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Onkelos Numbers

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Miriam and Aaron Challenge Moses

Chapter 12

1 And Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses, because of the beautiful woman he had married, because he had separated from the beautiful woman he had married.⁠ 2 And they said, Has the Lord spoken only with Moses? Has He not spoken with us also? And it was heard before the Lord. 3 But the man Moses was very humble, more than all the men who were upon the face of the earth. 4 And the Lord spoke suddenly with Moses, and to Aaron and to Miriam: Come out, you three, to the Tent of Meeting; and those three went out. 5 And the Lord was revealed in the pillar of the Cloud, and stood at the door of the tabernacle: and He called Aaron and Miriam, and the two of them came out. 6 And He said, Listen now to My words. If there are prophets with you, I the Lord will reveal Myself to them in visions, I will speak with them in dreams. 7 But My servant Moses is different; he is trusted among all My people. 8 I speak with him directly; in a vision, not in riddles; and he shall see the likeness of the glory of the Lord.⁠ Why, then, is it that you have not been afraid to speak against My servant, against Moses? 9 And the displeasure of the Lord was strong against them, and He went up. 10 And the Cloud went up from over the tabernacle. And, look, Miriam was white as snow; and Aaron looked at Miriam, and, look, she was afflicted with a leprous disease. 11 And Aaron said to Moses, My lord, please do not lay this sin upon us, because we have acted foolishly, and have transgressed. 12 Please do not let her be separated from among us, for she is our sister. Please pray about this dead flesh which is in her, that she may be healed. 13 And Moses prayed before the Lord, saying: God, please, heal her now. 14 But the Lord said to Moses, If her father had rebuked her, would she not have been ashamed seven days? Let her be confined seven days outside the camp, and afterward be admitted. 15 And Miriam was confined outside the camp seven days; and the people did not set out until Miriam was brought in. 16 And afterward the people journeyed from Hazeroth, and encamped in the wilderness of Paran.

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Compare Samaritan Numbers 12:1 and Onkelos Numbers 12:1

Samaritan · Targum

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Summary

The Samaritan Pentateuch and the Aramaic Targum Onkelos describe Moses’ wife as “beautiful.” Their interpreters identify her as Zipporah, consistent with the Samaritan belief that Moses married only once.

Passages

Samaritan Numbers 12:1

Samaritan · Samaritan Penteteuch
1 And Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the beautiful woman whom he had married, for he had married a beautiful woman. 2 And they said: “Has Shema indeed spoken only through Moses? Look, he has also spoken through us!” And Shema heard [it]. 3 Now the man Moses was very humble, more than all the men who were on the face of the earth.
130–120 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Samaritan Numbers

Onkelos Numbers 12:1

Targum
1 And Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses, because of the beautiful woman he had married, because he had separated from the beautiful woman he had married. 2 And they said, Has the Lord spoken only with Moses? Has He not spoken with us also? And it was heard before the Lord. 3 But the man Moses was very humble, more than all the men who were upon the face of the earth.
50–500 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Onkelos Numbers

References

"... In Numbers 12:1 the Masoretic Text indicates that Moses took a second wife from the Kingdom of Cush (Ethiopia). Onkelos, the famous Jewish convert of the first century CE and nephew of the Roman Emperor Titus, suggested that the true meaning was not one of nationality, “Cushite” but had a true meaning of “beautiful.” Likewise, the Samaritan Pentateuch and the Masoretic Text in this text have the same Hebrew characters, but a different vocalization resulting in a different interpretation ... In the Samaritan tradition of the Biblical Text, Moses was only married to one woman, Zipporah ..."
Sharon Sullivan Dufour, “Variants in the Samaritan Pentateuch of the Hebrew Bible as Compared to the Masoretic Text” (diss., Eastern Michigan University, 2009), 1–16.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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Samaritan Numbers 12:1 and Onkelos Numbers 12:1

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