And Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand; and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances.
All Commentaries on Exodus 15:20 Go To Exodus 15
Gregory of Nyssa
AD 394
This reminds us that the prophetess, Miriam, immediately after the crossing of the sea, took a dry, tuneful “tambourine in her hand” and led a chorus of women. Perhaps by the tambourine Scripture means to suggest the virginity of the first Mary, who was, I think, the prototype of Mary the mother of God. For as the tambourine produces a loud sound, having no moisture in it and being quite dry, so also virginity is clear and noised abroad and has nothing in itself of the lifepreserving moisture of this life.
