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Gad (Biblical figure)

 

 
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Gad (Biblical figure)
 
 
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Gad was, according to the Book of Genesis, the first son of Jacob
Jacob

According to the Hebrew Bible, Jacob , also known as Israel , was the third Biblical patriarchs and the ancestor of the twelve Israelites....
 and Zilpah
Zilpah

In the Book of Genesis, Zilpah is Leah's handmaid and the second concubine of Jacob and the mother of Gad and Asher.Zilpah is given to Leah as a handmaid by Leah's father, Laban , upon Leah's marriage to Jacob ....
, the seventh of Jacob overall, and the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Gad
Tribe of Gad

The Tribe of Gad was one of the Israelites. At its height, Gad occupied a region to the east of the River Jordan, though the exact location is ambiguous; among the cities mentioned by the Bible as having at some point been part of Gad were Ramoth, Jaezer, Aroer, and Dibon, though some of these are marked elsewhere as belonging to Tribe of Re...
; however some Biblical scholars
Biblical criticism

Biblical criticism is "the study and investigation of biblical writings that seeks to make discerning and discriminating judgments about these writings." It asks when and where a particular text originated; how, why, by whom, for whom, and in what circumstances it was produced; what influences were at work in its production; what sources we...
 view this as postdiction, an eponym
Eponym

An eponym is a person, whether real or fictitious, after whom a particular toponym, ethnonym, regnal year, discovery, or other item is named or thought to be named....
ous metaphor
Metaphor

Metaphor is language that directly compares seemingly unrelated subjects. It is a figure of speech that compares two or more things without using the words "like" or "as." More generally, a metaphor describes a first subject as being or equal to a second object in some way....
 providing an aetiology of the connectedness of the tribe to others in the Israelite confederation. The text of the Torah
Torah

The term "Torah" , or Five Books of Moses or Pentateuch, refers to the entirety of Judaism's founding Halakha and ethical religious texts....
 argues that the name of Gad means luck/fortunate, in Hebrew
Hebrew language

Hebrew is a Semitic languages of the Afro-Asiatic languages. Modern Hebrew is spoken by more than seven million people in Israel and Classical Hebrew is used for prayer or study in Jews communities around the world....
, deriving from a root meaning cut/divide, in the sense of divided out; classical rabbinical literature argues that the name was a prophetic reference to the manna
Manna

Manna , sometimes or archaically spelt mana, is the name of a food which, according to the Bible, was eaten by the Israelites during their travels in the desert....
; some Biblical scholars
Biblical criticism

Biblical criticism is "the study and investigation of biblical writings that seeks to make discerning and discriminating judgments about these writings." It asks when and where a particular text originated; how, why, by whom, for whom, and in what circumstances it was produced; what influences were at work in its production; what sources we...
 suspect that refers to a deity originally worshipped by the tribe, namely Gad
Gad (deity)

Gad was the name of the pan-Semitic deity of fortune, and is attested in ancient records of Aram and Arabia. Gad is also mentioned by the Book of Isaiah , as having been worshipped by a number of Hebrews during the babylonian captivity....
, the semitic deity of fortune, who, according to the Book of Isaiah
Book of Isaiah

The Book of Isaiah is a book of the Bible traditionally attributed to the Prophet Isaiah, who lived in the second half of the 8th century BC. In the first 39 chapters, Isaiah prophesies doom for a sinful Judah and for all the nations of the world that oppose God....
, was still worshipped by certain Hebrews during the 6th century BC.

In the Biblical account, Gad's mother is only a handmaid, rather than a wife of Jacob, which scholars see as indicating that the authors saw the tribe of Gad as being not of entirely Israelite origin; many scholars believe that Gad was a late addition to the Israelite confederation, as implied by the Moabite Stone, which seemingly differentiates between the Israelites and the tribe of Gad, and the books of Samuel
Books of Samuel

The Books of Samuel are part of the Tanakh and also of the Christianity Old Testament. The work was originally written in Hebrew language, and the Book of Samuel originally formed a single text, as they are often considered today in Hebrew bibles....
 and of Kings
Books of Kings

The Books of Kings are a part of Judaism's Tanakh, the Hebrew Bible. They were originally written in Hebrew language and were later included by Christianity as part of the Old Testament....
, which appear to portray Gad as an enemy of Israel.






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Gad was, according to the Book of Genesis, the first son of Jacob
Jacob

According to the Hebrew Bible, Jacob , also known as Israel , was the third Biblical patriarchs and the ancestor of the twelve Israelites....
 and Zilpah
Zilpah

In the Book of Genesis, Zilpah is Leah's handmaid and the second concubine of Jacob and the mother of Gad and Asher.Zilpah is given to Leah as a handmaid by Leah's father, Laban , upon Leah's marriage to Jacob ....
, the seventh of Jacob overall, and the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Gad
Tribe of Gad

The Tribe of Gad was one of the Israelites. At its height, Gad occupied a region to the east of the River Jordan, though the exact location is ambiguous; among the cities mentioned by the Bible as having at some point been part of Gad were Ramoth, Jaezer, Aroer, and Dibon, though some of these are marked elsewhere as belonging to Tribe of Re...
; however some Biblical scholars
Biblical criticism

Biblical criticism is "the study and investigation of biblical writings that seeks to make discerning and discriminating judgments about these writings." It asks when and where a particular text originated; how, why, by whom, for whom, and in what circumstances it was produced; what influences were at work in its production; what sources we...
 view this as postdiction, an eponym
Eponym

An eponym is a person, whether real or fictitious, after whom a particular toponym, ethnonym, regnal year, discovery, or other item is named or thought to be named....
ous metaphor
Metaphor

Metaphor is language that directly compares seemingly unrelated subjects. It is a figure of speech that compares two or more things without using the words "like" or "as." More generally, a metaphor describes a first subject as being or equal to a second object in some way....
 providing an aetiology of the connectedness of the tribe to others in the Israelite confederation. The text of the Torah
Torah

The term "Torah" , or Five Books of Moses or Pentateuch, refers to the entirety of Judaism's founding Halakha and ethical religious texts....
 argues that the name of Gad means luck/fortunate, in Hebrew
Hebrew language

Hebrew is a Semitic languages of the Afro-Asiatic languages. Modern Hebrew is spoken by more than seven million people in Israel and Classical Hebrew is used for prayer or study in Jews communities around the world....
, deriving from a root meaning cut/divide, in the sense of divided out; classical rabbinical literature argues that the name was a prophetic reference to the manna
Manna

Manna , sometimes or archaically spelt mana, is the name of a food which, according to the Bible, was eaten by the Israelites during their travels in the desert....
; some Biblical scholars
Biblical criticism

Biblical criticism is "the study and investigation of biblical writings that seeks to make discerning and discriminating judgments about these writings." It asks when and where a particular text originated; how, why, by whom, for whom, and in what circumstances it was produced; what influences were at work in its production; what sources we...
 suspect that refers to a deity originally worshipped by the tribe, namely Gad
Gad (deity)

Gad was the name of the pan-Semitic deity of fortune, and is attested in ancient records of Aram and Arabia. Gad is also mentioned by the Book of Isaiah , as having been worshipped by a number of Hebrews during the babylonian captivity....
, the semitic deity of fortune, who, according to the Book of Isaiah
Book of Isaiah

The Book of Isaiah is a book of the Bible traditionally attributed to the Prophet Isaiah, who lived in the second half of the 8th century BC. In the first 39 chapters, Isaiah prophesies doom for a sinful Judah and for all the nations of the world that oppose God....
, was still worshipped by certain Hebrews during the 6th century BC.

In the Biblical account, Gad's mother is only a handmaid, rather than a wife of Jacob, which scholars see as indicating that the authors saw the tribe of Gad as being not of entirely Israelite origin; many scholars believe that Gad was a late addition to the Israelite confederation, as implied by the Moabite Stone, which seemingly differentiates between the Israelites and the tribe of Gad, and the books of Samuel
Books of Samuel

The Books of Samuel are part of the Tanakh and also of the Christianity Old Testament. The work was originally written in Hebrew language, and the Book of Samuel originally formed a single text, as they are often considered today in Hebrew bibles....
 and of Kings
Books of Kings

The Books of Kings are a part of Judaism's Tanakh, the Hebrew Bible. They were originally written in Hebrew language and were later included by Christianity as part of the Old Testament....
, which appear to portray Gad as an enemy of Israel. Gad appears to have originally been a northwards-migrating nomad
Nomad

Nomadic people, , also known as nomads, are communities of people who move from one place to another, rather than Settler in one location....
ic tribe, at a time when the other tribes were quite settled in Canaan.

According to classical rabbinical literature, Gad was born on the tenth of Heshwan, and lived 125 years. These sources go on to state that, unlike his other brothers, Joseph didn't present Gad to the Pharaoh
Pharaoh

Pharaoh is a title used in many modern discussions of the ancient Egyptian rulers of all periods. In antiquity this title began to be used for the ruler who was the religious and political leader of united ancient Egypt, only during the New Kingdom, specifically, during the middle of the Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt....
, since Joseph didn't want Gad to become one of Pharaoh's guards, an appointment that would have been likely had the Pharaoh realised that Gad had great strength.

See also

  • Tribe of Gad
    Tribe of Gad

    The Tribe of Gad was one of the Israelites. At its height, Gad occupied a region to the east of the River Jordan, though the exact location is ambiguous; among the cities mentioned by the Bible as having at some point been part of Gad were Ramoth, Jaezer, Aroer, and Dibon, though some of these are marked elsewhere as belonging to Tribe of Re...
  • Gad (deity)
    Gad (deity)

    Gad was the name of the pan-Semitic deity of fortune, and is attested in ancient records of Aram and Arabia. Gad is also mentioned by the Book of Isaiah , as having been worshipped by a number of Hebrews during the babylonian captivity....

Citations