Num 11:34-12:16 | TNotes | STEP | Summary for Num 11:34-35: 11:34-35 The precise locations of Kibroth-hattaavah and Hazeroth are unknown.

Summary for Num 12:1-16: 12:1-16 ^b Rebellion was not restricted to the “foreign rabble” or to the Israelites who were bored with manna (11:4 ^c). Moses’ own brother and sister, Aaron the high priest (Exod 29:30 ^d) and Miriam the prophet (Exod 15:20 ^e), rebelled against him. Israel was near the nadir of its rebellion against God (Num 13:25–14:12 ^f).
Summary for Num 12:1-2: 12:1-2 ^g Miriam and Aaron might have perceived Moses’ marriage as a threat to their status and ambitions. Miriam is named first, which suggests that she instigated this family feud and could explain why God punished her and not Aaron (12:9-10 ^h). 12:1 ⁱ Most interpreters understand the Cushite woman to be Moses’ wife Zipporah from Midian (Exod 2:16-22 ^j), understanding Cush as referring here to Cushan, a region and people near Midian (Hab 3:7 ^k). Other interpreters, taking Cushite in its usual sense as referring to Kusi (in northern Arabia), Ethiopia, or Sudan, think that she was a different wife. In either case, it is possible that Miriam and Aaron disapproved of his having married a non-Israelite or that they were jealous of her influence over Moses.
12:2 ^l The challenge to Moses’ authority was, by implication, a rejection of the Lord’s choice of Moses as Israel’s leader.

• the Lord heard: The same phrase in 11:1 ^m foreshadows the Lord’s response.
12:3 ⁿ Moses’ incomparable humility contrasts his godly character (see also Prov 3:34 ^o; Matt 5:5 ^p) with Miriam and Aaron’s jealousy.

• This parenthetical comment, a simple statement of the truth from God’s perspective, could be the words of Moses or of a later editor.
Summary for Num 12:4-8: 12:4-8 ^q In response, the Lord reconfirmed Moses’ special status and authority.
Summary for Num 12:6-8: 12:6-8 ^r The Lord’s trust in Moses resulted in an intimate relationship. God spoke to prophets in visions and dreams, but he spoke to Moses face to face (literally mouth to mouth; see Exod 33:8-11 ^s, 18-23 ^t; Deut 34:10 ^u).
Summary for Num 12:9-16: 12:9-16 ^v Miriam bore the brunt of God’s wrath (see study note on 12:1-2). Once Aaron saw what had happened to her, he admitted his error and sought Moses’ intercession (cp. 11:2 ^w). Both Moses and the Lord accepted Aaron’s confession.
12:14 ^x Miriam was required to follow the normal procedure for achieving ritual purity after a skin disease (5:2-4 ^y; Lev 13–14 ^z).
12:16 ^aa The camp in the wilderness of Paran was at Kadesh-barnea (13:26 ^ab; Deut 1:19-22 ^ac).