Exodus 2:22

Exodus 2:22 in other versions

• King James Version (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.
• New International Version (NIV)Zipporah gave birth to a son, and Moses named him Gershom, saying, “I have become a foreigner in a foreign land.”
• English Standard Version (ESV)She gave birth to a son, and he called his name Gershom, for he said, "I have been a sojourner in a foreign land."
• New King James Version (NKJV)And she bore him a son. He called his name Gershom, for he said, “I have been a stranger in a foreign land.”

Context of Exodus 2:22

20He said to his daughters, “So where is he? Why in the world did you leave the man? Call him, so that he may eat a meal with us.” 21Moses agreed to stay with the man, and he gave his daughter Zipporah to Moses in marriage. When she bore a son, Moses named him Gershom, for he said, “I have become a resident foreigner in a foreign land.” 23During that long period of time the king of Egypt died, and the Israelites groaned because of the slave labor. They cried out, and their desperate cry because of their slave labor went up to God. 24God heard their groaning, God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob,

Exodus 2:22 word by word

וַתֵּ֣לֶד בֵּ֔ן וַיִּקְרָ֥א אֶת־שְׁמ֖וֹ גֵּרְשֹׁ֑ם כִּ֣י אָמַ֔ר גֵּ֣ר הָיִ֔יתִי בְּאֶ֖רֶץ נָכְרִיָּֽה׃ פRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And she bareיָלַדyâlad · to begetH3205
• a sonבֵּןbên · son: childH1121
• and he calledקָרָאqârâ' · to call: call byH7121
• his nameשֵׁםshêm · nameH8034
• Gershomגֵּרְשֹׁםgêreshôm · GershomH1647
• for he saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• I have been a strangerגֵּרgêr gêyr · sojournerH1616
• in a strangeנׇכְרִיnokrîy · foreignH5237
• landאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776

Cross-references for Exodus 2:22

• 1 Chronicles 23:14The descendants of Moses the man of God were considered Levites.
• Exodus 2:10When the child grew older she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son. She named him Moses, saying, “Because I drew him from the water.”
• Exodus 18:3and her two sons, one of whom was named Gershom (for Moses had said, “I have been a foreigner in a foreign land”),
• Exodus 22:21“You must not wrong a foreigner nor oppress him, for you were foreigners in the land of Egypt.
• 1 Chronicles 16:20they wandered from nation to nation, and from one kingdom to another.
• 1 Chronicles 29:15For we are resident foreigners and nomads in your presence, like all our ancestors; our days are like a shadow on the earth, without security.
• Psalms 39:12Hear my prayer, O Lord! Listen to my cry for help! Do not ignore my sobbing! For I am dependent on you, like one residing outside his native land; I am at your mercy, just as all my ancestors were.
• Psalms 119:19I am like a foreigner in this land. Do not hide your commands from me!
• Acts 7:29When the man said this, Moses fled and became a foreigner in the land of Midian, where he became the father of two sons.
• Hebrews 11:13These all died in faith without receiving the things promised, but they saw them in the distance and welcomed them and acknowledged that they were strangers and foreigners on the earth.

Commentaries on Exodus 2:22

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 22Called his name Gershom - Literally, a stranger; the reason of which Moses immediately adds, for I have been an Alien in a strange land. The Vulgate, the Septuagint, as it stands in the Complutensian Polyglot, and in several MSS., the Syriac, the Coptic, and the Arabic, add the following words to this verse: And the name of the second he called Eliezer, for the God of my father has been my help, and delivered me from the hand of Pharaoh. These words are…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 22Gershom - The first syllable “Ger” is common to Hebrew and Egyptian, and means “sojourner.” The second syllable “Shom” answers exactly to the Coptic “Shemmo,” which means “a foreign or strange land.”Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 16-22Verses 16-22 Moses found shelter in Midian. He was ready to help Reuel's daughters to water their flocks, although bred in learning and at court. Moses loved to be doing justice, and to act in defence of such as he saw injured, which every man ought to do, as far as it is in his power. He loved to be doing good; wherever the providence of God casts us, we should desire and try to be useful; and when we cannot do the good we would, we must be ready to do…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 16-25This passage shows the concern Moses felt for the oppressed. It describes his move to a new land (2:18–22). He married, had a child, and lived there for 40 years (Acts 7:30). From a human perspective, rescuing the Israelites through Moses seemed impossible. But what God's perspective is what matters. The end of this section tells us that God had not forgotten his people (Exodus 2:23–25). He was only waiting for the right time to act (2:25).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 16-2216-22. the priest of Midian--or, "prince of Midian." As the officers were usually conjoined, he was the ruler also of the people called Cushites or Ethiopians, and like many other chiefs of pastoral people in that early age, he still retained the faith and worship of the true God. seven daughters--were shepherdesses to whom Moses was favorably introduced by an act of courtesy and courage in protecting them from the rude shepherds of some neighboring tribe…Read the comment

Topics related to Exodus 2:22

• Gershom
• Jethro
• Moses
• Zipporah

In the dictionaries

• Gershom
• Herself
• Son
• Soon
• Exodus, the Book of
• Genesis
• Leviticus
• Moses
• Proselyte
• Zipporah

Commentaries on Exodus 2

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings