Miriam

Miriam first appears as a young girl, watching over the baby Moses hidden in the Nile. When Pharaoh's daughter found him, Miriam boldly approached the princess and offered to find a Hebrew nurse—then brought Moses' own mother to nurse him in the palace. This quick thinking preserved Moses for his destiny.

Decades later, after the Red Sea crossing, Miriam is called "the prophetess." She took a timbrel and led the women of Israel in dance and song, answering the men's praise with the refrain: "Sing ye to the Lord, for he hath triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea."

Miriam's later years included a serious failure. She and Aaron spoke against Moses because of his Cushite wife, but the underlying issue was resentment: "Hath the Lord indeed spoken only by Moses? hath he not spoken also by us?" God appeared and declared Moses unique among prophets. When the cloud departed, Miriam was leprous.

Moses immediately interceded for his sister. God healed her but required seven days outside the camp. The whole nation waited for Miriam before moving on—a sign of her importance despite her sin. Miriam died at Kadesh in the wilderness and was buried there. She is remembered among Israel's deliverers alongside Moses and Aaron.