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Moses cried to Yahweh, saying, “Heal her, God, I beg you!”
Yahweh said to Moses, “If her father had but spit in her face, shouldn’t she be ashamed seven days? Let her be shut up outside of the camp seven days, and after that she shall be brought in again.”
Miriam was shut up outside of the camp seven days, and the people didn’t travel until Miriam was brought in again.
Numbers 12:13-15 sits inside this longer paragraph.
Moses cried to Yahweh, saying, “Heal her, God, I beg you!”
Yahweh said to Moses, “If her father had but spit in her face, shouldn’t she be ashamed seven days? Let her be shut up outside of the camp seven days, and after that she shall be brought in again.”
Miriam was shut up outside of the camp seven days, and the people didn’t travel until Miriam was brought in again. Afterward the people traveled from Hazeroth, and encamped in the wilderness of Paran.
Moses cried to Yahweh, saying, “Heal her, God, I beg you!”
Yahweh said to Moses, “If her father had but spit in her face, shouldn’t she be ashamed seven days? Let her be shut up outside of the camp seven days, and after that she shall be brought in again.”
Miriam was shut up outside of the camp seven days, and the people didn’t travel until Miriam was brought in again.
And Moses cried unto the LORD, saying, Heal her now, O God, I beseech thee.
And the LORD said unto Moses, If her father had but spit in her face, should she not be ashamed seven days? let her be shut out from the camp seven days, and after that let her be received in again.
And Miriam was shut out from the camp seven days: and the people journeyed not till Miriam was brought in again.
And Moses cried unto the LORD, saying: 'Heal her now, O God, I beseech Thee.'
And the LORD said unto Moses: 'If her father had but spit in her face, should she not hide in shame seven days? let her be shut up without the camp seven days, and after that she shall be brought in again.'
And Miriam was shut up without the camp seven days; and the people journeyed not till Miriam was brought in again.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On v14 In his displeasure.
In his displeasure.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv13–15 Num 12:13 And Moses cried unto the LORD, saying,…
Num 12:13 And Moses cried unto the LORD, saying, Heal her now, O God, I beseech thee.
Ver. 13. And Moses cried.] Passing by all the unkindness, he prayed earnestly for her. This was a noble kind of revenge. David was much in it.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv14–15 Spit in her face, i.e. expressed some eminent token…
Spit in her face, i.e. expressed some eminent token of indignation and contempt, which this was, Job 30:10; Isa 1:6.
Should she not be ashamed, and withdraw herself from her father’s presence? as Jonathan did upon a like occasion, 1Sa 20:34. So though God healed her according to Moses’s request, yet he would have her publicly bear the shame of her sin, and be a warning to others to keep them firm the same transgression.
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Seven days, the time appointed for cleansing the unclean. See Num 6:9; 31:19.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv13–15 And Moses cried unto the Lord,.... With a loud…
And Moses cried unto the Lord,.... With a loud voice, and with great earnestness and importunity, being heartily affected with the miserable condition Miriam was in:
saying, heal her now, O God, I beseech thee; in the original text it is, "O God now, heal her now"; for the same particle is used at the close as at the beginning of the petition; and the repetition of it shows his earnestness and importunity that she might be healed directly, immediately, without any delay; and Moses uses the word "El", which signifies the strong and mighty God, as expressive of his faith in the power of God, that he was able to heal her; and at the same time suggests that none but he could do it; and so Aben Ezra interprets it,"thou that hast power in thine hand, now heal her;''this prayer is a proof of his being of a meek, humble, and forgiving spirit.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv14–15 Spit in her face - That is, expressed some…
Spit in her face - That is, expressed some eminent token of indignation and contempt, which was this, Job xxx, 10 Isaiah l, 6. Ashamed - And withdraw herself, from her father's presence, as Jonathan did upon a like occasion, 1 Sam. xx, 34. So though God healed her according to Moses's request, yet he would have her publickly bear the shame of her sin, and be a warning to others to keep them from the same transgression.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On v14 Verse 14. If her father had but spit in…
Verse 14. If her father had but spit in her face] This appears to have been done only in cases of great provocation on the part of the child, and strong irritation on the side of the parent. Spitting in the face was a sign of the deepest contempt. See Job 30:10; Isa 50:6; Mr 14:65. In a case where a parent was obliged by the disobedient conduct of his child to treat him in this way, it appears he was banished from the father's presence for seven days. If then this was an allowed and judged case in matters of high provocation on the part of a child, should not the punishment be equally severe where the creature has rebelled against the Creator? Therefore Miriam was shut out of the camp for seven days, and thus debarred from coming into the presence of God her father, who is represented as dwelling among the people. To a soul who knows the value and inexpressible blessedness of communion with God, how intolerable must seven days of spiritual darkness be! But how indescribably wretched must their case be who are cast out into outer darkness, where the light of God no more shines, and where his approbation can no more be felt for ever! Reader, God save thee from so great a curse!
Several of the fathers suppose there is a great mystery hidden in the quarrel of Miriam and Aaron with Moses and Zipporah. Origen (and after him several others) speaks of it in the following manner: -
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"1. Zipporah, a Cushite espoused by Moses, evidently points out the choice which Jesus Christ has made of the Gentiles for his spouse and Church.
2. The jealousy of Aaron and Miriam against Moses and Zipporah signifies the hatred and envy of the Jews against Christ and the apostles, when they saw that the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven had been opened to the Gentiles, of which they had rendered themselves unworthy.
3. The leprosy with which Miriam was smitten shows the gross ignorance of the Jews, and the ruinous, disordered state of their religion, in which there is neither a head, a temple, nor a sacrifice.
4. Of none but Jesus Christ can it be said that he was the most meek and patient of men; that he saw God face to face; that he had every thing clearly revealed without enigmatical representations; and that he was faithful in all the house of God." This, and much more, Origen states in the sixth and seventh homilies on the book of Numbers, and yet all this he considers as little in comparison of the vast mysteries that lie hidden in these accounts; for the shortness of the time, and the magnitude of the mysteries, only permit him "to pluck a few flowers from those vast fields - not as many as the exuberance of those fields afford, but only such as by their odour he was led to select from the rest." Licebat tamen ex ingentibus campis paucos flosculos legere, et non quantum ager exuberet, sed quantum ordoratui supiciat, carpere.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv14–15 Num 12:14. If her father had but spit in…
Num 12:14. If her father had but spit in her face — That is, had expressed some eminent token of indignation and contempt, in consequence of her having provoked him to anger by some undutiful behaviour. See Job 30:10; Isa 50:6. Should she not be ashamed seven days — And withdraw herself from her father’s presence, as Jonathan did on a like occlusion? 1Sa 20:34. And how much more ought she to be ashamed when she lies under this severe mark of the divine displeasure! So, though God had healed her according to Moses’s request yet he would have her publicly bear the shame of her sin, and be a warning to others to keep them from the same transgression.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On v14 Answered him. The force of this reply must be…
Answered him. The force of this reply must be very obvious. If a father had been so irritated by his daughter, as to shew his indignation in the strongest manner, (see Job xxx. 10.; Mark xiv. 65,) she would surely keep out of sight for a time: and can she complain, if I, who have been more injured in the person of my minister, exclude her from society seven days, after having covered her with the leprosy as with spittle. (Calmet) --- The excommunication, in the Christian Church, bears some resemblance with this exclusion. Mary did not undergo all the legal purifications, (Leviticus xxxiv.) as the miraculous cure dispensed her from them. (Menochius) --- Origen (hom. vi. 7,) and other Fathers, explain the mystery of this historical event. Moses, taking to wife the Ethiopian, represents Christ calling the Gentiles, which excites the murmurs of the synagogue. Mary shews the deformity of the latter religion at the present day, without head or sacrifice. The encomiums bestowed upon the Jewish legislator, belong in a still stricter sense to Jesus Christ, the mildest of men, fully acquainted with all the secrets of God, and the most faithful in all his house. (St. Jerome, ep. ad Fab. mansion xiv.)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv14–15 her father had but spit in her face, should…
her father had but spit in her face, should she not be ashamed seven days?--The Jews, in common with all people in the East, seem to have had an intense abhorrence of spitting, and for a parent to express his displeasure by doing so on the person of one of his children, or even on the ground in his presence, separated that child as unclean from society for seven days.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv13–15 13. Heal her now — Strong faith always insists…
13. Heal her now — Strong faith always insists on a present blessing. Says J. Wesley, in respect to the healing of the leprosy of inbred sin, “If it is by faith, why not NOW?” Weak faith drops out the now, grasps no definite time, and looks only for a gradual cure. The greatest achievement of faith requires for its condition the idea of immediateness and instantaneousness.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On v14 14. I beseech thee] A single exclamatory particle, which…
14. I beseech thee] A single exclamatory particle, which is rendered ‘I pray thee’ in Num_12:11, and ‘I pray’ in Num_12:12. We must probably read ’al for ’çl (‘O God’)—Nay, I pray, heal her I pray.
spit in her face] Cf. Deu_25:9, Job_30:10, Isa_50:6. Possibly a reference to a custom, which is said to exist among the Arabs of to-day, by which the disgrace was inflicted as a punishment for a misdemeanour. It is implied, though not stated, that Miriam was healed at once, but the pollution of the leprosy remained.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv13–15 (13) Heal her now, O God, I beseech thee.—Better,…
(13) Heal her now, O God, I beseech thee.—Better, O God, I beseech thee, heal her, I beseech thee.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv13–15 Moses cried unto the Lord. A much harder and…
Moses cried unto the Lord. A much harder and prouder man than Moses was must needs have been melted into pity at the sight of his sister, and the terrible suggestion of Aaron. Heal her now, O God, I beseech thee. The "now" has no place here, unless it be merely to add force to the exclamation. Moses, although directly appealed to himself, can only appeal to God.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v13 Please heal her, God, please
Please heal her, God, please
Here "please" is repeated for emphasis.
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If her father had spit in her face
This describes something that could have happened but did not. Spitting in someone's face was a terrible insult. (See: Hypothetical Situationsand Symbolic Action)
Miriam was shut outside the camp
Being sent out of the camp and not being allowed to go back in is spoken of as if there were a door that was closed behind her. AT: "Miriam was sent outside the camp" or "Miriam was kept outside the camp" (See: Metaphor)
Miriam was shut outside the camp
This can be stated in active form. AT: "Moses shut Miriam outside the camp" or "Moses sent Miriam outside the camp" (See: Active or Passive)
translationWords
cure
God
disgrace
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v14 12:14 Miriam was required to follow the normal procedure…
12:14 Miriam was required to follow the normal procedure for achieving ritual purity after a skin disease (5:2-4; Lev 13–14).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.