New International Version
Exodus 2:22
22Zipporah gave birth to a son, and Moses named him Gershom, saying, “I have become a foreigner in a foreign land.”
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.
- 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.”
- New Living Translation (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.”
Context of Exodus 2:22
20“And where is he?” Reuel asked his daughters. “Why did you leave him? Invite him to have something to eat.” 21Moses agreed to stay with the man, who gave his daughter Zipporah to Moses in marriage. Zipporah gave birth to a son, and Moses named him Gershom, saying, “I have become a foreigner in a foreign land.” 23During that long period, the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned in their slavery and cried out, and their cry for help because of their slavery went up to God. 24God heard their groaning and he remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob.
Read all of Exodus 2Exodus 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 sons of Moses the man of God were counted as part of the tribe of Levi.
- Exodus 2:10When the child grew older, she took him to Pharaoh’s daughter and he became her son. She named him Moses, saying, “I drew him out of the water.”
- Exodus 18:3and her two sons. One son was named Gershom, for Moses said, “I have become a foreigner in a foreign land”;
- Exodus 22:21“Do not mistreat or oppress a foreigner, for you were foreigners in Egypt.
- 1 Chronicles 16:20they wandered from nation to nation, from one kingdom to another.
- 1 Chronicles 29:15We are foreigners and strangers in your sight, as were all our ancestors. Our days on earth are like a shadow, without hope.
- Psalms 39:12“Hear my prayer, Lord, listen to my cry for help; do not be deaf to my weeping. I dwell with you as a foreigner, a stranger, as all my ancestors were.
- Psalms 119:19I am a stranger on earth; do not hide your commands from me.
- Acts 7:29When Moses heard this, he fled to Midian, where he settled as a foreigner and had two sons.
- Hebrews 11:13All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on 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
In the dictionaries
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
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