Bible Strands
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.”
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The narrator describes Jethro’s household after Moses sent his wife Zipporah and their children to him. The passage identifies the two sons present with her during this reunion.
The words — The name גֵּרְשׁוֹם (Gershom) literally denotes a “foreigner” or “sojourner,” introduced with כִּי (ki) to explain its origin. Moses previously used this term to describe his exile in Midian.
The thread — The name Gershom first appears in Exodus 2:22 when Moses names his firstborn son. Acts 7:29 later recalls Moses’ Midianite sojourn and fatherhood, while Exodus 4:20 notes Moses bringing his family back to Egypt.
Why it lands — The text records the historical presence of Moses’ sons with Jethro and preserves the etymology of Gershom’s name. It requires the reader to track how Moses’ self-identification as a foreigner frames his family’s status in Midian.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And her two sons; of which the name of the one was Gershom; for he said, I have been an alien in a strange land:
Cross-references
- 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.”
- Acts 7:29 At this remark, Moses fled to the land of Midian, where he lived as a foreigner and had two sons.
- Exodus 4:20 So Moses took his wife and sons, put them on a donkey, and headed back to Egypt. And he took the staff of God in his hand.
- Psalms 39:12 Hear 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.
- Hebrews 11:13 All 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.
- 1 Peter 2:11 Beloved, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from the desires of the flesh, which war against your soul.