The book of Numbers is, at its core, a theological argument; an argument for life ordered by God, among a people marshaled by God, in a Land created for this people by the promise of God.

Num 1:54 Maka orang Israel berbuat demikian; tepat seperti yang diperintahkan TUHAN kepada Musa, demikianlah diperbuat mereka.
Num 2:34 Maka orang Israel berbuat demikian; tepat seperti yang diperintahkan TUHAN kepada Musa, demikianlah mereka berkemah menurut panji-panji mereka, dan demikianlah mereka berangkat, masing-masing menurut kaumnya dan sukunya.
Num 3:51 maka Musa memberikan uang tebusan itu kepada Harun dan anak-anaknya sesuai dengan titah TUHAN, seperti yang diperintahkan TUHAN kepada Musa.
Num 4:49 Sesuai dengan titah TUHAN dengan perantaraan Musa, maka mereka masing-masing dibuat penanggung jawab atas apa yang harus dikerjakan dan diangkatnya. Demikianlah mereka dicatat, seperti yang diperintahkan TUHAN kepada Musa.

Num 7:89 Apabila Musa masuk ke dalam Kemah Pertemuan untuk berbicara dengan Dia, maka ia mendengar suara yang berfirman kepadanya dari atas tutup pendamaian, yang di atas tabut hukum Allah, dari antara kedua kerub itu; demikianlah Ia berfirman kepadanya.

Num 8:22 Sesudah itu masuklah orang Lewi untuk melakukan pekerjaan jabatan mereka di Kemah Pertemuan, di bawah pengawasan Harun dan anak-anaknya. Seperti yang diperintahkan TUHAN kepada Musa mengenai orang Lewi, demikianlah dilakukan kepada mereka.
Num 9:23 Atas titah TUHAN mereka berkemah dan atas titah TUHAN juga mereka berangkat; mereka memelihara kewajibannya kepada TUHAN, menurut titah TUHAN dengan perantaraan Musa.

Perubahan:
Over the course of Numbers 11–21 we find several parallel complaints, often different in articulation, but representative of a single fundamental issue: mistrust of God and God’s chosen leaders.
Num 11 complaint about manna and meat; a question of trust. Bangsa itu bersungut-sungut di hadapan TUHAN tentang nasib buruk mereka
Num 12 complaint about Moses’ leadership; Aaron and Miriam’s jealousy
Num 13–14 complaint about the promised land; a question of trust
Num 16 complaint about Moses’ leadership; Korah’s rebellion. Again, a challenge to the leadership of Moses, this time by Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. Korah accuses Moses of going too far, of elevating himself above the people, all of whom are holy (Num 16:3).
Num 20 complaint about water; a question of trust
Num 21 complaint about food and water; summary of Israel’s lack of trust

Num 17–19, is the elevation of the Aaronic priesthood and the reestablishment of the order God put in place in Num 1–4; 26.
The final episodes of complaint, in Num 20–21, serve to summarize Israel’s lack of trust in God’s provision.
The pattern of complaint, punishment (or struggle, see Num. 14:26-45; 20:14-21), and restoration that shapes this largest portion of Numbers is a familiar motif in the Hebrew Bible.

Alur perikop
Miriam speaks — Aaron also — against Moses
tn The preposition ב (bet) has the adversative sense here, “[speak] against” (see also its use for hostile speech in 21:5, 7). Speaking against is equal to the murmuring throughout the wilderness period. The verb of the sentence is וַתְּדַבֵּר (vattedabber), the feminine form of the verb. This indicates that Miriam was the main speaker for the two, the verb agreeing with the first of the compound subject.
sn It may be that Miriam was envious of the Cushite woman Moses married. And, in view of the previous chapter’s content about others being given a portion of the Spirit to share in the leadership role, she may have seen this as her chance finally to become just as important in the nation as her younger brother.
After all, she safeguarded his birth and early years (Exod 2).

But there are two issues here – the reason she gives (“does the LORD only speak through Moses?”), and the reason the text gives (the Cushite woman). Tidak berkaitan. Milgrom suggests correctly that settling the question is irrelevant, because the real reason for the complaint is that Aaron and Miriam are feeling marginalized: “Has the Lord spoken only through Moses? Has he not spoken through us also?” (12:2). As Micah 6:4 relates, the tradition maintains to some degree the shared leadership of Moses and his siblings. But here their complaint suggests that their influence—among the people? with Moses?

sn The questions are rhetorical. They are affirming that God does not only speak through Moses, but also speaks through them. They see themselves as equal with Moses. The question that was asked of the earlier presumptuous Moses – “Who made you a ruler over us?” – could also be asked of them. God had not placed them as equals with Moses. The passage is relevant for today when so many clamor for equal authority and leadership with those whom God has legitimately called.

The Tent of Meeting: the whole economy of the Old Testament, having its central point in the holy tent, which Jehovah had caused to be built as the dwelling-place of His name. Allah memasuki Ruang Sidang penuh kekudusan. Num 12:9 As a judge, withdrawing from the judgment-seat when he has pronounced his sentence, so Jehovah went, by the cloud in which He had come down withdrawing from the tabernacle, and ascending up on high.

Semua ada di dalam keteraturan yang ditetapkan Allah.

he will see the form of the LORD
tn The word “form” (תְּמוּנָה, temunah) means “shape, image, form.” The Greek text took it metaphorically and rendered it “the glory of the LORD.” This line expresses even more the uniqueness of Moses. The elders saw God on one special occasion (Exod 24:10), and the people never (Deut 4:12, 15), but Moses has direct and familiar contact with God. “Mouth to mouth” answers to the “face to face” in Exo 33:11 (cf. Deu 34:10), i.e., without any mediation or reserve, but with the same closeness and freedom with which friends converse together.

Moses as the founder of the theocracy, and mediator of the Old Covenant. Upon this unparalleled relation of Moses to God and the theocracy, so clearly expressed in the verses before us, the Rabbins have justly founded their view as to the higher grade of inspiration in the Thorah. This view is fully confirmed through the history of the Old Testament kingdom of God, and the relation in which the writings of the prophets stand to those of Moses. The prophets subsequent to Moses simply continued to build upon the foundation which Moses laid.

Response Musa
Num 11:11 Lalu berkatalah Musa kepada TUHAN: “Mengapa Kauperlakukan hamba-Mu ini dengan buruk dan mengapa aku tidak mendapat kasih karunia di mata-Mu, sehingga Engkau membebankan kepadaku tanggung jawab atas seluruh bangsa ini? Num 11:14 Aku seorang diri tidak dapat memikul tanggung jawab atas seluruh bangsa ini, sebab terlalu berat bagiku.

Num 11:14 Aku seorang diri tidak dapat memikul tanggung jawab atas seluruh bangsa ini, sebab terlalu berat bagiku.

Num 12:3 Adapun Musa ialah seorang yang sangat lembut hatinya, lebih dari setiap manusia yang di atas muka bumi.

Prophet and prophecy
In the ancient Near East, prophecy was open to both, or should we say, all genders, there is no difference between men and women in this respect.

Five biblical women are given the title: נביאה Miriam, Deborah, Huldah, Noadiah, and the unnamed woman of Isa 8:3. A group of women in Ezek 13:17–23 are said to prophesy though it is the odd description of their divinatory activity that is particularly intriguing. There is another brief poetic reference to daughters prophesying in Joel 3:1. In most ways these depictions of women’s divination have no more in common than the range of texts describing men’s divination.

The prophetic role enabled women to open their mouth in public because they were expected to talk divine words—not as themselves but as mere instruments of God speaking through them. Prophecy aims at influencing the audience by way of referring to the divine authorization behind the word spoken by the human prophet. The public role of the prophets in the society at large – Misi Allah kepada sang nabi di zaman dan tempatnya.
Prophetic agency, among others, fulfilled an important function in mediating the divine knowledge indispensable for running any earthly business in coping with risk and uncertainty. Lihat keluhan Musa.

We should not, however, forget the gendered social context within which the prophetic agency was enacted. The instrumental aspect is emphasized in a male-dominated environment where the nonmale prophetic voice is acknowledged and authorized as an echo of the divine speech.

As the prophetic action is not gender-specific, it is not primarily women’s agency the female prophets execute but, rather, prophetic agency insofar as the action is presented as part of the prophetic activity. This notwithstanding, gender does matter because prophecy appears as one of the few public, socially appreciated roles that were not inextricably linked with male gender and therefore could be assumed by nonmales even in a patriarchal society. The female contribution to different kinds of divine-human communication exhibits specific domains where nonmales are allowed to transgress the socially sanctioned gender-based boundaries.

Therefore, it has both the transmissive function as reflecting the religious framework known to the audience, and the transformative function, urging the addressees to accept potentially unexpected divine ordinances. They must always be measured against the gendered structure of the given (usually patriarchal) society, paying attention to features in prophetic agency that deviate from the standard expectations of gender roles and their enacting.

In Exod 15:20 Miriam is referred to as “Miriam the prophet [הנביאה], the sister of Aaron.”
Verse 1 mentions Miriam and Aaron (in that order) criticizing Moses for his Cushite wife, while the question regarding Moses’ exclusive prophetic role is raised in verse 2. The rest of Num 12 does not explicitly refer to either of these arguments. Num 12 deals with Moses’ preeminent prophetic role. In this context, the figure of Miriam serves to initiate the discussion in 12:2 and to demonstrate in 12:13–14 that Moses indeed spoke with God directly. This option assumes that Miriam’s own prophetic role is not addressed in Num 12

Verses 6–8 consist of God’s address to Miriam and Aaron regarding Moses’ exclusive prophecy.
Moreover, verses 13–14 function as a demonstration of Moses’ prophetic role, since he communicates directly with God. Numbers 12 argues that Moses has access to direct communication with the Divine. The prophetic role of Miriam and Aaron is addressed as well. Most notably, Miriam’s question in 12:2 indicates her and Aaron’s involvement in communicating with God. When she asks whether God has spoken through them too.

God’s address in verses 6–8 does not God’s address in verses 6–8 does not negate this communication. It only affirms that it was different from the communication with Moses. God’s response to Miriam and Aaron displays some inconsistencies. Despite the claim that the Divine speaks directly only with Moses (vv. 6–8), this communication with Aaron and Miriam does not happen in a dream either. Rather, God seems to speak to them directly by first calling them in verse 5 to go to the tent of meeting and then addressing them in verses 6–8. In spite of these multiple references to Miriam’s direct communication with God, Num 12 does not give a clear depiction of Miriam’s prophetic experiences of the Divine, other than that it differed from that of Moses.
Num 12:7 he is faithful. In the Niphal it describes something that is firm, reliable, dependable – what can be counted on. It could actually be translated “trustworthy.”

Num 12:9 behold, Miriam [is] leprous as snow
one of the first signs given to vindicate God’s election of Moses as leader of his people was the sign of “leprosy, white as snow” (Ex 4:6). In the initial narratives dealing with the work of Moses, Moses himself doubted his calling and consequently became a leper. Here, however,, it is Miriam who doubts and thus becomes a leper. We should also note that the other sign given to vindicate the role of Moses in the earlier narrative was the serpent that came from Moses’ rod (Ex 4:3). So also here, when Moses’ authority is further questioned by the people at the end of their time in the wilderness (Nu 21:5), God responds by sending serpents against them (Nu 21:6).

Akar masalah: Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses? Identitas nabi adalah wakil Allah

Harun terpengaruh Miriam, lihat juga ayat 10 This second use of הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look, behold”) portrays the perspective of Aaron. The first הִנֵּה directed the audience’s attention to Miriam. Now we watch Aaron come to realize the same thing, leading into his plea in the next verse.
Response Harun: And Aaron says to Moses, “O my lord, …”
The expression בִּי אֲדֹנִי (bi ʾadoni, “O my lord”) shows a good deal of respect for Moses by Aaron. The expression is often used in addressing God.

Num 12:10–15, which deals with Miriam’s ,צרעת mirrors impurity laws and priestly practices presented in Lev 13–14. It is unlikely that the story regarding Miriam’s ,צרעת and how it was received.
Num 12:15 Miriam was “confined outside the camp” for seven days (Num 5:2-4), as Leviticus 13:4 required of one with an infectious skin disease (Nu 5:2-4).
Note that in the narrative portrayal of this incident we see that Moses waited for Miriam “from afar,” as she once waited for him “from afar” in the bulrushes (Ex 2:4).

Whereas Exod 15:20–21 does not explain the use of the title “female prophet” when introducing Miriam, Num 12 clearly suggests Miriam had a role in the debate concerning Moses’ position as the prophet. Micah 6:4 presents Miriam as an early leader, alongside Moses and Aaron. Presenting Miriam as one of those sent by God to lead others implies that she had some authority. however, Mic 6:4 does not mention Miriam’s prophetic role. Instead, one must take into consideration texts that engage this topic and Miriam’s access to the Divine more explicitly. While the Hebrew Bible, despite introducing Miriam as a female prophet, does not portray her in an explicitly prophetic role

Perbedaan antara:
– Sebagai Kepala yang tidak paham sharing beban kepada bawahan, semua dilakukan sendiri, one man warrior.
– Sebagai bawahan yang iri terhadap atasan, atau sesama pelayan Tuhan.