Then she gave birth to a son, and he named him Gershom, for he said, “I have been a stranger 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.
- BSB And she gave birth to a son, and Moses named him Gershom, saying, “I have become a foreigner in a foreign 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.”
- 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 7:29Moses fled at this saying, and became a stranger in the land of Midian, where he became the father of two sons.
- Heb 11:13–14These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them and embraced them from afar, and having confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.
- Exod 22:21“You shall not wrong an alien or oppress him, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt.
- Ps 119:19I am a stranger on the earth. Don’t hide your commandments from me.
- Ps 39:12“Hear my prayer, Yahweh, and give ear to my cry. Don’t be silent at my tears. For I am a stranger with you, a foreigner, as all my fathers were.
- 1 Chr 29:15For we are strangers before you, and foreigners, as all our fathers were. Our days on the earth are as a shadow, and there is no remaining.
- 1 Chr 16:20They went about from nation to nation, from one kingdom to another people.
- Exod 18:3–4and her two sons. The name of one son was Gershom, for Moses said, “I have lived as a foreigner in a foreign land”.
- 1 Chr 23:14–17But as for Moses the man of God, his sons were named among the tribe of Levi.
- Exod 2:10The child grew, and she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son. She named him Moses, and said, “Because 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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