Bible Strands
Numbers 12:1
Then Miriam and Aaron criticized Moses because of the Cushite woman he had married, for he had taken a Cushite wife.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Miriam and Aaron speak against Moses regarding his Cushite wife, initiating a direct challenge that the LORD immediately hears. This confrontation occurs during the wilderness journey, immediately preceding their public question about whether the LORD speaks only through Moses.
The words — The Hebrew verb וַ/תְּדַבֵּ֨ר (va./te.da.Ber) literally means “and she spoke,” marking the verbal onset of the complaint. The prepositional phrase עַל\־אֹד֛וֹת הָ/אִשָּׁ֥ה הַ/כֻּשִׁ֖ית (al-odot ha'ishah ha.kushit) translates to “on the causes of the Cushite woman,” specifying the exact grounds of their criticism.
The thread — The marriage reference connects to Exodus 2:21, where Zipporah is given to Moses as a wife. Cross-cultural unions are similarly documented in Genesis 26:34 and Genesis 24:37, establishing a recurring scriptural pattern of marital alliances across ethnic boundaries.
Why it lands — The passage requires the reader to identify the precise marital and prophetic grievances before any divine response is recorded. It demands a clear distinction between the factual grounds of the siblings’ complaint and the subsequent theological judgment on Moses’ unique authority.
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 and Aaron spake against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married: for he had married an Ethiopian woman.
Cross-references
- Exodus 2:21 Moses agreed to stay with the man, and he gave his daughter Zipporah to Moses in marriage.
- Genesis 26:34 When Esau was forty years old, he took as his wives Judith daughter of Beeri the Hittite and Basemath daughter of Elon the Hittite.
- Genesis 24:37 My master made me swear an oath and said, ‘You shall not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites in whose land I dwell,
- Genesis 27:46 Then Rebekah said to Isaac, “I am weary of my life because of these Hittite women. If Jacob takes a Hittite wife from among them, what good is my life?”
- Genesis 24:3 and I will have you swear by the LORD, the God of heaven and the God of earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites among whom I am dwelling,
- Genesis 28:6 Now Esau learned that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him to Paddan-aram to take a wife there, commanding him, “Do not marry a Canaanite woman,”
- Genesis 34:14 “We cannot do such a thing,” they said. “To give our sister to an uncircumcised man would be a disgrace to us.
- Matthew 10:36 A man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’
- John 7:5 For even His own brothers did not believe in Him.
- Galatians 4:16 Have I now become your enemy by telling you the truth?