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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 (מִרְיָם, Standard Hebrew Miryam, Tiberian Hebrew Miryām) 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.
- Note that the Hebrew word used does not necessarily denote leprosy, but was rather a catch-all term for all skin diseases, though leprosy has been the most common interpretation.
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