Son of Moses; father of Jonathan, a renegade priest.
Gershom
Named in 6 verses across 3 books, first in Exodus 2:22.
גֵּרְשֹׁםGershom
The name means “a stranger here.” Hitchcock's Bible Names, 1869
About Gershom Written by AI
Gershom was the firstborn son of Moses and Zipporah, born during Moses' exile in Midian (Exodus 2:22). His name, which means "a stranger there," reflects Moses' feelings of being a foreigner in a strange land. Later, when Moses returned to Egypt to lead the Israelites out of slavery, Gershom and his brother Eliezer were reunited with their father (Exodus 18:3 to 4). As a descendant of Levi, Gershom and his descendants were counted among the Levites and assigned duties in the tabernacle and temple service (1 Chronicles 23:15 to 16). However, one of Gershom's descendants, Jonathan, became involved in idolatrous worship. According to Judges 18:30, Jonathan and his sons served as priests for the tribe of Dan, who had set up a graven image and a shrine. This incident highlights the spiritual decline among some of the Levites and the Israelites during the period of the judges. Despite this unfaithful descendant, Gershom's lineage remained significant within the Levitical priesthood, as evidenced by the mention of his descendants in the genealogies of Chronicles.
Drafted by an AI model for STEPBible's TIPNR (Tyndale House Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). Check it against the verses below.
Easton's Bible Dictionary, 1897
This entry is on the name Gershom, and may cover more than one person or place by that name.
Expulsion. (1.) The eldest son of Levi (1 Chr. 6:16, 17, 20, 43, 62, 71; 15:7)=GERSHON (q.v.).
(2.) The elder of the two sons of Moses born to him in Midian (Ex. 2:22; 18:3). On his way to Egypt with his family, in obedience to the command of the Lord, Moses was attacked by a sudden and dangerous illness (4:24-26), which Zipporah his wife believed to have been sent because he had neglected to circumcise his son. She accordingly took a “sharp stone” and circumcised her son Gershom, saying, “Surely a bloody husband art thou to me”, i.e., by the blood of her child she had, as it were, purchased her husband, had won him back again.
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(3.) A descendant of Phinehas who returned with Ezra from Babylon (Ezra 8:2).
(4.) The son of Manasseh (Judg. 18:30), in R.V. “of Moses.”
M. G. Easton, Illustrated Bible Dictionary, third edition (1897), public domain, from CrossWire. Shown as written; its Scripture quotes are from older translations.
Where the Bible names him
- Exodus 2:22
And she gave birth to a son, and Moses named him Gershom, saying, “I have become a foreigner in a foreign land.”
- Exodus 18:3
along with her two sons. One son was named Gershom, for Moses had said, “I have been a foreigner in a foreign land.”
- Judges 18:30
The Danites set up idols for themselves, and Jonathan son of Gershom, the son of Moses, and his sons were priests for the tribe of Dan until the day of the captivity of the land.
- 1 Chronicles 23:15
The sons of Moses: Gershom and Eliezer.
- 1 Chronicles 23:16
The descendants of Gershom: Shebuel was the first.
- 1 Chronicles 26:24
Shebuel, a descendant of Gershom son of Moses, was the officer in charge of the treasuries.
From STEPBible's TIPNR, Tyndale House Cambridge (CC BY 4.0): names, family, references and the AI written article. Verse text is the BSB.