Levite living at the time of Egypt and Wilderness
Gershom was the firstborn son of Moses and Zipporah, and his descendant Jonathan served as a priest for the idolatrous Danites.
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Gershom was the firstborn son of Moses and Zipporah, born during Moses' exile in Midian (Exo.2.22). His name, which means "a stranger there," reflects Moses' feelings of being a foreigner in a strange land. Later, when Moses returned to Egypt to lead the Israelites out of slavery, Gershom and his brother Eliezer were reunited with their father (Exo.18.3-4). As a descendant of Levi, Gershom and his descendants were counted among the Levites and assigned duties in the tabernacle and temple service (1Ch.23.15-16; 26.24). However, one of Gershom's descendants, Jonathan, became involved in idolatrous worship. According to Jdg.18.30, Jonathan and his sons served as priests for the tribe of Dan, who had set up a graven image and a shrine. This incident highlights the spiritual decline among some of the Levites and the Israelites during the period of the judges. Despite this unfaithful descendant, Gershom's lineage remained significant within the Levitical priesthood, as evidenced by the mention of his descendants in the genealogies of Chronicles.
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6 verses in 3 books · English text: BSB (change it from the menu at the top) · Strong’s H1647
And she gave birth to a son, and Moses named him Gershom, saying, “I have become a foreigner in a foreign land.”
along with her two sons. One son was named Gershom, for Moses had said, “I have been a foreigner in a foreign land.”
The Danites set up idols for themselves, and Jonathan son of Gershom, the son of Moses, and his sons were priests for the tribe of Dan until the day of the captivity of the land.
The sons of Moses: Gershom and Eliezer.
The descendants of Gershom: Shebuel was the first.
Shebuel, a descendant of Gershom son of Moses, was the officer in charge of the treasuries.
Names, family links and references: STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). Short descriptions were drafted with AI assistance by STEPBible. Family links follow STEPBible’s scholarly decisions where genealogies are ambiguous.