Exodus 18:3
in Exodus 18along with her two sons. One son was named Gershom, for Moses had said, “I have been a foreigner in a foreign land.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
and her two sons; of whom the name of the one was Gershom; for he said, I have been a sojourner in a foreign land:
KJV
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:
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This verse in Exodus 18
Commentary
5 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
the name of the one was Gershom
on Exodus 18:3-4
Gershom was named at Exodus 2:22, where Moses said he had been a stranger in a strange land, and the same explanation is repeated here as an alien in a strange land. Eliezer is named in one verse of Exodus and nowhere else in the book, and what his name records is a rescue, that the God of my father was mine help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh. Moses had fled that sword at Exodus 2:15, and the private deliverance he put into a son's name is the thing God has now done for a nation.
The record, by era
The Reformation1 voice
Whence also we may conjecture that he took them with him into Egypt, rather than banish from him these two pledges of his piety on account of the sudden anger and reproaches of his wife; since by their names he was daily reminded that God's covenant was to be, preferred to all earthly advantages.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
), a stranger, Moses designing thereby, not only a memorial of his own condition, but a memorandum to his son of his condition also: for we are all strangers upon earth, as all our fathers were. Moses had a great uncle almost of the same name, Gershon, a stranger; for though he was born in Canaan ( Gen. xlvi.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation
And her two sons,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
The name of the one was Gershom - See Clarke’s note on Exo 2:22.
The words behind it
13 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְאֵ֖ת | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| שְׁנֵ֣י | shenei | [the] two | H8147 → | 768 times |
| בָנֶ֑יהָ | vaneiha | sons her | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֨ר | ʾasher | who | H834 → | 5497 times |
| שֵׁ֤ם | shem | [the] name of | H8034 → | 864 times |
| הָֽאֶחָד֙ | haechad | the one | H259 → | 971 times |
| גֵּֽרְשֹׁ֔ם | gereshom | [was] Gershom | H1647 → | |
| כִּ֣י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| אָמַ֔ר | ʾamar | he had said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| גֵּ֣ר | ger | a sojourner | H1616 → | 92 times |
| הָיִ֔יתִי | hayiti | I have become | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| בְּאֶ֖רֶץ | beeretz | in a land | H776 → | 2504 times |
| נָכְרִיָּֽה׃ | nakheriyah | foreign | H5237 → | 45 times |
וְאֵ֖תand <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
שְׁנֵ֣י[the] two
sheneiH8147 →768 times
בָנֶ֑יהָsons her
vaneihaH1121 →4930 times
אֲשֶׁ֨רwho
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
שֵׁ֤ם[the] name of
shemH8034 →864 times
הָֽאֶחָד֙the one
haechadH259 →971 times
גֵּֽרְשֹׁ֔ם[was] Gershom
gereshomH1647 →
כִּ֣יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
אָמַ֔רhe had said
ʾamarH559 →5305 times
גֵּ֣רa sojourner
gerH1616 →92 times
הָיִ֔יתִיI have become
hayitiH1961 →3559 times
בְּאֶ֖רֶץin a land
beeretzH776 →2504 times
נָכְרִיָּֽה׃foreign
nakheriyahH5237 →45 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Psalms 39:12Hear 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.
it leads to
- 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.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 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…
- 2 Kings 20:5
“Go back and tell Hezekiah the leader of My people that this is what the LORD, the God of your father David, says: ‘I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. I…
- Leviticus 25:23
The land must not be sold permanently, because it is Mine, and you are but foreigners and residents with Me.
- Genesis 47:9
“My travels have lasted 130 years,” Jacob replied. “My years have been few and hard, and they have not matched the years of the travels of my fathers.”
- 1 Peter 2:11
Through
Hebrews 11:13All 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…
it leads to
- 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.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Genesis 23:4
“I am a foreigner and an outsider among you. Give me a burial site among you so that I can bury my dead.”
- Hebrews 11:27
By faith Moses left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw Him who is invisible.
- Psalms 39:12
About Exodus
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; John Calvin, Commentary on the Four Last Books of Moses Arranged in the Form of a Harmony; John Calvin, Commentaries; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.