Numbers 12:1

Numbers 12:1 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married: for he had married an Ethiopian woman.
• New International Version (NIV)Miriam and Aaron began to talk against Moses because of his Cushite wife, for he had married a Cushite.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had married, for he had married a Cushite woman.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Then Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married; for he had married an Ethiopian woman.

Context of Numbers 12:1

Now Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had married (for he had married a Cushite woman); 2and they said, “Has the Lord really spoken only through Moses? Has He not spoken also through us?” And the Lord heard it. 3(Now the man Moses was very humble (gentle, kind, devoid of self-righteousness), more than any man who was on the face of the earth.)

Numbers 12:1 word by word

וַתְּדַבֵּ֨ר מִרְיָ֤ם וְאַהֲרֹן֙ בְּמֹשֶׁ֔ה עַל־אֹד֛וֹת הָאִשָּׁ֥ה הַכֻּשִׁ֖ית אֲשֶׁ֣ר לָקָ֑ח כִּֽי־אִשָּׁ֥ה כֻשִׁ֖ית לָקָֽח׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And Miriamמִרְיָםmiryâm · MiriamH4813
• and Aaronאַהֲרֹן'ahărôn · AaronH175
• spakeדָבַרdâbar · to speak: speakH1696
• against Mosesמֹשֶׁהmôsheh · MosesH4872
• because ofאוֹדָה'ôdôth 'ôdôth · causeH182
• the Ethiopianכּוּשִׁיתkûshîyth · CushitessH3571
• womanאִשָּׁה'ishshâh nâshîym · womanH802
• whom he had marriedלָקַחlâqach · to take: marryH3947

Cross-references for Numbers 12:1

• Matthew 10:36and a man’s enemies will be the members of his [own] household [when one believes and another does not].
• Matthew 12:48But Jesus replied to the one who told Him, “Who is My mother and who are My brothers?”
• John 7:5For not even His brothers believed in Him.
• John 15:20Remember [and continue to remember] that I told you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also.
• Galatians 4:16So have I become your enemy by telling you the truth?
• Exodus 2:16Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters; and they came and drew water [from the well where Moses was resting] and filled the troughs to water their father’s flock.
• Genesis 24:3and I will make 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 live,
• Genesis 26:34When Esau was forty years old he married Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite as his wives;
• Genesis 27:46Then Rebekah said to Isaac, “I am tired of living because of the daughters of Heth [these insolent wives of Esau]. If Jacob takes a wife from the daughters of Heth, like these daughters of the land, what good will my life be to me?”
• Genesis 28:6Now Esau noticed that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him to Paddan-aram to take a wife for himself from there, and that as he blessed him he gave him a prohibition, saying, “You shall not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan,”
• Genesis 34:14They said to them, “We cannot do this thing and give our sister [in marriage] to one who is not circumcised, because that would be a disgrace to us.
• Genesis 41:45Then Pharaoh named Joseph Zaphenath-paneah; and he gave him Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera, priest of On (Heliopolis in Egypt), as his wife. And Joseph went out over all the land of Egypt [to inspect and govern it].
• Exodus 34:16and you might take some of his daughters for your sons, and his daughters would play the prostitute with their gods and cause your sons also to play the prostitute (commit apostasy) with their gods [that is, abandon the true God for man-made idols].
• Leviticus 21:14He may not marry a widow or a divorced woman or one who is profaned by prostitution, but he is to marry a virgin from his own people,

Commentaries on Numbers 12:1

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 1Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses - It appears that jealousy of the power and influence of Moses was the real cause of their complaint though his having married an Ethiopian woman-הכשית האשה haishshah haccushith - That Woman, the Cushite, probably meaning Zipporah, who was an Arab born in the land of Midian - was the ostensible cause.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1-15Verses 1-15 Miriam, as a prophetess (compare Exodus 15:20-21) no less than as the sister of Moses and Aaron, took the first rank among the women of Israel; and Aaron may be regarded as the ecclesiastical head of the whole nation. But instead of being grateful for these high dignities they challenged the special vocation of Moses and the exclusive authority which God had assigned to him. Miriam was the instigator, from the fact that her name stands…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 1God rebukes the murmuring of Aaron and Miriam. (1-9) Miriam struck with leprosy, and healed at the prayer of Moses. (10-16) Verses 1-9 The patience of Moses was tried in his own family, as well as by the people. The pretence was, that he had married a foreign wife; but probably their pride was hurt, and their envy stirred up, by his superior authority. Opposition from our near relations, and from religious friends, is most painful. But this is to be…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1Most interpreters believe the Cushite woman is Zipporah, the wife of Moses. She was from Midian (Exodus 2:16–22). They see Cush as referring to Cushan, a region and people near Midian (Habakkuk 3:7). Other interpreters think Cushite refers to Kusi in northern Arabia, Ethiopia, or Sudan. This would suggest she was a different wife. In either case, it is possible that Miriam and Aaron disapproved of his having married a non-Israelite or that they were…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-91. an Ethiopian woman--Hebrew, "a Cushite woman"--Arabia was usually called in Scripture the land of Cush, its inhabitants being descendants of that son of Ham (see on Ex 2:15) and being accounted generally a vile and contemptible race (see on Am 9:7). The occasion of this seditious outbreak on the part of Miriam and Aaron against Moses was the great change made in the government by the adoption of the seventy rulers [Nu 11:16]. Their irritating…Read the comment

Topics related to Numbers 12:1

• Aaron
• Citizens
• Envy
• Ethiopia
• Forgiveness
• Judgments
• Leprosy
• Minister, Christian
• Miscegenation
• Treason
• Zipporah

In the dictionaries

• Aaron
• Miriam
• Moses
• Ethiopian
• Ethiopia, Ethiopian
• Ethiopian woman
• Cushite
• Dedicate
• Exodus
• Hazeroth

Commentaries on Numbers 12

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings