Deuteronomy 24 · a question people ask
Why is Miriam named in the middle of these laws?
"Be careful in the plague of leprosy, that you observe diligently and do according to all that the Levitical priests teach you. As I commanded them, so you shall observe to do" (24:8). The next verse says only, "Remember what the LORD your God did to Miriam, by the way as you came out of Egypt" (24:9). Numbers tells what he did. After Miriam and Aaron "spoke against Moses" (Numbers 12:1), "Miriam was leprous, as white as snow" (Numbers 12:10), and the LORD said, "Let her be shut up outside of the camp seven days, and after that she shall be brought in again" (Numbers 12:14). Deuteronomy doesn't say which part of that story to remember, and readers take it in two ways. Both agree that 24:9 sets Miriam's story beside the law of leprosy in 24:8, and both rest on Numbers 12.
How Christians read it
Where Christians differ, Favor sets out the main views side by side and doesn't pick one.
Keep the law of leprosy
Some read 24:9 as backing up 24:8. The plague came from the LORD: "The LORD’s anger burned against them" (Numbers 12:9), and "Miriam was leprous" (Numbers 12:10). Miriam, the sister of Aaron and Moses (Numbers 26:59), was shut outside the camp seven days as the LORD said, and "the people didn’t travel until Miriam was brought in again" (Numbers 12:15). On this reading, the point of 24:9 is to keep the law of leprosy carefully, as the priests teach.
Deuteronomy 24:8 · Numbers 12:9-10 · Numbers 12:15 · Numbers 26:59
Remember why she was struck
Others read 24:9 as a reminder of what brought the plague on Miriam. She and Aaron "spoke against Moses" (Numbers 12:1), saying, "Has the LORD indeed spoken only with Moses?" (Numbers 12:2), and the LORD asked them, "Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant, against Moses?" (Numbers 12:8). On this reading, the law of leprosy carries a reminder of the words that came before Miriam's plague.
Deuteronomy 24:9 · Numbers 12:1-2 · Numbers 12:8
The verses
“Be careful in the plague of leprosy, that you observe diligently and do according to all that the Levitical priests teach you. As I commanded them, so you shall observe to do. Remember what the LORD your God did to Miriam, by the way as you came out of Egypt.”
“Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had married; for he had married a Cushite woman.”
“The cloud departed from over the Tent; and behold, Miriam was leprous, as white as snow. Aaron looked at Miriam, and behold, she was leprous.”
“The LORD said to Moses, “If her father had but spit in her face, shouldn’t she be ashamed seven days? Let her be shut up outside of the camp seven days, and after that she shall be brought in again.””