GER'SHO%, or GER'SHON. A name given to two individuals in the Old Testament. (1) The first-born son of Moses and Zipporah, ac cording to Ex. ii. 22; xviii. 3. In Judges xviii. 30, Gershom, or Gershon, is said to be the father of Jonathan, the priest officiating at the sanctu ary of Dan (see HIGH PLACE) , and the son of Manasseh or Moses. The only difference between these two names when written with the Hebrew characters is the letter nun. While Manasseh is found in many manuscripts, most frequently the nun is put above the line, and in some cases it has been added by a later hand. Most of the ancient versions read Manasseh; but some manu scripts of the Greek version and the Latin Vul gate read Moses. It is therefore difficult to de termine what the original reading was. Evidently the priesthood at Dan traced its origin either to Manasseh or to Moses, or to both at different periods. As the thirteen cities assigned to the Levitic clan of the Gershonites were all in East ern Manasseh, Issachar, Asher, and Naphtali (Josh. xxi. 27, 33), it is possible that the Ger shonite priesthood at Dan considered itself of Manassite origin, and even that the cult in this place was once devoted to the divinity who after wards became the eponymous hero of the tribe of Manasseh. A claim to Mosaic descent would
then be a later development. Another view is that the suspended nun is a device to gloss over the unpleasant fact that a grandson of Moses was priest at a temple where a Yahweh image was worshiped. The priestly legislation knows of no sons of Moses in the priesthood. (2) The first-born son of Levi, according to Ex. vi. 16; Num. iii. 17; I. Chron. vi. 1, 16; xxiii. 6. In reality this Gershon is the eponym of a Levitic family in the Persian and Greek period. In the sketch of the tabernacle in the wilderness, the Gershonites are the carriers of curtains, cover ings, screens, and hangings belonging to this movable sanctuary. In the narrative of David's reign they figure as musicians belonging to the family of Asaph. It is probable that the Ger shonites furnished some of the musicians as well as some of the janitors for the second temple. Whether they were descendants of the Gershonites who once were priests at Dan is not certain, but it is quite probable.