Gershom
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2008-07-13T16:32:17Z
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/* Priestly connections */
:''This page is about the firstborn son of Moses. For the son of Levi, see [[Gershon|Gersho'''n''']]. ''
According to the [[Bible]], '''Gershom''' ({{Hebrew Name|גֵּרְשֹׁם|Gerəšom|Gērəšōm|''a sojourner there''}}) was the firstborn son of [[Moses]] and [[Zipporah]]<ref>{{bibleverse||Exodus|2:22|}}</ref>. The name appears to mean ''a sojourner there'' (גר שם ''ger sham''), which the text argues was a reference to Moses' flight from Egypt; [[biblical criticism|biblical scholars]] regard the name as being essentially the same as ''[[Gershon]]''<ref>Cheyne and Black, ''Encyclopedia Biblica''</ref>, and it is Gersho'''m''' rather than Gersho'''n''' who is sometimes listed by the [[Book of Chronicles]], as a founder of one of the principle Levite factions<ref>{{bibleverse|1|Chronicles|15:7|}}</ref>. [[Textual criticism|Textual scholars]] attribute the description of ''Gershom'' to a different source text to the genealogy involving ''Gershon''<ref>[[Richard Elliott Friedman]], ''Who Wrote The Bible?''</ref>.
The passage in [[Exodus]] concerning [[Zipporah at the inn|Moses and Zipporah reaching an inn]], contain four of the most ambiguous and awkward sentences in Biblical text; the text appears to suggest that something, possibly [[God]] or an [[angel]], attacks either Gershom or Moses, until a [[circumcision]] is carried out by Zipporah on whichever of the two men it was that was being attacked<ref>{{bibleverse||Exodus|4:24-26|}}</ref>.
The later [[Books of Chronicles]] identify ''Shebuel'' as being one of Gershom's "son"s<ref>{{bibleverse|1|Chronicles|23:16|}}, {{bibleverse-nb|1|Chronicles|26:24|}}</ref>, though this is [[anachronism|anacronistic]] for a literal interpretation of the bible, since ''Shebuel'' is described as living in the time of King [[David]].
== Priestly connections ==
Although certain passages of the Bible, which textual scholars ascribe to the [[Priestly Source]], assert that it is only the Aaronim who were legitimate priests, [[biblical scholars]] believe that the priesthood was originally open to members of any tribe<ref>''Jewish Encyclopedia'', ''Levite''</ref>, and that the restriction to Aaronim was purely an Aaronim invention, opposed by authors such as the [[Deuteronomist]]<ref>Richard Elliott Friedman, ''Who Wrote The Bible?''</ref>. Aaronim claimed descent from [[Aaron]] - Moses' brother, and hence any immediate descendant of Moses would not be an Aaronim; the hence the possibility that the story of [[Micah's Idol]] refers to immediate descendants of Moses being priests is thus taken by [[biblical criticism|biblical scholars]] as a demonstration that the Aaronim-only restriction was originally not present in the Israelite priesthood.
One of the accounts of Micah's idol refers to a priest as being ''a sojourner there'' (גר שם)<ref>{{bibleverse||Judges|17:7|}}</ref>, which could alternatively be taken as stating that the priest was Gershom (גרשם). The accounts of Micah's idol also include reference to a ''Jonathon son of Gershom'' as being a priest<ref>{{bibleverse||Judges|18:30|}}</ref>, and although the masoretic text seems to avoid the implication that non-Aaronim could be priests by describing this particular ''Gershom'' as a son of ''Manasseh'' (מנשה), this appears to have been distorted; the letter ''nun'' (נ) appears here in [[superscript]], suggesting that the text originally described this ''Gershom'' as the one that was a son of ''Moses'' (משה)<ref>''Jewish Encyclopedia'', ''Jonathan (son of Gershom)''</ref>.
==References==
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[[Category:Torah people]]
[[Category:Moses]]
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