complete verse (Exodus 2:22)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Exodus 2:22:

  • Kupsabiny: “After he had married, Zipporah bore Moses a boy child. Moses said that, ‘Just as I am a foreigner, I will call this boy, Gershom.’” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “Zipporah’s gave birth to a son. Moses’s saying, ‘I have become an alien in a foreign land’ named him Gershom.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “Zipora became-pregnant and gave-birth to a son, and Moises named him Gershom, for he said, ‘I (am) a stranger in this place.’” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Bariai: “Later, Sipora bore Moses a male child, and so Moses called his name Gersom, because he said, ‘I am a man from another area, but I’ve come and lived in this area.’” (Source: Bariai Back Translation)
  • Opo: “She bore for him male child, and he called him Gershom, because he said «I am foreigner in country of these others.»” (Source: Opo Back Translation)
  • English: “Later she gave birth to a son, and Moses/I named him Gershom, which sounds like the Hebrew words that mean ‘foreigner’, because he/I said, ‘I am living as a foreigner in this land.’” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Exod 2:22

She bore a son to Moses, so Good News Translation makes this clear with “bore him a son,” adding the pronoun “him.” This addition is not necessary if it is clear in translation that Moses was the father rather than some other man. In some languages it may be too abrupt to say She bore a son immediately after “He gave Moses his daughter.” If this is the case, it may be necessary to say “After a while she became pregnant and bore him a son.” And he called his name Gershom is significant for two reasons. In Israel’s early history it was usually the mother who named the child, so it should be made clear in this case that the father gave the name. Furthermore the name had special meaning for Moses, as the footnotes in Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation explain.

Gershom is formed from two Hebrew words, ger and sham, which mean “alien” and “there.” The meaning of personal names can seldom be brought out in translation, so a footnote is recommended such as that in Good News Translation. The explanation that Moses gives is not sufficient without this. (But note that the name only “sounds like” the word for “foreigner.”)

For he said does not say to whom Moses spoke. Good News Translation suggests that Moses was speaking “to himself,” as in 2.14, but here the situation is different. It is likely that Moses would want everyone to know the meaning of the name. Translator’s Old Testament has “he explained,” thus avoiding the need to identify the person spoken to. In some languages this will be expressed as “he explained [or, said] to them.” In this case “them” would mean Jethro and the extended family.

Sojourner means more than a traveler or “foreigner”; it refers to a resident alien who enjoyed certain limited social and religious privileges. Moses’ situation in Midian was a perfect example of the meaning of the word ger. With this in mind one can follow an alternative translation model such as “For I have been allowed to live [or, reside] in this foreign [or, alien] land.” In languages that do not have the passive voice, Good News Translation‘s model will be helpful. One may also say, as in Bible en français courant, “I have become a refugee in a foreign country.” In some languages it may be necessary to show the cause before the effect, so one may need to expand the quotation as follows: “I name him Gershom because I have been allowed to reside in a foreign land.”

An alternative translation model for verses 21 and 22 with a footnote model is:

• So Moses agreed to live with Jethro and his family, and Jethro gave him his daughter Zipporah as his wife. She bore a son, and Moses said to them, “I have been allowed to reside in this foreign land, and so I name him Gershom
gershom: This name sounds like the Hebrew for “foreigner.”

Quoted with permission from Osborn, Noel D. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Exodus. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1999. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .