The Song of Miriam

 

Miriam by Anselm Feuerbach (1862); oil on canvas, 102cm x 81 cm. Alte Nationalgalerie, Berlin

Since first reading the story of the Exodus in the Bible I’ve been fascinated by Miriam, the sister of Moses and Aaron, who has several tantalizing mentions in the biblical texts. She is the first woman named as a prophet, yet there is no record of any prophecy by her. In Jewish midrash, a type of imaginative interpretation of the Hebrew Bible, Miriam is said to have foretold the birth of Moses as the deliverer of the Hebrews from Egypt. The root of her name may mean bitterness, perhaps because she experienced the bitterness of Egyptian oppression. She is also associated in midrash with Puah, one of the Hebrew midwives, whose name is interpreted as embodying qualities of both sensitive tenderness and rebellious assertiveness.