Who was Mary? — Society of Biblical Archaeology

Who was the Prophet Mary in the Bible? This seems like a simple question with a simple answer – Miriam was Moses’ sister. But as is often the case with anything with the Hebrew Bible, the question is more complicated than it first appears.

A mosaic from the Abbey of the Dormition in Jerusalem shows Mary with her tambourine as she sings a song of victory. Artist RedbudCommander ; Download image under Creative Commons Attribution Share Alike 3.0 Non-Port License

In its first appearance in the Book of Exodus, Moses’ sister is unknown (Exodus 2:4). This is probably a conscious decision on the part of the author of the Genesis narrative, since the only person named in the entire story is Moses. Nevertheless, the sister appears to be the unsung hero of the story. When his mother abandons baby Moses to the river, the dutiful sister remains at a distance to discover her brother’s fate. Once the Egyptian princess finds the baby and seems inclined to keep it, the sister deftly tricks the princess into employing the baby’s own mother as her wet nurse. Not only was the child safe from Pharaoh’s murderous decree, but now the throne was paying for the child’s care! And all this thanks to the utility of the unknown sister.

Mary is first mentioned by name in Exodus 15:20, when she is called “Mary the prophetess, sister of Aaron,” and with tambourine in hand, she leads a choir of women in a song of victory after God’s victory at the Red Sea. Interestingly, only Aaron is mentioned as his brother, not Moses. The scene of a prophet leading a song of victory brings to mind the “Song of Deborah” of Judges 5, one of the oldest passages in the Hebrew Bible, as does the so-called “Song of Moses” or “Song of the Sow” which directly precedes the introduction of Mary. It is possibly a song of victory after the crossing of the Red Sea originally attributed to Mary and then later attributed to Moses.

Unlike Moses and Aaron, Mary is not mentioned again in the biblical text until Numbers 15, when she and Aaron “spoke against Moses” for marrying a Kushite woman. That this was a sort of attempt to expose Moses to public ridicule, and that Mary was the principal instigator, seems to be implied by the severity of his torment and punishment. As in the golden calf incident (Exodus 32), Aaron is only doing what he is told and nothing happens. Mary, however, suffers from leprosy and is left out of the camp for a week. This strange incident only serves to convey to the audience that Moses, “the most interesting person on the face of the earth” (Numbers 12:3), was an extra special servant of God and deserved the utmost respect. Reading between the letters, we can see that Mary held a position of spiritual authority among the people of Israel and that she heard the voice of God through prophetic visions and dreams. Nevertheless, this story serves to discredit Mary’s authority in the minds of the audience and is not mentioned until after she dies in Kadesh (Numbers 20:1).

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Mary is mentioned only four other times in the Hebrew Bible: Deuteronomy 24:9, where her name serves as a reminder of the dangers of leprosy; Numbers 26:59 and Chronicles 6:3, where, along with Moses and Aaron, he is named as one of the chief Levites. And a curious passage from the book of Micah. In Micah 6, we find an oracle that does not mention a great leader of the Exodus but three Moses, Aaron and Miriam. In the light of the above passages, this announcement seems a bit strange. Moses and Aaron are synonymous with the events of the Exodus and play a central role in the narrative (eg, Exodus 6:25-27). In contrast, Mary is hardly mentioned, except for singing and, later, for being a quarrelsome busybody who deserves divine punishment for speaking out. Even his family and descendants are not named in the biblical text. That said, Micah 6 likely preserves an older tradition in which the prophetess Mary played a more important role for the people of Israel than simply being the sister of Moses. What that character was, and all the great works he performed, were ultimately struck off the record in favor of Moses and Aaron.

Later Jewish traditions, found among the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Talmud, and other midrash, attempted to restore some of Mary’s importance and return to her some of the honor that had apparently been taken from her.

For more on Mary’s legacy, see “Mary Through the Ages” by Hannah Trovanutko, published in the Fall 2023 issue. A Review of Biblical Archaeology.

Subscribers: Read the full article, “Through the Ages Through Mary,” by Hannah Trovanutko, published in the Fall 2023 issue of A Review of Biblical Archaeology.

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