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,
Moses' father-in-law Jethro brings Moses' family to him in the wilderness, and the story pauses to explain the elder boy's name. Moses gave that name years earlier in a foreign land. It returns here, just as Israel walks free from Egypt, and commentators read far more in it than family history.
Moses put his own homelessness into his son's name. The ESV has him say, "I have been a sojourner in a foreign land"; the older wording the writers quote is "a stranger in a strange land." One writer sees our own place in the world in that name:
We find Moses then in the land of Midian, and soon with a Gentile bride. But his son's name tells us that he has still found no real home. He names his son "Gershom" — "a stranger" — for he says: "I have been a stranger in a strange land." Here Moses beautifully reflects our character and position in the world, and that of Him to whom we belong. The wife belongs no more to Midian, but to her husband. The "stranger" son never becomes a resident of the land where he is born. These things should need no explanation to any of our hearts. May God make us more Gershoms in the land of Midian — strangers in a world where Christ can find a bride, but not a home.
Moses spent forty years in Midian. Look at how little Exodus keeps from those years:
It is strange indeed that the chief record of the forty long years Moses spent in Midian is this: he called his son by the Egyptian name Gershom, which means banishment — "for," said he, "I have been a stranger in a strange land." Even the name of his second son, born in Midian, does not appear in the book of Exodus until Moses had led Israel out of Egypt. Forty long years of schooling, and yet hardly a word said about this one-third of Moses' life!
Moses gained his wife and sons while he lived apart from Israel. His own people had refused him. One writer reads that timing as a pattern:
And I would add this: Moses got a wife and children when he was separated from his brothers, the children of Israel, through their unbelief and rejection of him. As a result, as he says himself, he was then "a stranger in a strange land" (Ex. 2:22; Ex. 18:3). In the same way, the unbelief and rejection of Israel has brought the Lord in among the Gentiles, and He is gathering a church, a wife and children, out from among them.
Zipporah, Moses' wife, comes to him only now — after God judged Egypt and Israel went free. One writer finds meaning in her absence:
It is significant that Zipporah was hidden in her father's house, and not with Moses, while he carried out the judgements on Egypt and set the people of Israel free. The Lord is the true Moses. He will deliver His people with might and power, and He will execute the judgement on the world.
Commentators differ on what Gershom pictures. Some see the Christian's own life as a stranger here. Others see the two brothers as marking out God's dealings with Israel across time:
The very names of the children explain the typical character of the whole scene. The first is Gershom; "for he said, I have been an alien" or a pilgrim "in a strange land." So it recalls the weary days when Israel was away from their own land, scattered as strangers throughout the world... So the two names mark two distinct periods in God's dealings with Israel... But this scene looks back on the sorrows of their scattering as past, and in picture they now hold the blessing they had waited for so long.
- Named: Gershom means "a stranger". Moses put his own exile into his son's name, so the boy's name repeated his father's confession every day.
- Remembered: forty years in Midian left almost no record in Exodus except this name. That is what God kept from them.
- Received: Moses gained wife and sons while his own people rejected him. Writers see the same pattern in Christ gathering a people while Israel refuses Him.
- Restored: Zipporah stayed away while judgement fell on Egypt. She returns only after the rescue is finished.
- Reaching forward: the two names in this chapter mark stages in God's dealings — scattering first, then rescue and joy.
-- and the name of the other, Eliezer -- For the God of my father has been my help, and has delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh.
Moses had named his second son for a rescue: God had been his help when Pharaoh wanted him dead. The name comes up again here, years later, now that Israel itself is out of Egypt. Commentators read in it both a personal memory and a picture of something far larger.
The two boys' names run in opposite directions. One records what Moses lacked; the other records what God supplied.
In naming his elder son Gershom, Moses showed that he knew himself to be a stranger in the world where he was living. Now we come to the second son, and we move from what is negative to what is positive, since Eliezer means "My God is a help." This had now become very plain. In these two names we find Moses saying in principle what Joseph before him had said in the names of his two sons, which meant "Forgetting" and "Fruitful."
Moses names a rescue from Pharaoh's sword. One writer reads the name as a clue to where and when the boy was born.
It seems Moses took his wife Zipporah and his son Gershom to Egypt when he returned there at God's call. His second son Eliezer was likely born in Egypt, for we are told in this chapter (v. 2) that "he had sent her back" — evidently to stay with her parents until God set Israel free. The meaning of the name of Eliezer ("my God is a help") seems to show that he was born while Moses was contending with Pharaoh. Moses said then that God had been his help in delivering him from the sword of Pharaoh (v. 4).
Eliezer's name appears late in the story. One writer treats that delay as a clue to how God shows Himself to His people.
We do not find Eliezer (my God is a help) until chapter 18:4. By then Israel is delivered, and the Gentiles come to eat bread with the elders of Israel. We then have the double character of the Lord's relationship with Israel. He is a Stranger with them when they are oppressed, and their Deliverer as the God of their fathers.
Commentators differ on where Moses named this son: one places Eliezer's birth in Egypt, another has both names given in Midian. Either way, the man who chose the name was still waiting on God's promises.
While Moses fled from Egypt, he still held to the sure promises of God. He held on to his confidence, against all past experience and every outward appearance. His heart was hopeful, because God was in his thoughts. God would keep him safe from the king of Egypt. He would also keep him to see His promise fulfilled. Moses had no intention of dying in Midian. The name he gave his firstborn son expressed the assurance that his stay in that country would one day be a thankful memory of praise. To his second child he gave a name that glorified the faithful mercy of the God who saved him from the sword of Pharaoh.
Some writers read the pair of names as a map of God's dealings with Israel. On that reading, Eliezer's name is not only Moses' testimony about his own past but a promise about Israel's future.
The name of the second is Eliezer: "The God of my father was my help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh." This certainly recalled the past. But it is also a prophecy of the future. Understood as a type, it speaks of Israel's final deliverance, just before they come into blessing under the reign of Messiah. The two names therefore mark two distinct periods in God's dealings with Israel... the second points to that great hour when the Lord will suddenly appear and snatch His people from the very jaws of the enemy.
One writer adds the promise this points to. The name of the second son "foretells Israel's final deliverance by God their helper." Then Zephaniah's words come true: "The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save" (An Outline of Sound Words).
- Danger. The name looks back to a real threat. Moses fled with Pharaoh's sword behind him, and one writer places Eliezer's birth during that conflict.
- Help. Eliezer means "My God is a help." Gershom's name said Moses was a stranger. Eliezer's name said God had helped him.
- Timing. The name appears only in chapter 18, after Israel is out of Egypt. The Lord is first a Stranger with His oppressed people, then their Deliverer.
- Faith. Moses named the boy with nothing yet to show for God's promises. He held on to them against all appearances.
- Prophecy. Commentators read the two names as two eras. First scattering, then rescue — Israel's God proving Himself their help at the last.