Miriam

Miriam was the daughter of Amram and Jochebed and the elder sister of both Aaron and Moses. It was she who stood at a distance to watch the baby Moses in his basket of reeds on the Nile, then boldly approached Pharaoh's daughter to suggest that a Hebrew nurse — their own mother — be hired to care for him (Exo.2.4–8). After the exodus and the crossing of the Red Sea, Miriam is called a prophetess — the first woman in Scripture to carry that title — and she led the Israelite women in song and dance with timbrels, echoing the great hymn of Moses (Exo.15.20–21). Numbers 12 records a serious failing: Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of his Cushite wife and challenged whether God had spoken through Moses alone. God summoned all three into the tent of meeting and rebuked Aaron and Miriam sharply. When the cloud of the divine presence lifted from the tent, Miriam was leprous. After seven days outside the camp she was restored and the journey resumed. She died at Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin and was buried there (Num.20.1), just before Israel arrived at Mount Hor.