Charles Ellicott Commentary Numbers 12

And Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses.— Miriam appears to have been the leader in this insurrection against the authority of Moses. Her name occurs before that of Aaron, either as the nearer or as the more prominent subject; and the verb which is rendered “spoke” is in the feminine gender. Moreover, the judgment which was inflicted (Numbers 12:10) fell upon Miriam, not upon Aaron, who seems to have yielded to the suggestions of Miriam, as he had previously done to the request of the Israelites in regard to the golden calf.

Because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married. — Some suppose that the reference is to Zipporah, who may have been included among the Asiatic division of the Ethiopians, or Cushites (Compare to Habakkuk 3:7, where the tents of Cushan, or Cush, are coupled with the curtains of Midian). It is further supposed that the occasion of the opposition to Moses was the undue influence which he is thought to have allowed Hobab and other members of Zipporah’s family to exercise over him. This supposition, however, seems improbable on many accounts. The words, for he had married an Ethiopian (or Cushite) woman, naturally point to some recent occurrence, not to one which had taken place more than forty years previously, and which is, therefore, very unlikely to have given occasion to the murmuring of Miriam and Aaron at this time.

Moreover, the murmuring is expressly connected with the Cushite herself, not with any of the subsequent or incidental results of the marriage. It seems, therefore, much more probable that Zipporah was dead, and that Moses had married one of the African Cushites who had accompanied the Israelites in their march out of Egypt, or one of the Cushites who dwelt in Arabia, and who were found at this time in the neighbourhood of Sinai. A similar marriage had been contracted by Joseph, and such marriages were not forbidden by the Law, which prohibited marriage with the Canaanites (Exodus 34:16).

Has the Lord indeed spoken only by Moses?—There is probably a reference in these words to the facts related in Exodus 4:10-16, where Moses speaks of his own slowness of speech (Numbers 12:10), and where it is said of Aaron, “And he shall be your spokesman to the people” (Numbers 12:16). Miriam also is spoken of in Exodus 15:20 as “the prophetess.” “Such is the depravity of human nature,” writes Calvin, “that they not only abuse the gifts of God towards the brother whom they despise, but by an ungodly and sacrilegious glorification extol the gifts themselves in such a manner as to hide the Author of the gifts.”

Now the man Moses was very meek ... — These words have been urged by some as an argument against the Mosaic authorship of the Pentateuch generally, or of the Book of Numbers in particular, but whether they may or may not have been inserted by a later writer, this inference is altogether unfounded. It is possible that the writer of Deuteronomy 34:10 may have inserted these words in this place. On the other hand, there is no necessity for such a supposition. An objective statement, such as that contained in these words, is perfectly consistent with true humility and with a deep sense of sinfulness and frailty.

When such expressions are required in order to a full understanding of all the circumstances of the history, they afford no just ground of objection either against the writer, or against the genuineness of the writing; and least of all can they be justly objected to in the case of those who, like Moses and St. Paul, were ever ready to sacrifice their own personality in the cause to which they had devoted their lives (Compare to 2 Corinthians 11:5). It may be observed, further, that the word anav, meek, is frequently interchanged with the cognate word ani, and that the meaning may be bowed down, or oppressed.

Come out you three... — There is nothing in these words which implies that Miriam entered into the Tabernacle itself. Moses, Aaron, and Miriam were summoned to go out of the camp , and to come to the entrance of the Tabernacle, or rather of the court, since the command to come as far as the entrance into the Sanctuary appears to have been given afterwards (Numbers 12:5). It must be remembered that there was only one court at this time.

If there is a prophet ... — Better, If there is to (or, among) you a prophet of Jehovah, I will make myself known to him in a vision, and speak to him. The Septuagint and Vulgate connect the word “Jehovah” with the former, not with the latter part of the clause. The mode of communication between God and Moses differed in the respects which are enumerated in Numbers 12:8 from the mode of communication by visions or dreams, in which God communicated His will to others.