Biblical Figure Gershom Son Of Moses
Gershom, the son of Moses, is first mentioned in Exodus 2:22, where it is written that Moses named his firstborn son Gershom, saying, "I have been a stranger in a foreign land" [4]. The name Gershom is derived from the Hebrew words "ger" meaning "stranger" or "sojourner" and "sham" meaning "there" [3]. This etymology is significant, as it reflects Moses' experience as a foreigner in Midian, where he had fled after killing an Egyptian.
The biblical account records that Gershom was the elder of Moses' two sons, his brother being Eliezer [1, 2]. Gershom's mother was Zipporah, a Midianite priest's daughter whom Moses married during his time in exile [5]. The fact that Gershom was not circumcised at birth led to a confrontation between Moses and his wife Zipporah, as recorded in Exodus 4:24-26, where Zipporah circumcises Gershom to avert God's wrath on Moses [4].
Gershom's descendants are mentioned in several biblical passages. According to 1 Chronicles 23:15-16, the sons of Gershom were Jonathan (or Shebuel, as he is called in 1 Chronicles 24:20) and others, who were Levites and played a role in the religious life of Israel [7, 9]. Interestingly, a Jonathan, son of Gershom, son of Moses (or Manasseh, in some manuscripts), is mentioned as a priest to the tribe of Dan in Judges 18:30, suggesting a possible connection between Gershom's line and the priestly traditions of the Danites [8, 6].
The various traditions represented in the sources offer different perspectives on Gershom's significance. The Jewish (Rabbinic) tradition, as recorded in the Babylonian Talmud, discusses the identity of Jonathan, son of Gershom, and resolves the apparent discrepancy between his being called "son of Manasseh" in Judges 18:30 and "son of Moses" in 1 Chronicles 23:15 [10]. The Kabbalistic/Philosophical tradition, represented by Ramban (Nachmanides), provides a theological interpretation of the names of Moses' sons, including Gershom, highlighting their spiritual significance [11].
The biblical figure of Gershom, son of Moses, thus represents a significant link between Moses' personal life and the broader narrative of Israel's history, with his descendants playing a role in the religious and cultural heritage of the Israelites.
Sources
- I Chronicles “I Chronicles 23:15 (YLT) — Sons of Moses: Gershom and Eliezer.”
- 1 Chronicles “The sons of Moses: Gershom and Eliezer. -- 1 Chronicles 23:15”
- Smith's Bible Dictionary “Smith's Bible Dictionary: Gershom — (a stranger or exile). + The first-born son of Moses and Zipporah. (Exodus 2:22; 18:3) (B.C. 1530.) + The form under which the name [550]Gershon--the eldest son of Levi--is given in several passages of Chronicles, viz., (1 Chronicles 6:16,17,20,43,62,71; 15:7) + The representative of the priestly family of Phinehas, among those who accompanied Ezra from Babylon. (Ezra 8:2) (B.C. 536.)”
- Easton's Bible Dictionary “Easton's Bible Dictionary: Gershom — 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 c”
- Smith's Bible Dictionary “Smith's Bible Dictionary: Moses — (Heb. Mosheh, "drawn," i.e. from the water; in the Coptic it means "saved from the water"), the legislator of the Jewish people, and in a certain sense the founder of the Jewish religion. The immediate pedigree of Moses is as follows: Levi was the father of: Gershon-- Kohath-- Merari Kohath was the father of: Amram = Jochebed Amram = Jochebed was the father of: Hur = Miriam-- Aaron = Elisheba-- Moses = Zipporah Aaron = Elisheba was the father of: Nadab-- Abihu-- Eleazar-- Ithamar Eleazar was the father of: Phineas Moses = Zipporah was the father of: Gershom-- ”
- Judges (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Judges 18:30: And the children of Dan set up the graven image,.... In their new city Dan, and very probably had a house built for it, peculiar to it, in the same place where Jeroboam, in later times, set up one of his golden calves. The Danites having succeeded, according to the oracle in Micah's house, they had a very great veneration for the images they brought away with them from thence, and set them up for religious worship in a proper place; for though only mention is made of the graven image, yet no doubt the molten image, and the teraphim, with the ephod, were all placed to”
- 1 Chronicles (Lutheran) “Keil & Delitzsch on 1 Chronicles 23:14: The sons of Moses were Gershom and Eliezer. See Exo 18:3. . 1 Chronicles 23:16 ch1 23:16 ch1 23:16 ch1 23:16Of the sons of Gershom, Shebuel was the chief. Of the posterity of Gershom in the times of David, called Shubael, Ch1 24:20, the Targum makes him to be the same with Jonathan, Jdg 18:30. (l). (l) So in Hieron. Trad. Heb. in Paralipom. fol. 84. c.”
- Judges (Lutheran) “Keil & Delitzsch on Judges 18:30: Establishment of the Image-worship in Dan. - After the rebuilding of Laish under the name of Dan, the Danites set up the pesel or image of Jehovah, which they had taken with them out of Micah's house of God. "And Jehonathan, the son of Gershom, the son of Moses, he and his sons were priests to the tribe of the Danites till the day of the captivity of the land." As the Danites had taken the Levite whom Micah had engaged for his private worship with them to Dan, and had promised him the priesthood (Jdg 18:19 and Jdg 18:27), Jehonathan can hardly be any other tha”
- 1 Chronicles (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on 1 Chronicles 23:14: The sons of Moses were Gershom and Eliezer. See Exo 18:3. . 1 Chronicles 23:16 ch1 23:16 ch1 23:16 ch1 23:16Of the sons of Gershom, Shebuel was the chief. Of the posterity of Gershom in the times of David, called Shubael, Ch1 24:20, the Targum makes him to be the same with Jonathan, Jdg 18:30. (l). (l) So in Hieron. Trad. Heb. in Paralipom. fol. 84. c.”
- Babylonian Talmud (Jewish (Rabbinic)) “Babylonian Talmud, Bava Batra 109b.8: The Gemara asks further: But is it so that his name was indeed Levi; but wasn’t Jonathan his name, as it is stated: “And Jonathan, the son of Gershom, the son of Manasseh, he and his sons were priests to the tribe of the Danites” (Judges 18:30)? Rava bar Rav Ḥanan said to him: And according to your reasoning, that his name was not Levi but he was from the tribe of Levi, there is also a difficulty from that same verse: But is it so that he was the son of Manasseh; but wasn’t he the son of Moses, as it is written: “The sons of Moses: Gershom and Eliezer” (I ”
- Sefaria (Jewish (Kabbalistic/Philosophical)) “Ramban (Nachmanides) on Exodus 18:3: AND HER TWO SONS; OF WHOM THE NAME OF THE ONE WAS GERSHOM. Even though this is not the place where [the narrative of] their birth is told, Scripture here explains the names of the two sons [of Moses — Gershom and Eliezer —] because there was no opportunity to mention the name of Eliezer at his birth, as I have explained in Seder V’eileh Shemoth . 61 Above, 4:20. See Ramban there regarding why Eliezer was not named at that time. Gershom’s name, on the other hand, is mentioned in 2:22. Here, Scripture wanted to mention the kindness that the Holy One, blessed ”