From the Scriptures, "
Gilead" means
hill of testimony or
mound of witness, (Genesis 31:21), a mountainous region east of the
Jordan RiverThe Jordan River or River Jordan is a river in Southwest Asia which flows into the Dead Sea. It is considered to be one of the world's most sacred rivers...
, situated in the present-day Kingdom of
JordanJordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in Western Asia spanning the southern part of the Syrian Desert down to the Gulf of Aqaba. Jordan shares borders with Syria to the north, Iraq to the northeast, Saudi Arabia to the east and south, the Gulf of Aqaba to the southwest,...
. It is also referred to by the Aramaic name
Yegar-Sahadutha, which carries the same meaning as the Hebrew (Gen. 31:47). From its mountainous character it is called "the mount of Gilead" (Gen. 31:25).
From the Scriptures, "
Gilead" means
hill of testimony or
mound of witness, (Genesis 31:21), a mountainous region east of the
Jordan RiverThe Jordan River or River Jordan is a river in Southwest Asia which flows into the Dead Sea. It is considered to be one of the world's most sacred rivers...
, situated in the present-day Kingdom of
JordanJordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in Western Asia spanning the southern part of the Syrian Desert down to the Gulf of Aqaba. Jordan shares borders with Syria to the north, Iraq to the northeast, Saudi Arabia to the east and south, the Gulf of Aqaba to the southwest,...
. It is also referred to by the Aramaic name
Yegar-Sahadutha, which carries the same meaning as the Hebrew (Gen. 31:47). From its mountainous character it is called "the mount of Gilead" (Gen. 31:25). It is called also "the land of Gilead" (Num. 32:1), and sometimes simply "Gilead" (Ps. 60:7; Gen. 37:25). As a whole, it included the tribal territories of Gad, Reuben, and the eastern half of Manasseh (Deut. 3:13; Num. 32:40). It was bounded on the north by
BashanBashan or Basan is a biblical place first mentioned in , where it is said that Chedorlaomer and his confederates "smote the Rephaim in Ashteroth," where Og the king of Bashan had his residence. At the time of Israel's entrance into the Promised Land, Og came out against them, but was utterly routed...
, and on the south by
MoabMoab is the historical name for a mountainous strip of land in modern-day Jordan running along the eastern shore of the Dead Sea. In ancient times, it was home to the kingdom of the Moabites, a people often in conflict with their Israelite neighbors to the west...
and
AmmonThe Ammon or Ammonites was a kingdom described in the Bible, said to occupy an area east of the Jordan river, Gilead and the Dead Sea....
(Gen. 31:21; Deut. 3:12-17). "Half Gilead" was possessed by Sihon, and the other half, separated from it by the river Jabbok, by Og, king of Bashan. The deep ravine of the river Hieromax (the modern Sheriat el-Mandhur) separated Bashan from Gilead, which was about 60 miles in length and 20 in breadth, extending from near the south end of the Lake of Gennesaret to the north end of the Dead Sea. Abarim, Pisgah, Nebo, and Peor are its mountains mentioned in Scripture.
In the
BibleThe Bible contains the central religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. Modern Judaism generally recognizes a single set of canonical books known as the Tanakh, or Hebrew Bible, as it is written almost entirely in the Hebrew language, with some small portions in Aramaic...
,
Gilead or
Galaad is the name of three persons and two geographic places. Gilead is divided among the tribes of
GadGad may refer to:In religion:*Gad , the founder of the tribe of Gad and seventh son of Jacob*Tribe of Gad, a tribe of the ancient Kingdom of Israel*Gad , King David's seer or prophet...
and Mannaseh.
Specifically, it may refer to:
- A grandson of Manasseh
Manasseh may refer to:*Manasseh, a son of Joseph, according to the Torah*the Tribe of Manasseh, an Israelite tribe*Manasseh of Judah, a king of the kingdom of Judah....
, ancestor of the Iezerites and Helekites. (1 Chronicles 2: 21-23)
- A person in the Gadite genealogies. (1 Chronicles 5:11-14)
- The father of Jephthah.
- "Gilead" mentioned in Book of Hosea
The Book of Hosea is one of the books of the Hebrew Bible and of the Christian Old Testament. It stands first in order among what are known as the twelve Minor Prophets.-Author:...
may refer to Ramoth-GileadRamoth-Gilead, , is a city of refuge east of the Jordan river; called "Ramoth in Gilead"...
, Jabesh-GileadJabesh-Gilead is an ancient town referred to in four books of the Old Testament. Some biblical scholars believe it to have been located east of the Jordan River, in the vicinity of Wadi Yabes....
, or the whole region Gilead, treated below.
- In Hebrew, Gilead can also mean a memorial site, and is used to name boys, while "Gil" equals joy in Hebrew and "ad" means forever or eternity.
- The name Gilead is used in strict sense of the mountainous land extending north and south of Jabbok. It is used more generally for all the region east of the Jordan River
The Jordan River or River Jordan is a river in Southwest Asia which flows into the Dead Sea. It is considered to be one of the world's most sacred rivers...
. It corresponds today to the northwestern part of the Kingdom of Jordan. The name Gilead first appears in the biblical account of the last meeting of JacobJacob , also known as Israel , was the third Biblical patriarch and ancestor of the twelve tribes of Israel, named after ten of his twelve sons, as well as the two sons of his son Joseph.The Bible says...
and LabanLaban is the son of Bethuel, brother of Rebecca and the father of Leah and Rachel as described in the Book of Genesis. As such he is brother-in-law to Isaac and twice the father-in-law to Jacob...
(Gen. 31:21-22). After king SihonSihon, according to the Old Testament, was an Amorite king, who refused to let the Israelites pass through his country. The Bible describes that as the Israelites in their Exodus came to the country east of the Jordan, near Heshbon, King of the Amorites refused to let them pass through his...
was defeated, the Tribe of ReubenAccording to the Hebrew Bible, the Tribe of Reuben was one of the twelve Tribes of Israel.Following the completion of the conquest of Canaan by the Israelite tribes after about 1200 BCE, Joshua allocated the land among the twelve tribes...
, Tribe of GadAccording to the Hebrew Bible, the Tribe of Gad was one of the twelve Tribes of Israel.Following the completion of the conquest of Canaan by the Israelite tribes after about 1200 BCE, Joshua allocated the land among the twelve tribes. The Tribe of Gad was allocated a region to the east of the...
, and half the Tribe of ManassehAccording to the Hebrew Bible, the Tribe of Mannaseh "who makes to forget") was one of the twelve Tribes of Israel. Together with the Tribe of Ephraim, Mannaseh also formed the House of Joseph....
were assigned to the area. AmmonThe Ammon or Ammonites was a kingdom described in the Bible, said to occupy an area east of the Jordan river, Gilead and the Dead Sea....
and MoabMoab is the historical name for a mountainous strip of land in modern-day Jordan running along the eastern shore of the Dead Sea. In ancient times, it was home to the kingdom of the Moabites, a people often in conflict with their Israelite neighbors to the west...
sometimes expanded to include southern Gilead. King David fled to MahanaimMahanaim is a place near Jabbok, beyond the Jordan River, mentioned a number of times by the Bible. The precise location of Mahanaim is very uncertain, the Biblical data being inconclusive. Although two possible sites have been identified, the one most widely accepted lies about ten miles east of...
in Gilead during the rebellion of AbsalomAbsalom or Avshalom was the third son of David, king of Israel with Maachah, daughter of Talmai, king of Geshur. describes him as the most handsome man in the kingdom...
. Gilead is later mentioned as the homeplace of the prophet Elijah. King Tiglath-pileser III of AssyriaAssyria was a civilization centered on the Upper Tigris river, in Mesopotamia , that came to rule regional empires a number of times in history. It was named for its original capital, the ancient city of Assur...
says he established the province of Gal'azu (Gilead).