Gershom

Biblical Account

Gershom was the firstborn son of Moses and Zipporah, daughter of the Midianite priest Jethro. Moses married her while living in Midian after fleeing Egypt. Exodus 2:22 records that Moses named his son Gershom, "for he said, I have been a stranger in a strange land." The name is explained by its resemblance in sound to the Hebrew word ger ("stranger," "sojourner").

Exodus 4:20 describes Moses taking his wife and sons with him as he returns to Egypt. According to Exodus 18:2-6, however, Moses at some point sent his wife and two sons back to his father-in-law, and after the Exodus Jethro brought them back to Moses in the wilderness. In this passage the names of Gershom and his younger brother Eliezer, together with their meanings, are given again (Exodus 18:3-4).

First Chronicles 23:14-16 records that the sons of Moses were numbered among the tribe of Levi and that Shebuel was the chief among the sons of Gershom. In 1 Chronicles 26:24, "Shebuel the son of Gershom, the son of Moses" appears as "ruler of the treasures" of the temple.

Significance Within Scripture

The name Gershom is read as a reminder of Israel's experience as sojourners. Although Gershom was the son of Moses, his descendants did not inherit a position of leadership or the priesthood; instead, they took part in temple service as ordinary Levites (1 Chronicles 23:13-14). The priesthood passed to the house of Aaron, Moses' elder brother.

The New Testament does not mention Gershom by name. In Acts 7:29, however, Stephen says that Moses became a stranger in the land of Midian, where he begat two sons.

Interpretations and Debated Points

• The son in the circumcision episode: In Exodus 4:24-26, Zipporah circumcises her son with a sharp stone (see circumcision). The text does not specify which son this was. Some interpreters identify him as Gershom and others as Eliezer, but neither identification is stated in the text itself.
• Jonathan in Judges: Judges 18:30 identifies the priest of the idol set up by the tribe of Dan as "Jonathan, the son of Gershom." In the Hebrew Masoretic Text, one letter in the name of Jonathan's grandfather is suspended above the line, so that the name reads "Manasseh." An interpretation dating back to Jewish tradition holds that this is the trace of an alteration made to conceal the fact that a descendant of Moses was involved in idolatry. Accordingly, some translations render the name "Moses" and others "Manasseh."
• Other individuals with the same name: Ezra 8:2 mentions a Gershom of the descendants of Phinehas who returned from Babylon. In addition, some passages in Chronicles give the name of Gershon the son of Levi in the form "Gershom." These are different individuals from the son of Moses.

In the Korean Church

Sermons that take Gershom alone as their subject are rare. He is mentioned mainly in treatments of the life of Moses or of Jethro's visit (Exodus 18). The meaning of his name, "stranger," is frequently cited in sermons on the believer's life as a sojourner on earth, where it is sometimes paired with Hebrews 11:13-16.