At
first blush, I rather prefer the references to Miriam in Exodus 15 and Micah 6:4 (the worship leader rather than the leper).
Ex
15:20-21 And Miriam the prophetess,
the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand; and all the women went out
after her with timbrels and with dances. And Miriam answered them, Sing ye to the LORD, for he hath triumphed
gloriously; the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea.
Mic
6:4 For I brought thee up out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed thee out
of the house of servants; and I sent before thee Moses, Aaron, and Miriam.
Long
ago, my Mom told me that if I were a boy, I was going to be named “Joshua.” (My
older brothers were David, Paul and Jonathan.) She said that when I was born,
I seemed like a Miriam. (My two older sisters were named
Naomi and Elizabeth. Priscilla came after me. Yes, all biblical names. If you
count, that makes seven children. I’m the 6th of 7, or as I call myself, the penultimate. That’s
a very fancy word for second to last.)
I
mentioned growing up with a name like Miriam in my blog “Opening the Old
Testament.” http://miriamsmindset.blogspot.com/2012/01/opening-old-testament.html
I
once worked as an office nurse in a very French Catholic population. I always
introduce myself to my patients. Maybe it was their hearing, maybe it was their language barrier, maybe it was their Catholicism: at the mention of my name, out came this beatific smile and “Oh, Marion.” To their thinking, it was the
second most saintly name in the universe.
My
dilemma: to correct the little old lady whose finger I was about to stab with a
sharp instrument? [No, my name is Miriam and Mary was actually named after me!] or do I just let her
have a moment of joy? I was, after all, about to inflict pain. I chose the
saintly route.
I love that the first Miriam was a worship leader. I love that
she was a prophetess. I love that she was a leader. Joshua might be an easier name to say, but this Miriam chick is pretty admirable in her own right.
We
assume that it is Miriam who watched over Moses, the baby in the bulrushes. The
bible actually doesn’t say her name in this verse, although no other daughters
of Amram and Jochebed are mentioned. Therefore, the assumption is pretty sound.
Why didn’t Moses write his sister’s name in this verse when he penned Exodus?
Moses himself doesn’t have a Hebrew name. In fact, although we know he is a
Levite, Moses’ Hebrew family isn’t named at all until after he is a grown man
(Exodus 6).
As
detail oriented as Moses is, he doesn’t bog down the action with lots of names.
Pharaoh’s daughter isn’t named, either. Her position is, but not her name. I infer
that the point of Exodus 1-2 is to give a quick but poignant look at the
situation. Pharaoh orders that every single baby boy is to be slaughtered, but
God’s hand is upon Moses so that one day the slaughter will stop and the people
will be free. You may want to look at Exodus 1 and the heroic midwives Shiphrah
and Puah. (Exodus 1:15-21).
I
just realized something. Although Jochebed hid Moses for 3 months, she in a way
did obey Pharaoh.
Ex
1:22 And Pharaoh charged all his people, saying, Every son that is born ye
shall cast into the river, and every daughter ye shall save alive.
Jochebed
protected Moses in the little ark, but did
put him in the river. Way to go, Jochebed!
Maybe
I should have been a lawyer.
I
haven’t even gotten to the other Miriam yet. 'Til next time.
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