[8]: 71 In the biblical narrative of The Exodus, Miriam is described as a "prophetess" when she leads the Israelites in the Song of the Sea after the Pharaoh's army is destroyed at the Yam Suph.

[8]: 71 When the Israelites are camped at Hazeroth after leaving Mount Sinai, Miriam and Aaron speak against Moses because he had married an unnamed "Ethiopian" or "Cushite" woman (translations differ).

[9][8]: 79 Regarding the death of Miriam, the Torah states, "The entire congregation of the children of Israel arrived at the desert of Tzin in the first month, and the people settled in Kadesh.

"[10] The Midrash[11] explains the entire story as follows: It became known to Miriam and Aaron that Moses had separated from intimacy with his wife Tzipora.

They disapproved of this separation because they considered her to be outstandingly righteous, much as a dark-skinned person stands out among light-skinned people—hence the reference to Tzipora as a "Cushite".

But God rebuked them by calling them all out "suddenly", causing Miriam and Aaron a great burning sensation since they lacked immersion in a mikva after marital relations.

I Myself ordered him to abstain from conjugal life, and the word he received was revealed to him clearly and not in dark speeches, he saw the Divine presence from behind when It passed by him.

Your censure is directed to Me, rather than to him, for "the receiver is no better than the thief," and if Moses is not worthy of his calling, I, his Master, deserve censure.Afterward, Miriam is left with bodily tzara'at, which according to Jewish sources is a divine punishment for slander.

It has been suggested that since according to the Hebrew Bible anyone with tzara'at was tamei (Leviticus 13–14), Aaron was spared this punishment in order not to interrupt his duties as High Priest.

After which time, upon fleeing as a solitary fugitive from Egypt,[22] Moses marries Tzipora the daughter of Yitro the Midianite, as recorded in the Torah.

Furthermore, according to the conclusion of the Tharbis legend, Moses fashioned a miraculous ring which caused her to forget her love for him, and he then returned to Egypt alone.

In Jewish folk-religious tradition this abrupt transition between her death and the lack of water was explained by postulating a "well of Miriam" that dried up when she died.

[32] Miriam's Cup originated in the 1980s in a Boston Rosh Chodesh group; it was invented by Stephanie Loo, who filled it with what she referred to as mayim chayim (living waters) and used it in a feminist ceremony of guided meditation.

Accordingly, the lamb (earth), egg (air) and fish (water) in the Seder symbolize the three prophets Moses, Aaron and Miriam, respectively, whom God chose to redeem the Jews from Egypt.

[37] Similarly, the lamb, egg and fish also allude to the three mythical creatures in Jewish tradition—the land beast Behemoth,[38] the bird Ziz,[39] and the sea-creature Leviathan,[40] respectively.