Numbers 12:1

Aaron and Miriam murmur, because Moses has an Ethiopian woman for a wife. And now Moses takes an Ethiopian woman for a wife, since his law has passed over to this Ethiopian woman of ours. Let Aaron murmur — the priesthood of the Jews; let Miriam also murmur — their Synagogue: Moses cares nothing for the murmuring; he loves his Ethiopian woman, of whom it is also said elsewhere through the Prophet: From the ends of the rivers of Ethiopia they shall bring offerings; and again: Ethiopia shall stretch out her hands to God before others. Beautifully, "before others." For just as, in the Gospel, that woman with the issue of blood anticipated the healing of the synagogue-ruler's daughter, so Ethiopia, while Israel was sick, was healed. By their offense, salvation came to the Gentiles, to provoke them to jealousy.

But in what follows also the reading which was recited contains this, that Moses took the Ethiopian woman as his wife, and that Miriam and Aaron disparaged Moses, because he had taken the Ethiopian woman, and they say: "Has God spoken to Moses alone? Has He not also spoken to us?" "And the Lord heard," it says. And after these things He orders them to go out to the tabernacle of the testimony, and there, a certain judgment having been held, Miriam is made leprous until a fixed time, and thus is called back into the camp. That we may explain this more concisely, we say that Miriam had the figure of the former people, and that Moses, that is, the law of the Lord, passed over to marriage with this Ethiopian woman, who was gathered from among the nations. Her, therefore, Moses, that is, the spiritual law, took as wife; and on account of this deed Miriam, who is now the synagogue, is indignant and disparages together with Aaron, that is, with the priests and Pharisees. That people, therefore, disparages even to this day Moses, who is placed with us, and he seems base to them, because among us he does not teach the circumcision of the flesh, nor the observance of the sabbath, nor of the new moon, nor sacrifices of blood, but the circumcision of the heart, and rest from sinning, and feast days in the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth, and sacrifices of praise, and admonishes that now not victims of cattle, but of vices, should be slain. God therefore judges concerning these things, and confirms the marriage of the Ethiopian woman, and indeed permits Moses gladly to dwell with her and to rest, but casts Miriam outside the camp and puts her far from the tabernacle of the testimony, with whom Aaron also is cast out. Moreover, Miriam is also made leprous. Look now upon that people and see how great in it is the leprosy of sin, how great the darkness of understanding, how great the foulness of observance, how great the baseness of aspect. Nevertheless this leprosy does not remain forever, but when the week of the world shall have begun to be completed, she shall be called back to the camp. For at the end of the world, when the fullness of the nations shall have entered in, then also all Israel shall be saved, and that is when the leprosy shall cease from the face of Miriam; for she shall receive the glory of faith, and shall receive the splendor of the knowledge of Christ, and her countenance shall be restored, when both shall become one flock and one shepherd. In which it must truly be said: "O the depth of the riches and of the wisdom and of the knowledge of God"; who so shut up all under sin, that He might have mercy upon all, in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be glory unto the ages of ages. Amen.

Just as the Apostle says: "all these things happened to them as figures, but they were written for our admonition," I ask what admonition we may receive from that which has been read to us, namely that Aaron and Miriam spoke against Moses and on account of this were rebuked, and Miriam indeed was even made a leper. And so great was the concern of this rebuke that, while Miriam was completing the space of a week in leprosy, the people of God did not make their journey toward the land of promise, nor was the tabernacle of testimony moved. First of all, meanwhile, I am admonished, and usefully and necessarily admonished, from this deed, not to disparage my brother, not to speak evil of my neighbor, not to open my mouth to detract not only from the saints but even from any of my neighbors whatsoever, seeing how great was the indignation of God from this, how great a vengeance proceeded. Indeed, against this sin we see God likewise moved with similar indignation even in the Psalms, and saying: "sitting you spoke against your brother, and against the son of your mother you laid a stumbling-block." And likewise also in another Psalm, from the person of the just man, who knows that this displeases God most greatly, it is said: "him that secretly detracted against his neighbor I persecuted." From all these words, therefore, of divine Scripture, as though from certain swords sharpened on both sides, let us cut away the vice of disparaging our brothers and detracting from the saints: for leprosy follows those who detract and speak evil. But after these things let us pass over from the moral matters to the mystical understanding; although in the earlier treatise a few things have already been said, nevertheless we will add what seems to have been lacking. Let us see, then, who it is that detracts from Moses, who speaks evil of him. Not only the Jew, but also the heretics, who do not receive the law and the prophets, they too detract from Moses. Indeed, they are accustomed even to fasten a charge upon him, saying that Moses was a murderer, for he killed an Egyptian, and they contrive many other things with blasphemous mouth either against him or against the prophets. These men, therefore, because they detract from Moses, have leprosy in their soul and are lepers in the inner man, and for that reason are held to be outside the camp of the Church of God. Whether, then, it be heretics who detract from Moses, or those who are of the Church who disparage their brothers and speak evil of their neighbors, all who are driven by this vice — there is no room for doubt that they are lepers in their soul. And Miriam indeed, by the intervention of Aaron the high priest, is healed on the seventh day; but we, if by the vice of disparagement we fall into the leprosy of the soul, until the end of the week of the world, that is, until the time of the resurrection, will remain lepers in soul and unclean; unless, while there is time for repentance, we are corrected and, turned to the Lord Jesus and supplicating him through repentance, we are cleansed from the uncleanness of our leprosy. But I think that not only that former people, nor only the heretics whom we mentioned above, detract from Moses, but also everyone who understands his writings badly and who receives the spiritual law carnally detracts from Moses, because he teaches men carnally concerning the words of the Spirit. You have heard what judgment the disparagers and evil-speakers gain for themselves, and what condemnation; hear now also how great a benefit they confer upon those whom they disparage. Never do we find that God spoke such great praises about Moses his servant as we now see said, when he was detracted from by men.

Miriam the prophetess herself, who with her brothers had crossed the straits of the sea on foot, because, being still ignorant of the mystery of the Ethiopian woman, she had murmured against her brother Moses, broke out with leprous spots, so that she would scarcely have been freed from so great a plague, unless Moses had prayed for her. Although this murmuring refers to the type of the Synagogue, which is ignorant of the mystery of that Ethiopian woman, that is the Church gathered out of the nations, and murmurs with daily reproaches, and envies that people through whose faith itself also shall be delivered from the leprosy of its unbelief, according to what we read that: "blindness in part has happened unto Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in, and so all Israel shall be saved."