Saturday 21 April 2012

Background

This passage can be read in comparison with Numbers20:1-13, which describes a similar dilemma and solution butwith the additional detail that the lack of water immediatelyfollows Miriam's death.

There is a very strong association in rabbinic tradition, betweenthe prophetess Miriam, who is Moses' and Aaron's sister, and water.Today, some Jewish households honour her part in the liberation ofthe Israelites at the Passover seder meal by placing a cup of wateron the table, alongside a cup of wine for Elijah. That she was heldin high regard in her own right, as a leader of the people, can beseen in Micah 6:4: "I sent before you Moses, Aaron andMiriam".

Miriam's connection with water begins in childhood (Exodus2:1-10). She stands at the riverbank of the Nile, watching overher baby brother Moses, whose birth she is said to have predicted.She watches as the Pharaoh's daughter draws the basket containingMoses out of the water, and then intervenes to reunite the babywith his mother. Later she watches the movements of the Red Seawhich allows the Israelites safe passage but drowns the pursuingarmy, then leads the women in praise to God, for their deliverance(Exodus 15:20-21).

Her name comes from the adjective 'bitter', and in Exodus15:23we read of bitter water which is sweetened to bedrinkable. Perhaps most remarkably, according to tradition, a wellin the form of a rock from which water flows, travels with theIsraelites because of Miriam. Only when she dies, does the well dryup.

Miriam, then, is given a significant position in Jewish tradition,as a prophetess and leader, through whom the people are blessedwith the gift of water. Miriam's travelling well is an expressionof the presence of God with the people, as a source of life.

To Ponder

What sustains you in difficult times?

Miriam is one of a number of significant womencharacters in the Hebrew Scriptures. Which of these women inspireyou and why?