Exodus 18:3

3 and her two sons, of which the name of the one was Gershon, for he said, I have been an alien in a strange land,

Exodus 18:3 Meaning and Commentary

Exodus 18:3

And her two sons
Those also Jethro took along with him and his daughter:

of which the name of the one was Gershom;
which seems to be his firstborn, ( Exodus 2:22 ) , his name signifies a desolate stranger, as some, or, "there I was a stranger": the reason of which name follows agreeably thereunto:

for he said, I have been an alien in a strange land;
meaning, not the land of Egypt, where he was born, and had lived forty years; but in the land of Midian, where he was when this son of his was born; and which name was given him partly to keep up the memory of his flight to Midian, and partly to instruct his son, that Midian, though his native place, was not his proper country where he was to dwell, but another, even the land of Canaan.

Exodus 18:3 In-Context

1 When Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses’ father-in-law, heard of all that God had done with Moses and with Israel his people and how the LORD had brought Israel out of Egypt,

2 then Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, took Zipporah, Moses’ wife, after he had sent her back,

3 and her two sons, of which the name of the one was Gershon, for he said, I have been an alien in a strange land,

4 and the name of the other was Eliezer, for the God of my father, said he, helped me and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh;

5 and Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, came with his sons and his wife unto Moses into the wilderness, where he was camped next to the mount of God;