Bible Strands
Exodus 15:20
Then Miriam the prophetess, Aaron’s sister, took a tambourine in her hand, and all the women followed her with tambourines and dancing.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Miriam, identified as prophetess and Aaron's sister, leads the women in physical worship immediately after the sea closes over Pharaoh's army (v. 19) and before she voices the refrain in v. 21.
The words — נְבִיאָה (nəvi'ah), "prophetess," is the feminine form of the prophetic title; it is the only occurrence of this exact form in the Hebrew Bible, marking Miriam as a recognized prophetic voice rather than a mere participant.
The thread — The tambourine-and-dancing pattern recurs in 1 Samuel 18:6 (women celebrating David's victory) and Psalms 68:25 (maidens playing tambourines in a procession), and is commanded in Psalms 150:4 as a mode of praise.
Why it lands — The verse places a woman at the head of a corporate act of praise, identified by her office (prophetess) before her kinship, and presents bodily movement as a legitimate response to divine deliverance.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
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.
Cross-references
- Psalms 150:4 Praise Him with tambourine and dancing; praise Him with strings and flute.
- 1 Samuel 18:6 As the troops were returning home after David had killed the Philistine, the women came out of all the cities of Israel to meet King Saul with singing and dancing, with joyful songs, and with tambourines and other instruments.
- Psalms 68:25 The singers lead the way, the musicians follow after, among the maidens playing tambourines.
- Psalms 149:3 Let them praise His name with dancing, and make music to Him with tambourine and harp.
- Judges 11:34 And when Jephthah returned home to Mizpah, there was his daughter coming out to meet him with tambourines and dancing! She was his only child; he had no son or daughter besides her.
- Numbers 26:59 and Amram’s wife was named Jochebed. She was also a daughter of Levi, born to Levi in Egypt. To Amram she bore Aaron, Moses, and their sister Miriam.
- Judges 4:4 Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, was judging Israel at that time.
- Psalms 81:2 Lift up a song, strike the tambourine, play the sweet-sounding harp and lyre.
- Micah 6:4 For I brought you up from the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery. I sent Moses before you, as well as Aaron and Miriam.
- Exodus 2:4 And his sister stood at a distance to see what would happen to him.