Exodus 15:20

And Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron,.... The same, it is highly probable, that is called the sister of Moses, Exodus 2:3, her name Miriam is the same as Mary with us, and signifies

And Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand; and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances.

Miriam the prophetess; so called, either in a general sense, because she was an instructer of other women in the praise and service of God; or in a more special sense, because she had the Spirit of prophecy. See . The sister of Aaron Quest. Why not of Moses also? Answ. 1. She might be Moses’ s sister only by one parent, Aaron’ s by both. 2. She was best known to the people by her relation to Aaron, with whom she had lived for many years, when Moses was banished. With timbrels and with dances, according to their ancient custom in public solemnities. See 21:21 ,21 Jer 31:4,13.

Exodus 15:20 And Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand; and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances.Ver. 20. And Miriam.] Souls have no sexes: and if souls follow the temperament of their bodies, as philosophy saith they do, women’ s bodies consist of rarer rooms, of a more exact composition than men’ s do.

(20) Miriam the prophetess.—In Miriam we have the first of that long series of religious women presented to us in Holy Scripture who are not merely pious and God-fearing, but exercise a quasi-ministerial office. Examples of other “prophetesses” will be found in Judges 4:4; 2 Kings 22:14; Isaiah 8:3; Luke 2:36. In the early Christian Church there was an order of “deaconesses (Romans 16:1; Apost. Const., vi. 17). The office of “prophetess” seems to have been permitted to women in Egypt, though that of “priestess” was, until Ptolemaic times, forbidden them. The sister of Aaron.—She is called “sister of Aaron,” rather than of Moses, because Aaron was the head of the family (Exodus 6:20; Exodus 7:7). There is no reasonable doubt that she was the sister who kept watch on Moses when he was in the ark of bulrushes (Exodus 2:3-8). On her later history, see Numbers 12:1-15. The prophet Micah regarded her as having had a part in the work of Israel’s deliverance (Micah 6:4). Timbrels and with dances.—By “timbrels” are meant tambours, or tambourines, favourite instruments in Egypt, and usually played by women there (Wilkinson: Ancient Egyptians, vol. i., p. 93). The combination of music with song in religious worship, here for the first time brought before us, became the fixed rule of the Tabernacle service from the time of David (2 Samuel 6:15; 1 Chronicles 23:5; 1 Chronicles 25:1-6), and was adopted into the Temple service from its first establishment (2 Chronicles 5:12). Sanctioned under the new covenant by the general praise of psalmody, and by the representations given in the Apocalypse of the Church triumphant in heaven (Revelation 5:8; Revelation 14:2-3), it has always maintained itself in the Christian Church, and still holds its ground firmly. Dancing, on the contrary, though adopted into religious worship by many nations, sanctioned by the present passage, by the example of David (2 Samuel 6:16), and by expressions in the Psalms (Psalms 149:3; Psalms 150:4), has never found an entrance into Christian ceremonial, unless among a few fanatic sects. The reason of this is to be found in the abuses which, through human infirmity, became by degrees connected with the practice, causing it to become unfit for a religious purpose. In the primitive times, however, solemn and stately dances were deemed appropriate to festival periods and religious rejoicings, and among the more moral tribes and nations had nothing unseemly about them. The arrangement of the choir on this occasion into two bands—one of males, the other of females—and the combined employment of music, song, and dancing by the female band, are in close accord with Egyptian customs.

Verse 20. And Miriam the prophetess] We have already seen that Miriam was older than either Moses or Aaron: for when Moses was exposed on the Nile, she was a young girl capable of managing the stratagem used for the preservation of his life; and then Aaron was only three years and three months old, for he was fourscore and three years old when Moses was but fourscore, (see Exodus 7:7;) so that Aaron was older than Moses, and Miriam considerably older than either, not less probably than nine or ten years of age. See Clarke on Exodus 2:2. There is great diversity of opinion on the origin of the name of Miriam, which is the same with the Greek Μαριαμ, the Latin Maria, and the English Mary. Some suppose it to be compounded of מר mar, a drop, (Isaiah 40:15,) and ים yam, the sea, and that from this etymology the heathens formed their Venus, whom they feign to have sprung from the sea. St. Jerome gives several etymologies for the name, which at once show how difficult it is to ascertain it: she who enlightens me, or she who enlightens them, or the star of the sea. Others, the lady of the sea, the bitterness of the sea, c. It is probable that the first or the last is the true one, but it is a matter of little importance, as we have not the circumstance marked, as in the case of Moses and many others, that gave rise to the name. The prophetess] הנביאה hannebiah. For the meaning of the word prophet, נביא nabi, See Clarke on Genesis 20:7. It is very likely that Miriam was inspired by the Spirit of God to instruct the Hebrew women, as Moses and Aaron were to instruct the men and when she and her brother Aaron sought to share in the government of the people with Moses, we find her laying claim to the prophetic influence, Numbers 12:2: Hath the Lord indeed spoken only by Moses? Hath he not SPOKEN ALSO BY US? And that she was constituted joint leader of the people with her two brothers, we have the express word of God by the Prophet Micah, Micah 6:4: For I brought thee up out of the land of Egypt - and I sent before thee Moses, Aaron, and Miriam. Hence it is very likely that she was the instructress of the women, and regulated the times, places, c., of their devotional acts for it appears that from the beginning to the present day the Jewish women all worshipped apart. A timbrel] תף toph, the same word which is translated tabret, Genesis 31:27, on which the reader is desired to consult the note. See Clarke on Genesis 31:27. And with dances.] מחלת mecholoth. Many learned men suppose that this word means some instruments of wind music, because the word comes from the root חלל chalal, the ideal meaning of which is to perforate, penetrate, pierce, stab, and hence to wound.

20, 21. How the opening verse of the Song was sung by Miriam.

And Miriam the prophetess - The part here assigned to Miriam and the women of Israel is in accordance both with Egyptian and Hebrew customs.

20. Miriam the prophetess — Miriam, or Mariam, the Greek and Latin Maria, and the English Mary.