Gershom

According to the Bible, Gershom (גֵּרְשֹׁם Gēršōm, "a sojourner there"; Latin: Gersam) was the firstborn son of Moses and Zipporah. The name means "a stranger there" in Hebrew (גר שם ger sham), which the text argues was a reference to Moses' flight from Egypt. Biblical scholars regard the name as being essentially the same as Gershon and in the Book of Chronicles the progenitor of one of the principal Levite clans is sometimes identified as Gershom, sometimes as Gershon. Gershom was born in Midian, where his father had settled after fleeing Egypt. Moses' father-in-law Jethro came to Moses in the wilderness, bringing with him Moses' wife Zipporah and their two sons, Gershom and Eliezer. The priestly service of Gershom's descendant Jonathan on behalf of the Danites was illegal, because, although he was a Levite, he was not of Aaron's family. The passage in Exodus concerning Moses and Zipporah at a night camp appears to suggest that some being, possibly God or an angel, attacks either Gershom or Moses, until a circumcision is carried out by Zipporah on Gershom. The later Books of Chronicles identify Shebuel as a "son" of Gershom, though this is anachronistic for a literal interpretation of the Bible because Shebuel is described as living in the time of King David. The Hebrew word for "son" can also mean descendant; for example even remote descendants of King David are in many instances identified as "So-and-so son of David" in the original Hebrew.