Bringing Miriam Out of the Shadows

Buried within Scripture are bits and pieces of a story awaiting discovery. It highlights the woman Miriam. To unearth the fragments, assemble them, ponder the gaps and then construct a text requires the play of many methods but the dogmatism of none.¹ This enterprise welcomes all lovers of Scripture who seek to redeem life from patriarchal death.

At the Bank of the River

Hints and guesses begin the search. A text hints, and the reader guesses. The setting is parlous: Egypt, an alien land; the king, a tyrannic ruler; his edict, a death decree. Disobeyed by two midwives who have refused to kill Hebrew sons, the Pharaoh extends his order to all the people: “Every son that is born—into the Nile you shall cast him, but every daughter you shall let live” (Exodus 1:22).^a In Pharaoh’s land, sex determines life and death for Hebrew babies.