Then Miriam refers to Moses’ older sister (see 2.4). She is called the prophetess, which in Hebrew is the feminine form of the word for “prophet.” Good News Translation and others omit this feminine form in translation as unnecessary and possibly misleading. There should be no suggestion that female prophets had any different religious function from that of male prophets, and the context makes it clear that Miriam was a woman. In some languages, however, it may be quite natural and even necessary to indicate a feminine form of the word. “Prophet” in this context refers to a “spokesperson” for Yahweh (see the comment at 7.1).

Miriam is identified as the sister of Aaron rather than of Moses. This may be because Aaron was older than Moses and, as the eldest son, was recognized as head of the family. Assuming that she is the unnamed sister in 2.4, and recalling that Aaron was only three years older than Moses (see 7.7), we may conclude that she was a few years older than Aaron as well. Alternative translation models for this first sentence are “Miriam, the elder sister of Aaron, was a spokesperson for Yahweh,” or “Miriam … spoke Yahweh’s words to the people.”

Took a timbrel in her hand refers to a small hand drum used mostly by women during joyous celebrations. Many translations call it a “tambourine,” which was a later form of a small hand drum with metal disks at the rim that rattle when the drum is shaken or struck by the other hand. At the time of this story, the drum did not have the metal disks. If a receptor language does not have a specific word for a similar type of drum, without the metal disks, one may employ a generic term for drum and say, for example, “a small drum.” It is also possible to use a term for a percussion instrument that is well known in the receptor culture, one that women may use to express joy in times of celebration, such as rattles or shakers. And all the women went out after her means that the other Israelite women joined with her, or “followed her” (Good News Translation), in celebrating. Another way to express this is “she led all the other women out….” Evidently they had their own timbrels, playing them along with their dancing. The Hebrew term suggests a kind of circle dance or a whirling movement. (See the comment at 32.19.)

Quoted with permission from Osborn, Noel D. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Exodus. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1999. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .