Gershom

Gershom [N] [H] [S]

expulsion.

  • The eldest son of Levi ( 1 Chronicles 6:16 1 Chronicles 6:17 1 Chronicles 6:20 1 Chronicles 6:43 1 Chronicles 6:62 1 Chronicles 6:71 ; 15:7)=GERSHON (q.v.).

  • The elder of the two sons of Moses born to him in Midian ( Exodus 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.

  • A descendant of Phinehas who returned with Ezra from Babylon ( Ezra 8:2 ).

  • The son of Manasseh ( Judges 18:30 ), in RSV "of Moses."

    These dictionary topics are from
    M.G. Easton M.A., D.D., Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Third Edition,
    published by Thomas Nelson, 1897. Public Domain, copy freely.

    [N] indicates this entry was also found in Nave's Topical Bible
    [H] indicates this entry was also found in Hitchcock's Bible Names
    [S] indicates this entry was also found in Smith's Bible Dictionary

    Bibliography Information

    Easton, Matthew George. "Entry for Gershom". "Easton's Bible Dictionary". .
  • Gershom [N] [E] [S]

    a stranger here
    Hitchcock's Dictionary of Bible Names. Public Domain. Copy freely.

    [N] indicates this entry was also found in Nave's Topical Bible
    [E] indicates this entry was also found in Easton's Bible Dictionary
    [S] indicates this entry was also found in Smith's Bible Dictionary

    Bibliography Information

    Hitchcock, Roswell D. "Entry for 'Gershom'". "An Interpreting Dictionary of Scripture Proper Names". . New York, N.Y., 1869.
    Gershom [N] [E] [H]

    (a stranger or exile ).

    1. The first-born son of Moses and Zipporah. ( Exodus 2:22 ; 18:3 ) (B.C. 1530.)
    2. The form under which the name GERSHON--the eldest son of Levi--is given in several passages of Chronicles, viz., ( 1 Chronicles 6:16 1 Chronicles 6:17 1 Chronicles 6:20 1 Chronicles 6:43 1 Chronicles 6:62 1 Chronicles 6:71 ; 15:7 )
    3. The representative of the priestly family of Phinehas, among those who accompanied Ezra from Babylon. ( Ezra 8:2 ) (B.C. 536.)

    [N] indicates this entry was also found in Nave's Topical Bible
    [E] indicates this entry was also found in Easton's Bible Dictionary
    [H] indicates this entry was also found in Hitchcock's Bible Names

    Bibliography Information

    Smith, William, Dr. "Entry for 'Gershom'". "Smith's Bible Dictionary". . 1901.

    GERSHOM

    gur'-shom (gereshom, from garash, "to cast out"; explained, however, in Exodus 2:22 and 18:3 as from gur, "For he said, I have been a sojourner in a foreign land"):

    (1) Firstborn son of Moses and Zipporah. The only details of his life contained in the Pentateuch are the account of his circumcision (Exodus 4:25), and his remaining under the care of Jethro, while Moses was in Egypt leading the Exodus. His descendants were numbered among the tribes of Levi (1 Chronicles 23:14). One of them apparently was the Jonathan who officiated as priest of the idolatrous sanctuary at Dan, and whose descendants held the office until the captivity. The Massoretic Text inserts a suspended nun, "n," in the name of Moses (mosheh), causing it to be lead Manasseh, for the purpose, according to tradition, of disguising the name out of respect for the revered Lawgiver. Another descendant described as a "son" was Shebuel, a ruler over the treasuries of David.

    (2) A son of Levi, so called in 1 Chronicles 6:16,17,20,43,12,71 (Hebrew 1,2,5,28,47,56); 15:7; elsewhere GERSHON (which see).

    (3) A descendant of Phinehas, the head of a father's house, who journeyed with Ezra from Babylon to Jerusalem in the reign of Artaxerxes (Ezra 8:2).

    Ella Davis Isaacs


    Copyright Statement
    These files are public domain.

    Bibliography Information
    Orr, James, M.A., D.D. General Editor. "Entry for 'GERSHOM'". "International Standard Bible Encyclopedia". 1915.