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Aaron and Miriam's displeasure against Moses. – Confirmation of the prophet’s chosenness by God. - Miriam's leprosy. - Healing. Numbers 12:1. And Miriam and Aaron reproached Moses because of the Ethiopian wife whom he had taken—for he had taken an Ethiopian wife for himself— By the “Ethiopian woman,” the wife of Moses, some mean Zipporah, the daughter of the Midianite Jethro, since the land of the Midianites was adjacent to the land of the Ethiopian tribe of the Omirites or Sabeans (3 Kings 10:1; Luke 11:31) and could also be called Ethiopian (Blessed Theodore, Interpretation on the Book of Numbers, question 22). Others, based on the data of Josephus (Ant. Jude 2:10, 2), mean the daughter of the Ethiopian king, whom Moses allegedly married while still at the pharaoh's court, after one brilliant campaign against Ethiopia. Still others mean a Cushite woman, a resident of southern Arabia, taken by Moses after the supposed death of Zipporah in order to avoid family ties in Israel. Numbers 12:2. and they said, Did the Lord speak to Moses alone? didn't He tell us too? And the Lord heard this. It is obvious that the “Ethiopian woman” only served as an excuse for Aaron and Miriam to express to Moses the feelings of their offended ambition: the latter could not tolerate the exceptional position of their brother among the people. Special confirmation of God's chosenness of Moses was required. Numbers 12:3. Moses was the meekest man of all people on earth. There is an opinion that this verse was attributed to I. Navin during his final revision of the manuscript of the book. Number - just as he made a postscript at the end of the book. Deuteronomy (Deut.34). Numbers 12:10. And the cloud departed from the tabernacle, and behold, Miriam was covered with leprosy like snow. Aaron looked at Miriam, and behold, she was leprous. “Just like a leper,” notes the blessed one. Theodoret, - according to the law we recognize him as unclean, and Aaron was the root and foundation of the priesthood, so that reproach would not fall on the whole family, God did not subject him to the same punishment, but frightened him and brought him to his senses by punishing his sister” (Interpretation on the book of Numbers, issue 23). The next verse shows that Aaron truly understood his wrongdoing. Numbers 12:15. And Miriam remained imprisoned outside the camp for seven days, and the people did not set out until Miriam returned. “Seven days” - according to the quarantine established by law for those defiled by touching a corpse and those who have just been cleansed of leprosy (Lev.13:1, 14:8-10; Num.19:16). You might be interested in: