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Miriam Ruth, and Deborah
Women in the Bible are often overlooked because of their male counterparts who supposedly perform greater miracles and speak greater prophecies. The male characters’ superiority is not always the case, however. While the male characters are great in their own ways, the women are often just as great if not greater. The women usually do not seem as great because their stories were often left out of the Bible. But, the few short stories that do still exist about remarkable women of the Bible are wonderful stories and tell of many strong women who were not only great and passionate leaders, but who also cared about the Israelites and were determined to make their voices heard. Miriam, Ruth, and Deborah are three of these remarkable women.
The prophet Miriam, who appears in the books of Exodus and Numbers, is best known as Moses’s sister. In fact, she is Moses’s and Aaron’s older sister, and she is responsible for saving Moses when he was a baby, along with many other things. Hers is quite a remarkable story, which often gets overlooked because the number of verses that mention her is so few.
Miriam first appears in the second chapter of Exodus. Though she is not given a name here, one can infer her identity because of her description as the baby’s sister. Pharaoh has decreed that all male children born to the Israelites should be killed. Moses’s mother, Yocheved, in order to save the child, places him in a basket in a river. Miriam watches the basket until Pharaoh’s daughter finds the child and decides to adopt him. Miriam then tells the daughter that she knows of a mother who can nurse the child and leads Pharaoh’s daughter to Yocheved.
In this story, Miriam shows her curiosity and intelligence, along with her concern for her baby brother. Though she was young at the time (some commentaries say she was only five years old), she has patience enough to wait until her brother is saved. This patience is driven by her curiosity to see who might save the child, and also by her concern that she wants her brother to be saved. She also exhibits her intelligence by leading Pharaoh’s daughter to Yocheved, thereby allowing their family to stay together and enabling Moses to grow up, for at least the beginning of his life, with his true mother.
After Moses’s rescue, Miriam does not appear again until chapter 15 of Exodus, just after the Israelites have crossed the Red Sea. As the Israelites stand on the other side and watch the Egyptians drown in the closing waters, Miriam takes a tambourine and leads the women in song and dance. In verse 20, she is described as a "prophet" because she is a charismatic leader and is able to lead the women in so joyous a dance. They follow her willingly because of her strength as a leader. Part of that strength lies in her devotion to G-d. In her rejoicing, she sings to G-d because He has allowed the Israelites to triumph over the Egyptians. In fact, rather than saying that the Israelites triumphed, she says that G-d triumphs. This statement shows her complete trust in G-d and that she is willing to do anything to show her love for Him. Her love and devotion for G-d is so overwhelming that all the other women cannot help but dance with her.
As the Israelites wander through the desert, stories of Miriam are almost nonexistent. Her name is not mentioned again until Numbers, chapter 12, in which she and Aaron make charges against Moses. They make charges against Moses because he is married to a Cushite woman, although their anger at Moses is probably based on more than just his marital status. Miriam and Aaron were also both prophets so they might have been upset that Moses was getting all the glory. In fact, they say, "Has G-d not spoken through us also?" (Numbers 12:2), which shows that they are upset that they are not getting credit for being prophets as well. G-d gets angry with Miriam and Aaron, saying that His relationship with Moses is special, so to speak against Moses is to speak against G-d. Therefore, G-d punishes Miriam with leprosy. Because of her leprosy, Miriam is banished from the camp for seven days. But, the Israelites wait for her period of uncleanness to pass before moving on because of her status as leader and prophet.
This scene shows Miriam’s desire to be heard. She is obviously a great leader because of the few stories that are told about her. But, so many of her stories must be left out as well. This episode in which she speaks against Moses is just one of her attempts to have a voice. She wants people to know that even though she is a woman, she is still a prophet and a leader and deserves to have people listen to her. But, overall, the Torah mostly ignores her. In fact, after her charges against Moses, only two more verses of the Torah mention her. She gets one verse about her death (Numbers 20:1) and one verse within a genealogy, in which she is mentioned as Moses and Aaron’s sister (Numbers 26:59). Though the reader does see Miriam’s strong character in the few verses about her, the reader is still left with many questions as to why so many holes exist in Miriam’s story and why so many important things, like a more detailed version of her death and burial, are excluded.
I have always loved the character of Miriam, ever since the first time I heard the story about her watching Moses in the basket. Though the male figures are by far the most prominent figures in the Torah, I guess I have always related more to Miriam just because I am a woman. Plus, now that I have become more religious and observant, her song and dance at the Sea completely amazes me. She does not care at all what other people think about her, but just submits herself to her faith and shows the world how much she loves G-d. Miriam also has enough faith in herself, and enough strength, to stand up to her brother Moses, who is one of the most holy people in all of Jewish history. I know I would never be able to do anything like that (of course, I’m not a prophet or the sister of a holy person either), so I really admire the strength and courage she has to stand up for what she believes is right, no matter what the consequences. I also relate to her in her desire to be heard. I think that is something that all people feel at some point in their lives, and Miriam, in her charges against Moses, expresses that feeling beautifully. All she wants is for people to recognize her as the prophet and leader that she is. She is always being overshadowed by her brothers, and all she wants is her turn to be heard.
Cullen Murphy, in her book The Word According to Eve, comments on Miriam’s life and stories. Murphy points out that it is a great accomplishment for Miriam that she even has a name in the Torah. Many Biblical women, such as Lot’s wife, Noah’s wife, and Pharaoh’s daughter, do not get names, and Miriam does not even get her name until the Song at the Sea. Murphy also asserts that the Song at the Sea, the longer version of which was sung by Moses, might have originally been ascribed to Miriam by ancient Israelites. Because of some evidence of the longer Song in the Dead Sea Scrolls, Miriam’s leadership in this Song is more strongly shown. In fact, some of the language of the Dead Sea Scrolls implies that Miriam was sent by G-d in order to help her brother save the people. After Miriam’s death, about which there is only one verse, the Torah immediately says that the Israelites had no water. Murphy says this apparent change is actually not as random as it might seem. Miriam was always associated with water, so the absence of water is nature’s way of mourning the loss of this great leader. Ilana Pardes, in her book Countertraditions in the Bible, also points out that Miriam’s death came shortly after her charges against Moses. This happened because Miriam was more of a wilderness figure, and because of her strong will and her gift of prophecy, she had to be silenced while still in the wilderness before they entered the Promised Land.
In the Book of Ruth, readers find a more detailed story of the life of one Moabite woman who chooses to join the Israelites. The story starts out with the Israelite woman Naomi, who is married to Elimelech of Bethlehem. They move to Moab and Elimelech dies, leaving Naomi with their two sons Mahlon and Chilion. The sons marry Moabite women, Orpah and Ruth, and then die. After losing her husband and sons, Naomi returns to Bethlehem, with her two daughters-in-law following her. She begs them to leave her because she has no more sons for them to marry (because it was an Israelite custom that if a man dies his brother is supposed to marry the widow). Orpah eventually leaves, but Ruth persists, saying, "Where you go, I will go…your people shall me my people" (Ruth 1:16). Ruth is totally devoted to her mother-in-law and to embracing the lives and customs of the Israelites.
When Ruth and Naomi get to Bethlehem, Ruth gleans fields in order to find food for Naomi and herself, as it was a custom for Israelites to let poor people gather crops that were left over. While Ruth is gathering, she meets Boaz, who turns out to be a kinsman to Naomi’s late husband Elimelech. Boaz likes Ruth right away, and does whatever he can to make sure there will be enough crops for Ruth to glean. Naomi is happy to find out that Ruth has met Boaz, so Naomi tries to get Boaz to marry Ruth. Boaz does want to marry Ruth, but he knows of one kinsman who is more closely related to Elimelech than he is, so to do the honorable thing, he asks the other kinsman to marry Ruth. This kinsman, however, refuses because he does not want to mess up his inheritance, so Boaz marries Ruth and they have a son, Obed, who becomes the father of Jesse, who is father of King David.
This story shows Ruth’s persistence and strength of character. It must be terribly hard for a young woman to leave her homeland to travel to a new land where she is a complete foreigner. She would not only have to deal with prejudice, but would also have to learn all the new customs and embrace them as her own -- all with only knowing one other person. Yet, she willingly chooses to leave because she loves Naomi and wants to embrace Israelite customs. She is so devoted to Naomi that she even says to Naomi, "All that you tell me I will do" (Ruth 3:5). Ruth completely trusts Naomi to the point where she would do anything for her. Ruth is also very persistent, as seen in her interactions with Boaz, when she tries to get him to marry her. She truly wants to be accepted into the Israelite society, so she will do whatever she can to make that happen.
I really admire Ruth for her devotion and persistence. I know I could not have done what she did if I were in the same situation. It is so hard to be a foreigner, but her role as outsider does not bother her at all. She knows what she wants and she follows her heart because of her love for Naomi. She is so strong, which is a really admirable quality, especially because many women in the Bible are not shown in a good light. I also admire her relationship with Naomi. So few women in the Bible have meaningful relationships with other women -- most of their relationships are based on jealousy or fighting over a man. But, Ruth and Naomi have a deep and complex relationship.
Pardes says this relationship, along with most of the Book of Ruth including the interactions with Boaz, is based on hesed. Naomi shows great hesed in interacting with Ruth. Ruth is "doubly other," because she is both a foreigner and a woman, but Naomi willingly accepts her into the Israelite way of life and helps her with the transition. Pardes also says that this book may have been written during the time of Ezra or Nehemiah and was a sort of political propaganda against the exclusion of outsiders, which would account for the great hesed seen throughout this book.
The fourth and fifth chapters of the Book of Judges finally illustrate a woman who is not known by her relationship to a man. While Miriam was known as the sister of Moses and Aaron, and Ruth was known as the wife of Boaz and the great-great-grandmother of King David, as well as the widow of Naomi’s son, Deborah is just known as Deborah the prophet. She lived in the time of the judges, when Israel had no king, but was ruled by various judges, who were "not magistrates but rather those few individuals whose authority extended beyond household and tribe and might be thought of as somehow national.’" Deborah is more than the normal judge, however -- she is also a prophet and a spiritual leader and guide. She was also one of the more "national" prophets in that people came from all over to see her.
Deborah lives under a palm tree between Ramah and Bethel. Usually the judges and prophets were seen as people to be despised and not listened to, but people actually "come up to [Deborah] for judgment" (Judges 4:5). They value her advice because of the strength of her spiritual leadership. During the time that the army commander of Hazor, Sisera, iw in charge, Deborah calls upon the warrior Barak. She prophesies to him, saying that G-d wants him to gather an army to fight against Sisera. Barak is afraid, so he says he will only go if Deborah goes with him, again showing the extent to which people valued Deborah’s leadership. She says she will go, but that Barak will not be the one who kills Sisera. So, Barak and Deborah go to battle, and during the battle, a woman, Jael, kills Sisera by driving a tent peg through his head. Because of her action, Barak and his army are able to defeat Sisera’s army. Then, in chapter five, Deborah and Barak sing a victory song, which praises G-d for His help in the battle. The song also praises Deborah, by calling her a "mother in Israel" (Judges 5:7), and claiming that when Deborah is in charge, the country prospers.
Deborah’s character as a strong leader is shown well throughout these two chapters. She constantly encourages Barak because of her faith in him, along with her faith in G-d and Israel. Most leaders of countries would not go down to battle with their warriors, but Deborah does, showing her passion for her country and the people. She is their leader, so she wants to see them succeed. She is always there for them, and her complete love for her country is illustrated in her victory song.
Deborah is seen as the "impersonation of the free spirit of the Jewish people and of Jewish life," which she definitely shows in her victory song. She does whatever is necessary and does it willingly and passionately. She truly cares about the Israelites and will do whatever she needs to do in order to ensure their safety. She is also "dauntless" and "noble" in her actions because of her passion. Before reading these chapters, I had known little about Deborah, only that she was a judge. Now that I have read her story, I see her passion and realize why she is such a great figure in the Hebrew Bible. Although her story is short, and she is not even the main focus of the story (because Barak leads the battle and Jael kills Sisera), her strength and passion still shine through on the page. Her victory song, which is one of the oldest parts of the Hebrew Bible and may have actually been written down by a woman, shows Deborah’s character wonderfully. She is totally devoted to Israel and has done so much to take care of the country.
Therefore, as we have seen, Miriam, Ruth, and Deborah are three of the many strong women leaders of the Hebrew Bible. Their stories may be short, but the holes within the stories allow the reader to imagine what might have happened and therefore give the reader more room for interpretation of the stories. Perhaps, just as Miriam composed a song for all of Israel at the Red Sea, the women composed a song for the great prophet’s funeral. Maybe Ruth and the young women she spent time with spoke of how handsome they thought Boaz was or maybe they were a support group for her after the loss of her husband. Perhaps tears of joy fell down Deborah’s cheeks as she sang the victory song with Barak. These things we will never know, but that is part of the beauty of these stories and all the other neglected stories of women in the Bible. Miriam, Ruth, and Deborah are merely a few examples of the heights of greatness that women of the Bible could achieve.
1
Cullen Murphy. The Word According to Eve: Women and the Bible in Ancient Times and Our Own (New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1998), 55-56.2
Ibid., 56.3
Ibid., 57.4
Ilana Pardes. Countertraditions in the Bible: A Feminist Approach (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1992), 10.5
Ibid., 99.6
Ibid.7
Murphy, 71.8
James Hastings, D.D., ed., The Greater Men and Women of the Bible (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1914), 446.9
Ibid., 448.10
Ibid., 451.
