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And Miriamוַ מִרְיָםand Aaronוְאַהֲרֹןspokeתְּדַבֵּרagainst Mosesבְּמֹשֶׁהon account ofעַל אֹדוֹתthe Cushiteהַכֻּשִׁיתwomanהָאִשָּׁהwhomאֲשֶׁרhe had taken,לָקָחforכִּיhe had takenלָקָחa Cushiteכֻשִׁיתwoman.אִשָּׁה
Numbers 12:1
Study it in the app“And Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses on account of the Cushite woman whom he had taken, for he had taken a Cushite woman.”
With the Hebrew beneath
Numbers 12:1, word by word
- And Miriamמִרְיָםmiryam
Miriam
Miriam, sister of Moses and Aaron, a prophetess; also a woman of the tribe of Judah (1 Chronicles 4:17).
Where else “miryam” appears- and Aaronאַהֲרֹןaharon
Aaron
Aaron, the older brother of Moses, his spokesman before Pharaoh and the first high priest of Israel.
Where else “aharon” appears- spokeתְּדַבֵּרtedaber
speak
To speak, say something; above all God to his people.
Where else “tedaber” appears- against Mosesמֹשֶׁהmoshe
Moses
Moses, the man God called to bring Israel out of Egypt and through whom he gave the Law. His name sounds like "draw out" (Exodus 2:10).
Where else “moshe” appears- on account ofאֹדוֹתodot
cause
Cause, reason: "because of".
Where else “odot” appears- the Cushiteכֻּשִׁיתkushit
Cushite woman
Cushite woman: a woman from Cush, the region south of Egypt.
Where else “kushit” appears- womanאִשָּׁהisha
woman
An adult female person: single, married or widowed.
Where else “isha” appears- he had takenלָקָחlakach
take a wife
"Take a wife": to marry.
Where else “lakach” appears
Translation note
Cush is the Hebrew name of the region south of Egypt. The text says nothing more about this woman; she may be Zipporah or another. What they say in 12:2 can be understood as envy of Moses’ place.
The context
1 · This verse (above)
2And they said, “Has YHWH spoken only through Moses? Has he not spoken through us also?” And YHWH heard it.