NUM105 Miriam was held in such high regard that the entire nation did not travel and waited for her until her seven-day punishment was completed (Deuteronomy 24:9, Midrash, Sifri, Ki Tetze 65). That particular blemish on Miriam involved the one time that a sense of competition emerged between these three siblings- Miriam, Aaron, and Moses. When Moses was forced to separate from his wife, Tzipporah, because he was always with God, Miriam remarked to Aaron that they (Aaron and Miriam) were also prophets, and they did not have to separate from their spouses. For this one "competitive" and disparaging remarks, Miriam, who was held to a higher standard than most, was punished with the plague of Tzaraat, leprosy-like symptoms, for seven days, and she remained outside the camp (Numbers 1-3, 9-13, 15). Despite the negative remark about him by his sister, it was Moses that prayed for Miriam's recuperation, this prayer apparently helped to limit Miriam's punishment to seven days.