“I have been a stranger in a strange land”
KING JAMES VERSION (KJV)
TRANSLATION, MEANING, CONTEXT
In this verse Moses has a son to Zipporah. He names him Gershom saying, “I have been a stranger in a strange land” referring to his earlier years growing up in Egypt. This quote has inspired the author Robert A. Heinlein to write a 1961 science fiction novel entitled “Stranger in a Strange Land” about a dystopian and strange world which conveys the unsettledness of human life.
To get what Exodus 2:22 means in detail, scroll down or follow these links for the original scriptural meaning , biblical context and relative popularity.
“And she bare him a son, and he called his name Gershom: for he said, I have been a stranger in a strange land.”
What does this verse really mean? Use this table to get a word-for-word translation of the original Hebrew Scripture. This shows the English words related to the source biblical texts along with brief definitions. Follow the buttons in the right-hand column for detailed definitions and verses that use the same root words. Use this reference information to gain deeper insight into the Bible and enrich your understanding. Information based on Strong's Exhaustive Concordance[1].
| KJV Verse | Original Hebrew | Meaning/ Definition This is a simplified translation of the original Hebrew word. Follow the buttons on the right to get more detail. | More Use the buttons below to get details on the Hebrew word and view related Bible verses that use the same root word. |
|---|---|---|---|
| “And she bare” | וַתֵּ֣לֶד | To bear young; causatively, to beget; medically, to act as midwife; specifically, to show lineage | bare |
| “him” | (No Hebrew definition. English implied.) | ||
| “a son,” | בֵּ֔ן | A son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or condition, etc., (like father or brother), etc.) | son |
| “and he called” | וַיִּקְרָ֥א | To call out to (i.e., properly, address by name, but used in a wide variety of applications) | called |
| “his name” | שְׁמ֖וֹ | An appellation, as a mark or memorial of individuality; by implication honor, authority, character | name |
| “Gershom:” | גֵּֽרְשֹׁ֑ם | Gereshom, the name of four Israelites | Gershom |
| “for” | כִּ֣י | (by implication) very widely used as a relative conjunction or adverb (as below); often largely modified by other particles annexed | for |
| “he said,” | אָמַ֔ר | To say (used with great latitude) | said |
| “I have been” | הָיִ֔יתִי | To exist, i.e., be or become, come to pass (always emphatic, and not a mere copula or auxiliary) | been |
| “a stranger” | גֵּ֣ר | Properly, a guest; by implication, a foreigner | stranger |
| “in a strange” | נָכְרִיָּֽה׃ | Strange, in a variety of degrees and applications (foreign, non-relative, adulterous, different, wonderful) | strange |
| “land.” | בְּאֶ֖רֶץ | The earth (at large, or partitively a land) | land |
See Exodus 2:22 with its adjacent verses in bold below. Follow either of the two large buttons below to see these verses in their broader context of the King James Bible or a Bible concordance.
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20 And he said unto his daughters, And where is he? why is it that ye have left the man? call him, that he may eat bread.
21 And Moses was content to dwell with the man: and he gave Moses Zipporah his daughter.
22 And she bare him a son, and he called his name Gershom: for he said, I have been a stranger in a strange land.
23 And it came to pass in process of time, that the king of Egypt died: and the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage, and they cried, and their cry came up unto God by reason of the bondage.
24 And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.
The King James Bible (1611) and Strong's Concordance (1890) with Hebrew and Greek dictionaries are sourced from the BibleForgeDB database (https://github.com/bibleforge) within the BibleForge project (http://bibleforge.com). Popularity rankings are based on search volume data from the Google AdWords Keyword Planner tool.