Sister of Moses. The Bible records that it was she who called Jochabed to nurse her child, the infant Moses, after he had been rescued from the Nile by Pharaoh's daughter (Ex. 2:4–8). Miriam is described as a prophetess who led the Israelite women in a song of praise to God after the deliverance of the Israelites at the Red Sea (Ex. 15:20–21). An episode in the wilderness is described in which Miriam and her elder brother Aaron criticized Moses "because of the Cushite woman he had married." As a result of their speaking against Moses, Miriam was smitten with leprosy and Moses prayed for her recovery (Num. 12:1ff). Miriam died in Kadesh-Barnea and was buried there, near the end of Israel's journey in the wilderness.
In rabbinic folklore Miriam is elevated to the position of a heroine, and the supply of water to the Israelites in the wilderness derived from her merit.
