Miriam was the sister of the Prophet Moses and the High Priest Aaron, and, like them, descended from the tribe of Levi. According to Scripture she was the daughter of Amram and Jochebed and the eldest of the three siblings. She is honored in the Orthodox Church as a righteous figure of the Old Testament, and her memory is kept on December 14, among the company of the holy forefathers and foremothers who prepared the way for the deliverance of Israel.
Miriam first appears in the narrative of Moses' infancy. When the child was placed in a reed basket on the river to be saved from Pharaoh's decree against the Hebrew sons, Miriam watched over him from a distance. When the daughter of Pharaoh discovered the infant, Miriam came forward and offered to find a Hebrew nurse for him, and brought their own mother, so that Moses was nursed by his own family until he had grown.
After the crossing of the Red Sea and the destruction of Pharaoh's army, the Scripture names her 'Miriam the Prophetess' (Exodus 15:20). Taking a timbrel in her hand, she led the women of Israel in singing and dancing in praise of God's victory. The Prophet Micah recalls that God sent Moses, Aaron, and Miriam before the people to lead them out of Egypt, numbering her among the chosen leaders of the Exodus.
