Gilead
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From the Scriptures, "Gilead" means hill of testimony or mound of witness, (Gen. 31:21), a mountainous region east of the Jordan river. It is also referred to by the Aramaic name Yegar-Sahdutha, 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 Bashan, and on the south by Moab and Ammon (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." www.biblegateway.com
In the Bible, Gilead (גִּלְעָד "Heap/mass of testimony/witness", Standard Hebrew Gilʻad, Tiberian Hebrew Gilʻāḏ) is the name of three persons and two geographic places.
Specifically, it may refer to:
- A grandson of Manasseh, 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 Jephtha.
- "Gilead" mentioned in Book of Hosea may refer to Ramoth-Gilead, Jabesh-Gilead, or the whole region Gilead, treated below.
- The name Gilead (Arabic: جلعاد Ǧalʻād) 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. 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 Jacob and Laban (Gen. 31:21-22). After king Sihon was defeated, the Tribe of Reuben, Tribe of Gad, and half the Tribe of Manasseh were assigned to the area. Ammon and Moab sometimes expanded to include southern Gilead. King David fled to Mahanaim in Gilead during the rebellion of Absalom. Gilead is later mentioned as the homeplace of the prophet Elijah. King Tiglath-pileser III of Assyria says he established the province of Gal'azu (Gilead).
- Within the Messianic Movement, specifically in the context of Isarlaism, the term is loosely applied to non-Jewish/non-Gentile believers who do not directly associate themselves with Ephraim or Judah. Gilead generally appears as Gilghad, a Modern Aramaic pronunciation, when used by individuals who are associated with it.
The balm or balsam linked with Gilead in the book of Jeremiah was probably balsam of Mecca; the resin now marketed as balm of Gilead has a different origin.
