And she gave birth to a son, and Moses named him Gershom, saying, “I have become a foreigner in a foreign land.”
Parallel translations
- WEB She bore a son, and he named him Gershom, for he said, “I have lived as a foreigner in a foreign land.”
- KJV And she bare him a son, and he called his name Gershom: for he said, I have been a stranger in a strange land.
- NKJV And she bore him a son. He called his name Gershom, for he said, “I have been a stranger in a foreign land.”
- NASB Then she gave birth to a son, and he named him Gershom, for he said, “I have been a stranger in a foreign land.”
- NLT Later she gave birth to a son, and Moses named him Gershom, for he explained, “I have been a foreigner in a foreign land.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Zipporah bears a son named Gershom, for Moses says he has been a foreigner in a foreign land. The name marks Moses' sense of exile.
Overview
Gershom, sounding like "a stranger there," captures Moses' displaced condition far from his people. The name reflects the pilgrim identity shared by the patriarchs, who confessed they were strangers on the earth. It quietly reminds believers that God's people often live as sojourners awaiting their true home.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Acts 7:29At this remark, Moses fled to the land of Midian, where he lived as a foreigner and had two sons.
- Heb 11:13–14All these people died in faith, without having received the things they were promised. However, they saw them and welcomed them from afar. And they acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.
- Exod 22:21You must not exploit or oppress a foreign resident, for you yourselves were foreigners in the land of Egypt.
- Ps 119:19I am a stranger on the earth; do not hide Your commandments from me.
- Ps 39:12Hear my prayer, O LORD, and give ear to my cry for help; do not be deaf to my weeping. For I am a foreigner dwelling with You, a stranger like all my fathers.
- 1 Chr 29:15For we are foreigners and strangers in Your presence, as were all our forefathers. Our days on earth are like a shadow, without hope.
- 1 Chr 16:20they wandered from nation to nation, from one kingdom to another.
- Exod 18:3–4along with her two sons. One son was named Gershom, for Moses had said, “I have been a foreigner in a foreign land.”
- 1 Chr 23:14–17As for Moses the man of God, his sons were named among the tribe of Levi.
- Exod 2:10When the child had grown older, she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son. She named him Moses and explained, “I drew him out of the water.”
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Christ at the center
The Passover lamb whose blood turns away death, the exodus through the sea, the manna, the rock, and the tabernacle where God dwells with his people all foreshadow Jesus — our Passover, our redemption, the bread from heaven, and God-with-us in the flesh.
How Exodus 2:22 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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