Kommentar zu Schemot 15:20

ותקח מרים הנביאה AND MIRIAM THE PROPHETESS TOOK — But where had she prophesied? When she was THE SISTER OF AARON alone — before Moses was born she said, “My mother will at some time bear a son who will deliver Israel etc.”, as is stated in Treatise Sotah 12b (cf. Megillah 14a). Another explanation of אחות אהרן, the sister of Aaron: because he jeopardised his life for her by entreating on her behalf and so possibly incurring God’s displeasure when she was stricken with leprosy, she is called by his name (Mekhilta d'Rabbi Yishmael 15:20:1; cf. Rashi Genesis 34:25).

AND MIRIAM THE PROPHETESS, THE SISTER OF AARON. The correct interpretation appears to me to be that because Moses and Miriam were mentioned in the Song and Aaron was not, Scripture wanted to mention him. It therefore said the sister of Aaron as a mark of honor to him, i.e., that he was her older brother and that his sister the prophetess connected her genealogy to him, since he too was a prophet and a holy man of G-d. It is possible that it is the custom of Scripture to trace the genealogy of a family through the oldest brother. Similarly it is written, And the sons of Caleb the brother of Jerahmeel,²³⁴I Chronicles 2:42. because he was the oldest brother, as it is said: The sons also of Hezron… Jerahmeel, and Ram, and Chelubai.²³⁵Ibid., 2:9.

ותקח מרים הנביאה, the author lists a number of verses which appear to commence in the middle and without forming a continuation of what preceded them. Examples given are: Exodus 16,34 commencing with the wordsכאשר ציוה ה' את משה, “as G’d had commanded Moses.” Another example quoted is Jeremiah 37,16-17. כי בא ירמיהו וגו'. [While these examples make the beginning of verse 19 less unique, they still do not explain the reason for this type of syntax. Ed.]