And Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had married; for he had married a Cushite woman. And they said: ‘Hath the LORD indeed spoken only with Moses? hath He not spoken also with us?’ And the LORD heard it.– … And the LORD spoke suddenly unto Moses, and unto Aaron, and unto Miriam: ‘Come out ye three unto the tent of meeting.’ … And He said: ‘Hear now My words: if there be a prophet among you, I the LORD do make Myself known unto him in a vision, I do speak with him in a dream. My servant Moses is not so; he is trusted in all My house; with him do I speak mouth to mouth, even manifestly, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the LORD doth he behold; wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against My servant, against Moses?’ … And when the cloud was removed from over the Tent, behold, Miriam was leprous, as white as snow … And Miriam was shut up without the camp seven days; and the people journeyed not till Miriam was brought in again. (Numbers 12)
וַתְּדַבֵּר מִרְיָם וְאַהֲרֹן בְּמֹשֶׁה עַל אֹדוֹת הָאִשָּׁה הַכֻּשִׁית אֲשֶׁר לָקָח, כִּי אִשָּׁה כֻשִׁית לָקָח. וַיֹּאמְרוּ: הֲרַק אַךְ בְּמֹשֶׁה דִּבֶּר ה'? הֲלֹא גַּם בָּנוּ דִבֵּר! וַיִּשְׁמַע ה' ... וַיֹּאמֶר ה' פִּתְאֹם אֶל מֹשֶׁה וְאֶל אַהֲרֹן וְאֶל מִרְיָם: צְאוּ שְׁלָשְׁתְּכֶם אֶל אֹהֶל מוֹעֵד ... וַיֹּאמֶר, שִׁמְעוּ נָא דְבָרָי: אִם יִהְיֶה נְבִיאֲכֶם ה' – בַּמַּרְאָה אֵלָיו אֶתְוַדָּע, בַּחֲלוֹם אֲדַבֶּר בּוֹ. לֹא כֵן עַבְדִּי מֹשֶׁה, בְּכָל בֵּיתִי נֶאֱמָן הוּא. פֶּה אֶל פֶּה אֲדַבֶּר בּוֹ, וּמַרְאֶה וְלֹא בְחִידֹת, וּתְמֻנַת ה' יַבִּיט. וּמַדּוּעַ לֹא יְרֵאתֶם לְדַבֵּר בְּעַבְדִּי בְמֹשֶׁה? ... וְהֶעָנָן סָר מֵעַל הָאֹהֶל, וְהִנֵּה מִרְיָם מְצֹרַעַת כַּשָּׁלֶג ... וַתִּסָּגֵר מִרְיָם מִחוּץ לַמַּחֲנֶה שִׁבְעַת יָמִים, וְהָעָם לֹא נָסַע עַד הֵאָסֵף מִרְיָם. (במדבר י"ב)
Beha’alotekha tells how Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses for marrying a Cushite woman, arguing that they too were prophets like him. The LORD called all three to the Tent of Meeting, where He rebuked them and made clear that Moses’ prophecy was superior to theirs. Miriam was punished with tzaraat and sent outside the camp for seven days. Nevertheless, the entire people waited until she returned.
Rashi, following the Mishnah in Sotah (1:15), explains this as a gesture by the LORD toward Miriam:
The Omnipresent accorded her this honor for the one hour she waited for Moses when he was cast into the Nile, as it says (Exodus 2:4), “And his sister stood afar off,” etc. (Rashi, Numbers 12:15)
זה הכבוד חלק לה המקום בשביל שעה אחת שנתעכבה למשה כשהושלך ליאור, שנאמר (שמות ב', ד): "וַתֵּתַצַּב אֲחֹתוֹ מֵרָחֹק" וגו'. (רש"י, במדבר י"ב, טו)
Chapter 9 implies that Israel’s journeys depended on the cloud’s movements according to the LORD, both in traveling and encamping: “At the commandment of the LORD they encamped, and at the commandment of the LORD they journeyed; they kept the charge of the LORD, at the commandment of the LORD by the hand of Moses.” (Numbers 9:23). This explains why Rashi attributes the wait to a divine gesture rather than the people’s choice. According to the plain wording, however, the gesture appears to have been the people’s rather than the LORD’s. It does not say “the cloud did not rise until Miriam was brought in again,” but “the people journeyed not till Miriam was brought in again.”
Perhaps the apparent contradiction can be resolved by distinguishing encampment from departure, allowing some flexibility about the actual departure time.
When Israel was traveling and the cloud selected an encampment site, they had to keep the LORD’s charge and stop where it rested: “and in the place where the cloud abode, there the children of Israel encamped.” Likewise, when the cloud remained over the Tabernacle for many days, they had to stay there and could not continue: “And when the cloud tarried upon the tabernacle many days, then the children of Israel kept the charge of the LORD, and journeyed not.” (Numbers 9:19).
When the cloud rose, however, this signaled that they should continue, but did not require immediate departure. Departure must occur after its rising, not before: “And whenever the cloud was taken up from over the Tent, after that the children of Israel journeyed” (Numbers 9:17). To prepare, the Israelites had to dismantle their personal tents and the Tabernacle and its vessels, a process taking time. Within this framework, waiting for Miriam, even for seven days, was a legitimate part of preparations for travel.
Thus “and the people journeyed not till Miriam was brought in again” should be understood as their conscious choice to wait. Although the cloud signaled that they could continue, they chose to honor Miriam by waiting for her return.
