When Did Miriam Die?

In which year did Miriam die? 

The Torah tells us (Bamidbar 20:1)- וַיָּבֹ֣אוּ בְנֵֽי־יִ֠שְׂרָאֵל כָּל־הָ֨עֵדָ֤ה מִדְבַּר־צִן֙ בַּחֹ֣דֶשׁ הָֽרִאשׁ֔וֹן וַיֵּ֥שֶׁב הָעָ֖ם בְּקָדֵ֑שׁ וַתָּ֤מָת שָׁם֙ מִרְיָ֔ם וַתִּקָּבֵ֖ר שָֽׁם 

"And the Children of Israek came to Midbar Tzin in the first month, they settled in Kadesh, and there Miriam died and was buried." 

Targum Yonatan is more specific on the date, claiming בְּעַשְׂרָא יוֹמִין לְיַרְחָא דְנִיסָן, which means this was on the 10th of Nissan (the first month). 

As far as the year number goes, most commentaries follow the viewpoint expressed by Rashbam, בחדש הראשון שלסוף ארבעים שנה, that it was in the 40th year of their being in the wilderness. 

How is Rashbam so sure this was the 40th year? He writes הרי מת אהרן אחריה בחדש החמישי בשנת ארבעים לצאת בני ישראל כדכת' בפרשת אלה מסעי. He makes a basic association to the death of Aharon, described later in the same chapter (Bamidbar 20), and since that clearly took place in the 40th year, her death must have also taken place in the 40th year. Rashbam is sure to show us how we know Aharon died in the 40th year, which is not actually mentioned in Bamidbar 20, through pointing to the verse in Masei (Bamidbar 33:38-9), which says וַיַּעַל֩ אַהֲרֹ֨ן הַכֹּהֵ֜ן אֶל־הֹ֥ר הָהָ֛ר עַל־פִּ֥י יְקֹוָ֖ק וַיָּ֣מָת שָׁ֑ם בִּשְׁנַ֣ת הָֽאַרְבָּעִ֗ים לְצֵ֤את בְּנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ מֵאֶ֣רֶץ מִצְרַ֔יִם בַּחֹ֥דֶשׁ הַחֲמִישִׁ֖י בְּאֶחָ֥ד לַחֹֽדֶשׁ: וְאַהֲרֹ֔ן בֶּן־שָׁלֹ֧שׁ וְעֶשְׂרִ֛ים וּמְאַ֖ת שָׁנָ֑ה בְּמֹת֖וֹ בְּהֹ֥ר הָהָֽר.   Aharon died on Hor Hahar "in the 40th year since the Exodus... in the first day of the fifth month (what we would call Rosh Chodesh Av)... and he was 123 at his death."

But there is a small problem. The Torah equates Midbar Tzin with Kadesh. How long were they in Kadesh? 

In Masei (Bamidbar 33:36-37) we are told of certain stops along the journey, “They went from Etzion Gaver to Midbar Tzin which is Kadesh, and they went from Kadesh to Hor Hahar, which is at the border of Edom.”

We knew of this location, because Edom and Seir are essentially the same place, and the opening verses of Devarim remind us that Kadesh is near Har Seir (which includes Edom area). When Moshe began speaking the book of Devarim (1:2), we are given certain coordinates as to where Bnei Yisrael are. אַחַ֨ד עָשָׂ֥ר יוֹם֙ מֵֽחֹרֵ֔ב דֶּ֖רֶךְ הַר־שֵׂעִ֑יר עַ֖ד קָדֵ֥שׁ בַּרְנֵֽעַ   

        “11 days from Chorev, by way of Har Seir until Kadesh Barnea.” 

Moshe also notes there (Devarim 1:19) that after leaving Sinai, they traveled through all of the wilderness until they arrived at Kadesh Barnea. 

וַנִּסַּ֣ע מֵחֹרֵ֗ב וַנֵּ֡לֶךְ אֵ֣ת כָּל־הַמִּדְבָּ֣ר הַגָּדוֹל֩ וְהַנּוֹרָ֨א הַה֜וּא אֲשֶׁ֣ר רְאִיתֶ֗ם דֶּ֚רֶךְ הַ֣ר הָֽאֱמֹרִ֔י כַּאֲשֶׁ֥ר צִוָּ֛ה יְקֹוָ֥ק אֱלֹהֵ֖ינוּ אֹתָ֑נוּ וַנָּבֹ֕א עַ֖ד קָדֵ֥שׁ בַּרְנֵֽעַ: 

It is in that context that Moshe tells over that from Kadesh Barnea the spies went out and gave their bad report. This is supported by the verse in Sh'lach in which another Midbar is associated with Kadesh - Midbar Paran: וַיֵּלְכ֡וּ וַיָּבֹאוּ֩ אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֨ה וְאֶֽל־אַהֲרֹ֜ן וְאֶל־כָּל־עֲדַ֧ת בְּנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֛ל אֶל־מִדְבַּ֥ר פָּארָ֖ן קָדֵ֑שָׁה (see Bamidbar 13:26) 

After recounting that tale in Devarim, the Torah tells us וַתֵּשְׁב֥וּ בְקָדֵ֖שׁ יָמִ֣ים רַבִּ֑ים כַּיָּמִ֖ים אֲשֶׁ֥ר יְשַׁבְתֶּֽם (1:46) – you settled in Kadesh for many days (years), as the days (years) you dwelled in other places. This equivalence prompted the Midrash Tannaim to suggest they were in Kadesh for 18 years, while Rashi notes they were there for 19 years! ותשבו בקדש ימים רבים - י"ט שנה. After noting how much time they were in Kadesh, Rashi adds that they wandered around for 19 years, and then at the end of their journeys they returned to Kadesh. This begs one question, of where Kadesh was.

But perhaps more significantly, are Kadesh and Kadesh Barnea the same place? 

Ramban says they are not (we'll get back to this shortly).

According to Ibn Ezra (Devarim 1:46) they indeed are the same place! ותשבו בקדש - קדש ברנע. 

Moshe recounts in Devarim 2:12-16 that the time from their being in Kadesh Barnea until crossing Zered River was 38 years, until the entire generation that left Egypt had passed away. This covers the 18 or 19 years of Kadesh, plus all the other journeys in between. Different things happened there at different points in time! 

The part that gets hazy, though, is when Moshe conflates a few stories in a certain recounting of events in Devarim 9, that seems to be a retelling of the episode of the Golden Calf. In that context he specifically mentions God getting really angry at Aharon, wanting to destroy him (presumably over his role with the Golden Calf), and while mentioning in quick passing certain other events, Moshe concludes this passage saying that “When God sent you out of Kadesh Barnea telling you to conquer the land, you rebelled against God’s word, not trusting Him and not listening to Him. You were rebellious against God from the day I first knew you” (Devarim 9:23-24) 

וּבִשְׁלֹ֨חַ יְקֹוָ֜ק אֶתְכֶ֗ם מִקָּדֵ֤שׁ בַּרְנֵ֙עַ֙ לֵאמֹ֔ר עֲלוּ֙ וּרְשׁ֣וּ אֶת־הָאָ֔רֶץ אֲשֶׁ֥ר נָתַ֖תִּי לָכֶ֑ם וַתַּמְר֗וּ אֶת־פִּ֤י יְקֹוָק֙ אֱלֹ֣הֵיכֶ֔ם וְלֹ֤א הֶֽאֱמַנְתֶּם֙ ל֔וֹ וְלֹ֥א שְׁמַעְתֶּ֖ם בְּקֹלֽוֹ: מַמְרִ֥ים הֱיִיתֶ֖ם עִם־יְקֹוָ֑ק מִיּ֖וֹם דַּעְתִּ֥י אֶתְכֶֽם 

A few pesukim later we hear Moshe describing his descent from the mountain with the second tablets, and how they traveled from “Bee’rot Bnei Yaakan to Moseir where Aharon died and was buried.” 

We know from other sources (see above, 4th paragraph from the top!) that Aharon died at Hor Hahar, not at Moseir, and that he didn’t die in the immediate aftermath of the Golden Calf, but he died in the 40th year. [There are many answers to the question of Aharon’s death being reported in this context, which is not our topic here!] 

What is clear is that Aharon’s death is being reported upon not in the time frame when it happened, nor in the place where it happened. Could we suggest the same thing about the Kadesh references, that they appear sporadically through the Torah, and they take place in the same space? Ibn Ezra obviously thinks so.

But Ramban takes Ibn Ezra to task, saying NO, Kadesh and Kadesh Barnea are two different places, and the death of Miriam absolutely happened in the 40th year. 

Ramban writes: 

וטעם וישב העם בקדש - לומר כי כאשר נכנסו במדבר צין עד קדש מתה מרים. וטעה ר"א שאמר בעבור שישבו שם ימים רבים כי כן כתוב. כי קדש אשר כתוב בו (דברים א מו) ותשבו בקדש ימים רבים כימים אשר ישבתם, הוא קדש ברנע והוא במדבר פארן, ומשם נשתלחו המרגלים בשנה השניה ושם חזרו, אבל קדש זה הוא במדבר צין ובאו שם בשנת הארבעים ושם מתה מרים, ומקראות מפורשים הם: 

The following translation is taken from Sefaria: "The intention thereof is to tell us that when they had entered the wilderness of Zin as far as Kadesh, Miriam died. Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra erred [here] when he commented: “...because they stayed there for a long time," for so it is written. Kadesh that is written of (in Deuteronomy 1:46): So ye abode in Kadesh many days, according unto the days that ye abode there. It is this Kadesh-barnea which is in the wilderness of Paran [and not in the wilderness of Zin, mentioned here]. It was from there that the spies were sent out [to see the Land] in the second year [after the exodus], and thence that they returned. But the Kadesh [mentioned] here is in the wilderness of Zin, and they [only] arrived there in the fortieth year [after the exodus], and there Miriam died. The verses are explicit [on this matter]. 

The problem with Ramban here is that he is ignoring a verse in the episode of the spies (Bamidbar 13:21) that would seem to equate Midbar Paran with Midbar Tzin, which would thereby suggest that Kadesh and both of those wildernesses (Paran and Tzin) are the same place! 

וַֽיַּעֲל֖וּ וַיָּתֻ֣רוּ אֶת־הָאָ֑רֶץ מִמִּדְבַּר־צִ֥ן עַד־רְחֹ֖ב לְבֹ֥א חֲמָֽת: Translation of the verse: "They went up and toured the land, from Midbar Tzin until Rehov to arrive at Hamath

Chizkuni is on the same page as Ramban, however, as he writes: 

 וישב העם בקדש עמדו שם ארבעה חדשים עד חדש אב שבו באו להר ההר ושם מת אהרן ואין זה קדש שנאמר עליו ותשבו בקדש ימים רבים שהרי אותו קדש איל פארן הוא ונקרא קדש ברנע וממנו נשתלחו המרגלים וקדש זה שנאמר וישב העם בקדש הוא במדבר צין בגבול ארץ אדום. 

Translation: “The people settled in Kadesh, and there, 4 months later, in the month of Av, they came to Hor Hahar, where Aharon died. And this is not the Kadesh about which it says they were there for many years, because that Kadesh is “Eil Paran” and its called Kadesh Barnea. It was from there that the spies were sent out, while this Kadesh is in Midbar Tzin and it’s on the border with Edom.” 

As noted, the spies left from Midbar Tzin, which presents a problem that both Ramban and Chizkuni ignore. 

But there is another perspective which winds it all together, and that is Rabbenu Bachaye: 

He first suggests that Kadesh here (in Bamidbar 20) and Kadesh Barnea are different places. “Kadesh is a city and it is Midbar Tzin” (based on Bamidbar 33:36) “It can’t be Kadesh Barnea beause Kadesh Barnea is in the wilderness.” He goes on to distinguish between Midbar Tzin, Midbar Sin, and Midbar Sinai, all of which are different places. But he concludes this segment saying the following: 

 ודע כי ימים רבים ישבו בני ישראל בעיר הזאת ששמה קדש, הוא שכתוב: (דברים א, מו) "ותשבו בקדש ימים רבים". ודרשו רז"ל: (תנחומא וישב א) כל מקום שנאמר "וישב" אינו אלא לשון צער, ולפיכך כתיב: "ותמת שם מרים", וסמך מיד ענין הסלע שהיה סבה למיתת משה ואהרן במדבר ולא זכו ליכנס לארץ. 

“Know that the Bnei Yisrael lived in this city, called Kadesh for [a long time] (as in Devarim 1:46), and anytime they lived somewhere – as described used the word וישב – it is a language of pain/suffering. Which is why Miriam’s death is noted as having happened there, and is immediately followed by the tale of the rock (Mei Merivah), which was the [main] reason given for the deaths of Moshe and Aharon and their non-entry into the land.” 

Knowingly or unknowingly, Rabbenu Bachaye is opening a few interesting doors of possibility here. 

1. That Miriam’s death and Aharon’s death are thematically connected more than chronologically connected 

2. That Miriam’s death and therefore association with the well may be more coincidental to the theme hinted to in #1 than causal 

3. That the episode of Mei Merivah took place much earlier than the 40th year (to boot, why would the 2nd generation pine for Egypt when they have either hazy or NO memories of Egypt or bondage?) 

4. That Miriam’s death was much earlier in the wilderness experience than the 40th year. 

It should seem obvious, but we ought to wonder about the passage of time in the Torah. Typically we assume a jump of 38+ years between the end of Bamibdar chapter 19 and the beginning of chapter 20. Could it be that some of the tales we find in the Torah happened later - during the 38.5 years of waiting?

It is not uncommon for the Torah to insert tales based on a thematic connection rather than a chronological connection. See for example, the timing of the Blasphemer (Vayikra 23), the woodchopper (Bamidbar 15), Pesach Sheni (Bamidbar 9). 

While the majority of commentators seem very set that Miriam died in the 40th year, the more I look at it, I find inconsistencies that make me unsatisfied, and the more I am open to the idea that Miriam did NOT die in the 40th year, and that her death may or may not have been directly related, causally or not causally to the absence of water at that time. 

The idea that the consequence to Moshe and Aharon should be so severe, and so abrupt, honestly, troubles me. It seems that this story could have happened ANY TIME in the 40 years, simply because there are OTHER reasons Moshe and Aharon AND Miriam would not be leading the people or entering the land or both.

I think there is value and merit to Miriam’s death not being associated with a specific year (unlike Moshe’s and Aharon’s for which, despite some of the contradictory verses, it is clear they both died in the 40th year). 

Why does it matter, or why does it not matter? 

Because Miriam’s death was underplayed. That is the tragedy of Miriam’s death. The consequences of the story which follow may have been directly connected to her death – the lack of crying the lack of mourning, and the confrontation with Moshe and Aharon. And it may have been thematically connected: here is Miriam’s death, and here is a related event that led to the deaths of Moshe and Aharon.

In the end, the Torah leaves it vague. Anything other than the month of the year (1st month - which we'd call Nissan now) is not given to us, while the date itself, and certainly the year number remain open for interpretation. Which leaves us with the challenge of combing possibilities and possible conclusions to be drawn, and certainly deeper messages related to  Miriam's death, the deaths of Aharon and Moshe, and what water of the well and "waters of Merivah" have to do with all of this. 

Good luck to those who pursue this further!