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Miriam was the sister of Moses. She appears first in the book of
Exodus in the Hebrew Bible. She
is called a prophetess, and composed a victory song after Pharaoh's army was drowned in the Red Sea. (Exodus 15:20-21)
Later, however, she objected to the marriage of Moses and a Cushite (i.e. black) woman (who
might or might not be identical to Zipporah). For this, she was struck white with
leprosy; she was healed a week later after Aaron asked Moses to intercede for her. (Numbers 12)
Her Hebrew name (מרים,
Tiberian Hebrew Miryām, Standard Hebrew Miryam) means either "wished for child",
"bitter" or "rebellious". It was very widespread among later Jews, and this is the original source of the names Mary, Marie and
Maria.
Mary the mother of Jesus was called
Maryam in her own tongue.
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