Gershom was the firstborn son of Moses and Zipporah. His name means "a stranger there," and was given because Moses said: "I have become a foreigner in a foreign land." Gershom belonged to the tribe of Levi, and his descendants served as priests and Levites in Israel.
22She gave birth to a son, and Moses named him Gershom, saying, "I have been a stranger in a foreign land." [Footnote: The name Gershom sounds like the Hebrew words for "a stranger there."]
After the exodus from Egypt, Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, brought Zipporah and her two sons, Gershom and Eliezer, back to Moses in the wilderness at the mountain of God.
1Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses' father-in-law, heard all that God had done for Moses and for Israel his people, how the LORD had brought Israel out of Egypt.
30The Danites set up the carved image for themselves, and Jonathan son of Gershom, son of Manasseh,[^1] and his sons were priests to the tribe of Dan until the day the land went into exile.
[^1]: In the Hebrew text the name is written with a raised letter, and many ancient witnesses read "Moses" here.
In David's time, Gershom's descendants were registered and assigned tasks in temple service. Shebuel, one of Gershom's descendants, was placed over the treasuries.