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

Then Miriam and Aaron criticized Moses because of the Cushite woman he had married, for he had taken a Cushite wife. 2“Does the LORD speak only through Moses?” they said. “Does He not also speak through us?” And the LORD heard this. 3Now Moses was a very humble man, more so than any man 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

• Then Miriamמִרְיָםmiryâm · MiriamH4813
• and Aaronאַהֲרֹן'ahărôn · AaronH175
• criticizedדָבַרdâbar · to speak: speakH1696
• Mosesמֹשֶׁהmôsheh · MosesH4872
• because ofעַל‛al · uponH5921
• because ofאוֹדָה'ôdôth 'ôdôth · causeH182
• the Cushiteכּוּשִׁיkûshîy · EthiopianH3569
• ·אֲשֶׁר'ăsher · whichH834
• womanאִשָּׁה'ishshâh nâshîym · womanH802
• he had marriedלָקַחlâqach · to take: marryH3947
• forכִּיkîy · forH3588

Cross-references for Numbers 12:1

• Matthew 10:36A man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’
• Matthew 12:48But Jesus replied, “Who is My mother, and who are My brothers?”
• John 7:5For even His own brothers did not believe in Him.
• John 15:20Remember the word that I spoke to you: ‘No servant is greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will persecute you as well; if they kept My word, they will keep yours as well.
• Galatians 4:16Have I now become your enemy by telling you the truth?
• Exodus 2:16Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters, and they came to draw water and fill the troughs to water their father’s flock.
• Genesis 24:3and I will have 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 am dwelling,
• Genesis 26:34When Esau was forty years old, he took as his wives Judith daughter of Beeri the Hittite and Basemath daughter of Elon the Hittite.
• Genesis 27:46Then Rebekah said to Isaac, “I am weary of my life because of these Hittite women. If Jacob takes a Hittite wife from among them, what good is my life?”
• Genesis 28:6Now Esau learned that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him to Paddan-aram to take a wife there, commanding him, “Do not marry a Canaanite woman,”
• Genesis 34:14“We cannot do such a thing,” they said. “To give our sister to an uncircumcised man would be a disgrace to us.
• Genesis 41:45Pharaoh gave Joseph the name Zaphenath-paneah, and he gave him Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, to be his wife. And Joseph took charge of all the land of Egypt.
• Exodus 34:16And when you take some of their daughters as brides for your sons, their daughters will prostitute themselves to their gods and cause your sons to do the same.
• Leviticus 21:14He is not to marry a widow, a divorced woman, or one defiled by prostitution. 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