Numbers 12
(1) Miriam and Aaron Badmouth Moses
Then Miriam [Moses’s sister, whose name means “rebellion”] and Aaron were talking poorly about Moses for marrying a Cushite woman. They said,
“Has the Existing One really only spoken through Moses? Hasn’t He spoken through us too?”
And the Existing One heard what they were saying.
(3) God Defends Moses
Now Moses was an extremely humble man—more humble than anyone else on earth. And at that very moment, the Existing One said to Moses, Aaron, and Miriam,
“You three, come out of My meeting tent.”
So the three of them came out. Then the Existing One came down in a column of clouds and stood at the doorway of the tent. He said,
“Aaron! Miriam!”
When they both stepped forward, He continued,
“Listen closely to what I’m about to say.
“If there were to be a prophet in your midst, I, the Existing One, would make Myself known to him through visions. I’d speak to him through dreams.
“But that’s not how I am with My servant, Moses. He’s faithful over my entire household. I talk to him voice-to-voice. I talk to him plainly, instead of using riddles and parables. And he gets to see the Existing One’s form.
“So why weren’t you afraid to talk badly about My servant, Moses?”
(9) God Disciplines Miriam with a Skin Disease
The Existing One was mad at them, so He left. But when the cloud had withdrawn from the tent, Miriam’s skin was diseased—white as snow. As Aaron turned toward Miriam, he noticed her condition and said to Moses,
“Oh, Your Honor, I beg of you… please don’t credit this misdemeanor to us. We were acting foolishly, which is why we made that mistake. Please don’t let her stay like a dead person whose flesh is half-eaten-away!”
So Moses cried out to the Existing One, saying,
“Oh, God, please heal her.”
But the Existing One told Moses,
“If Miriam’s dad would have spit in her face, wouldn’t she have to carry that shame with her for a week?
“Quarantine her outside the camp for 7 days, and afterward, she can be taken back in again.”
So Miriam was quarantined outside the camp for 7 days, and the caravan didn’t relocate until Miriam was taken back in.
(16) Israel Relocates
After that, the caravan moved out from Hazeroth [which means “settlement”] and camped in the wilderness of Paran [which means “cavernous place”].