israelites in the Song of the Sea after the Pharaoh's army is destroyed at the Yam Suph. When the Israelites are camped at Hazeroth after leaving Mount Sinai, Miriam and Aaron speak against Moses because he had married an unnamed "Ethiopian" or "Cushite" woman (translations differ). God comes down in a pillar of cloud and rebukes them, emphasizing the supreme prophetic authority of Moses. After God departs, Miriam appears white with a skin disease (tzaraath, traditionally translated as "leprosy"). Aaron asks for forgiveness and for Miriam to be cured, and Moses relays the prayer to God, who says that Miriam should be excluded from the Israelite camp for seven days, which is done. Regarding the death of Miriam, the Torah states, "The entire congregation of the children of Israel arrived at the desert of Tzin in the first month, and the people settled in Kadesh. Miriam died and was buried there.