Reference: Gilead
Easton
hill of testimony, (Ge 31:21), a mountainous region east of Jordan. From its mountainous character it is called "the mount of Gilead" (Ge 31:25). It is called also "the land of Gilead" (Nu 32:1), and sometimes simply "Gilead" (Ps 60:7; Ge 37:25). It comprised the possessions of the tribes of Gad and Reuben and the south part of Manasseh (De 3:13; Nu 32:40). It was bounded on the north by Bashan, and on the south by Moab and Ammon (Ge 31:21; De 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.
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So he went away with all he had, and went across the River in the direction of the hill-country of Gilead.
So he went away with all he had, and went across the River in the direction of the hill-country of Gilead.
Now when Laban overtook him, Jacob had put up his tent in the hill-country; and Laban and his brothers put up their tents in the hill-country of Gilead.
Then seating themselves, they took their meal: and looking up, they saw a travelling band of Ishmaelites, coming from Gilead on their way to Egypt, with spices and perfumes on their camels.
Now the children of Reuben and the children of Gad had a great number of cattle: and when they saw that the land of Jazer and the land of Gilead was a good place for cattle;
And Moses gave Gilead to Machir, the son of Manasseh; and he made it his living-place.
And this land which we took at that time, from Aroer by the valley of the Arnon, and half the hill-country of Gilead with its towns, I gave to the Reubenites and the Gadites. The rest of Gilead and all Bashan, the kingdom of Og, all the land of Argob, together with Bashan, I gave to the half-tribe of Manasseh. (This land is named the land of the Rephaim.
The rest of Gilead and all Bashan, the kingdom of Og, all the land of Argob, together with Bashan, I gave to the half-tribe of Manasseh. (This land is named the land of the Rephaim. Jair, the son of Manasseh, took all the land of Argob, as far as the country of the Geshurites and the Maacathites, naming it, Bashan, Havvoth-Jair after himself, as it is to this day.) read more. And Gilead I gave to Machir. And the land from Gilead to the valley of the Arnon, with the middle of the valley as a limit, as far as the river Jabbok which is the limit of the country of the children of Ammon, I gave to the Reubenites and the Gadites; As well as the Arabah, with the river Jordan as their limit, from Chinnereth to the Salt Sea, under the slopes of Pisgah to the east.
Moab is my washpot; over Edom will I put out my shoe; over Philistia will a glad cry be sounded.
Fausets
("a hard rocky region".) The mountainous range and the region E. of Jordan are meant by "mount Gilead," not some one mountain. Bashan ("soft level soil"), a fertile plateau, bounds it on the N.; the Arabian table land on the E.; Moab and Ammon on the S. (De 3:12-17); Jordan on the W.; Hieromax river (now Sheriat'el Mandhur) divides it from Bashan. The Jabbok divided Og's northern half of Gilead (now Jebel Ajlun) from Sihon's southern half (now Belka.). The valley of Heshbon was probably Gilead's southern bound. Mishor, "a table land," is used to denote the plateau S. and E. of Gilead. Thus Bezer was in the country of the Mishor ("plain country," KJV De 4:43), the smooth downs of Moab contrasting with the higher districts of Bashan northwards and the rugged country W. of the Jordan.
One prominent peak is still called Jebel Jil'ad, "mount Gilead," the probable site of Ramath Mizpeh (Jos 13:26), and the "Mizpeh of Gilead" from whence Jephthah passed over to Ammon (Jg 11:29), an admirable place for assembling forces for war. Es-Salt, a town close by, is on the site of "Ramoth Gilead," the city of refuge in Gad. The mountains of Gilead, 2,000 or 3,000 ft. high, appear still more elevated from the W. owing to the depression of the Jordan valley 1,000 ft., and resemble a massive wall along the horizon; but when ascended they present a" wide table land tossed about in wild confusion of undulating downs, clothed with rich grass and magnificent forests, and broken by three deep defiles, those of the Jarmuk, Jabbok, and Arnon" (Stanley, Sinai and Palestine)
The high Arabian plateau makes them look low from the E. Pasturage abounds in Gilead more than in western Palestine, from whence Reuben and Gad chose it for their numerous flocks and herds (Numbers 32). The physical nature of the country affected the character of its people, who ever retained nomadic pastoral habits. Gad, which lay S. and W. by Jordan, stretching N. as far as the sea of Galilee.) (See GAD.) Manasseh lay N. and E., and stretched S. to Mahanaim. Gilead's isolation kept its people in the background in Israel's history. Its aromatic spices and balm were exported to Egypt (Ge 37:25; Jer 8:22). Chedorlaomer attacked the giant Zuzim in Ham, i.e. probably Gilead; having first attacked the Rephaim in Ashteroth Karnaim, now the Hauran, afterward the Emim in Shaveh Kiriathaim, the country subsequently of Moab. In Gilead Saul's son at Mahanaim tried to gain his father's throne (2Sa 2:8-9).
Here David found shelter and hospitality while fleeing from Absalom (2Sa 17:22,27-29). Elijah the Tishbite was of Gilead, and in garb, abruptness, and active energy reflected his country's characteristics. Being a border land, it was exposed to the marauding tribes of the desert (Jos 17:1), and Ramoth Gilead was thought the eastern key of Palestine (1Ki 22:3-6). (See RAMOTH GILEAD.) Twice our Lord withdrew to the trans-jordanic hills: after His baptism; again just before His last stay at Jerusalem (Joh 10:39-40). At Pella in the same region the disciples found the refuge from the siege of Jerusalem which their Lord had told them of beforehand; Cestius Gallus having providentially retired, and so given them the opportunity of fleeing (Mt 24:15-16).
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Then seating themselves, they took their meal: and looking up, they saw a travelling band of Ishmaelites, coming from Gilead on their way to Egypt, with spices and perfumes on their camels.
And this land which we took at that time, from Aroer by the valley of the Arnon, and half the hill-country of Gilead with its towns, I gave to the Reubenites and the Gadites. The rest of Gilead and all Bashan, the kingdom of Og, all the land of Argob, together with Bashan, I gave to the half-tribe of Manasseh. (This land is named the land of the Rephaim. read more. Jair, the son of Manasseh, took all the land of Argob, as far as the country of the Geshurites and the Maacathites, naming it, Bashan, Havvoth-Jair after himself, as it is to this day.) And Gilead I gave to Machir. And the land from Gilead to the valley of the Arnon, with the middle of the valley as a limit, as far as the river Jabbok which is the limit of the country of the children of Ammon, I gave to the Reubenites and the Gadites; As well as the Arabah, with the river Jordan as their limit, from Chinnereth to the Salt Sea, under the slopes of Pisgah to the east.
The names of the towns were Bezer in the waste land, in the table-land, for the Reubenites; and Ramoth in Gilead for the Gadites; and Golan in Bashan for Manasseh.
And from Heshbon to Ramath-mizpeh, and Betonim; and from Mahanaim to the edge of Debir;
And this was the part marked out for the tribe of Manasseh, because he was the oldest son of Joseph. As for Machir, the oldest son of Manasseh, the father of Gilead, because he was a man of war he had Gilead and Bashan.
Then the spirit of the Lord came on Jephthah, and he went through Gilead and Manasseh, and came to Mizpeh of Gilead; and from Mizpeh of Gilead he went over to the children of Ammon.
Now Abner, the son of Ner, captain of Saul's army, had taken Saul's son Ish-bosheth over to Mahanaim, And made him king over Gilead and the Asherites and over Jezreel and Ephraim and Benjamin, that is, over all Israel.
So David and all the people who were with him went up over Jordan: when dawn came, every one of them had gone over Jordan.
Now when David had come to Mahanaim, Shobi, the son of Nahash of Rabbah, the Ammonite, and Machir, the son of Ammiel of Lo-debar, and Barzillai the Gileadite of Rogelim, Came with beds and basins and pots, and grain and meal, and all sorts of dry foods, read more. And honey and butter and sheep and milk-cheeses, for David and his people: for they said, This people is in the waste land, needing food and drink and rest.
And the king of Israel said to his servants, Do you not see that Ramoth-gilead is ours? and we are doing nothing to get it back from the hands of the king of Aram. And he said to Jehoshaphat, Will you go with me to Ramoth-gilead to make war? And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, I am as you are: my people as your people, my horses as your horses. read more. Then Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, Let us now get directions from the Lord. So the king of Israel got all the prophets together, about four hundred men, and said to them, Am I to go to Ramoth-gilead to make war or not? And they said, Go up: for the Lord will give it into the hands of the king.
Is there no life-giving oil in Gilead? is there no expert in medical arts? why then have my people not been made well?
When, then, you see in the holy place the unclean thing which makes destruction, of which word was given by Daniel the prophet (let this be clear to the reader), Then let those who are in Judaea go in flight to the mountains:
Then again they made an attempt to take him; but he got away from them. And he went again to the other side of the Jordan, to the place where John first gave baptism; and he was there for a time.
Hastings
1. A person (or personified sept), son of the Manassite Machir (Nu 26:29; 1Ch 2:21), and grandfather of Zelophehad (Nu 27:1). See No. 4 below. 2. A Gadite, son of Michael (1Ch 5:14). 3. A mountain mentioned in Jg 7:3 in an order of Gideon's to his followers, 'Whosoever is fearful
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Then seating themselves, they took their meal: and looking up, they saw a travelling band of Ishmaelites, coming from Gilead on their way to Egypt, with spices and perfumes on their camels.
The sons of Manasseh: of Machir, the family of the Machirites: and Machir was the father of Gilead: of Gilead, the family of the Gileadites.
Then the daughters of Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, of the families of Manasseh, the son of Joseph, came forward: their names are Mahlah, Noah, and Hoglah, and Milcah, and Tirzah.
And Jair, the son of Manasseh, went and took the towns of Gilead, naming them Havvoth-Jair.
Gilead was living over Jordan; and Dan was waiting in his ships; Asher kept in his place by the sea's edge, living by his inlets.
So now, let it be given out to the people that anyone who is shaking with fear is to go back from Mount Galud. So twenty-two thousand of the people went back, but there were still ten thousand.
For the women to go year by year sorrowing for the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite, four days in every year.
Then all the children of Israel took up arms, and the people came together like one man, from Dan to Beer-sheba, and the land of Gilead, before the Lord at Mizpah.
And a great number of the people had gone over Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead; but Saul was still in Gilgal, and all the people went after him shaking in fear.
And made him king over Gilead and the Asherites and over Jezreel and Ephraim and Benjamin, that is, over all Israel.
Now when David had come to Mahanaim, Shobi, the son of Nahash of Rabbah, the Ammonite, and Machir, the son of Ammiel of Lo-debar, and Barzillai the Gileadite of Rogelim,
And Barzillai the Gileadite came down from Rogelim; and he went on as far as Jordan with the king to take him across Jordan.
Then they came to Gilead, and to the land of the Hittites under Hermon; and they came to Dan, and from Dan they came round to Zidon,
... the son of Geber in Ramoth-gilead; he had the towns of Jair, the son of Manasseh, which are in Gilead, and the country of Argob, which is in Bashan, sixty great towns with walls and locks of brass.
And Elijah the Tishbite, of Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, By the living Lord, the God of Israel, whose servant I am, there will be no dew or rain in these years, but only at my word.
East of Jordan, in all the land of Gilead, the Gadites and the Reubenites and the Manassites, from Aroer by the valley of the Arnon, all Gilead and Bashan.
And Pekah, the son of Remaliah, his captain, made a secret design against him, attacking him in the king's great house in Samaria; and with him were fifty men of Gilead; and he put him to death and became king in his place.
In the days of Pekah, king of Israel, Tiglath-pileser, king of Assyria, came and took Ijon and Abel-beth-maacah and Janoah and Kedesh and Hazor and Gilead and Galilee and all the land of Naphtali; and he took the people away to Assyria.
These were the sons of Abihail, the son of Huri, the son of Jaroah, the son of Gilead, the son of Michael, the son of Jeshishai, the son of Jahdo, the son of Buz;
And of the children of the priests: the children of Habaiah, the children of Hakkoz, the children of Barzillai, who was married to one of the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite, and took their name.
And of the priests: the children of Hobaiah, the children of Hakkoz, the children of Barzillai, who was married to one of the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite, and took their name.
Till the evening comes, and the sky slowly becomes dark, I will go to the mountain of myrrh, and to the hill of frankincense.
Let your eyes be turned away from me; see, they have overcome me; your hair is as a flock of goats which take their rest on the side of Gilead.
Is there no life-giving oil in Gilead? is there no expert in medical arts? why then have my people not been made well?
Go up to Gilead and take sweet oil, O virgin daughter of Egypt: there is no help in all your medical arts; nothing will make you well.
Gilead is a town of evil-doers, marked with blood.
In Gilead there is evil. They are quite without value; in Gilgal they make offerings of oxen; truly their altars are like masses of stones in the hollows of a ploughed field.
These are the words of the Lord: For three crimes of Damascus, and for four, I will not let its fate be changed; because they have been crushing Gilead with iron grain-crushing instruments.
These are the words of the Lord: For three crimes of the children of Ammon, and for four, I will not let its fate be changed; because in Gilead they had women with child cut open, so that they might make wider the limits of their land.
Morish
Gilead. Gil'ead
The district on the east of the Jordan, extending from the river Yarmouk, a little south of the Sea of Galilee, to the north corner of the Dead Sea. It fell to the lot of Gad, except its northern part, which, where it joined Bashan, was possessed by Manasseh. It is a mountainous district, which accounts for some part of it being called 'the mount of Gilead' in Ge 31:21-25. Some of the mountains are 2,000 to 3,500 feet high, but from the west they look much higher because of the depression of the Jordan valley. Pasturage abounds in Gilead, and accounts for Gad and the others choosing it for their cattle. The district is divided into north and south by the river Jabbok (Zerka). The northern part is cultivated and has numerous villages; but the southern is mostly held by nomadic tribes, with but little cultivation, and having but one inhabited town now, called es Salt, 32 2' N, 35 42' E.
In the days of Ahab Ramoth-gilead was in possession of the Syrians, which was followed by all Gilead and Moab falling into their hands. 1Ki 22:3; 2Ki 10:32-33. This was followed by Tiglath-pileser conquering the region, and carrying the Israelites into captivity. 2Ki 15:29; 1Ch 5:26. In the restoration of Israel their border eastward will extend to Damascus and Gilead. Eze 47:18. This ancient possession will thus be brought into blessing. The Ishmaelites who bought Joseph were travelling with balm and myrrh from Gilead. Ge 37:25. The balm of Gilead was proverbial for its healing virtues. Jer 8:22; 46:11.
Gilead. Gil'ead
1. Son of Machir and grandson of Manasseh. Nu 26:29-30; 27:1; 36:1; Jos 17:1,3; 1Ch 2:21,23; 7:14,17.
2. Father of Jephthah. Jg 11:1-2.
3. Son of Michael of the family of Gad. 1Ch 5:14.
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So he went away with all he had, and went across the River in the direction of the hill-country of Gilead. And on the third day Laban had news of Jacob's flight. read more. And taking the men of his family with him, he went after him for seven days and overtook him in the hill-country of Gilead. Then God came to Laban in a dream by night, and said to him, Take care that you say nothing good or bad to Jacob. Now when Laban overtook him, Jacob had put up his tent in the hill-country; and Laban and his brothers put up their tents in the hill-country of Gilead.
Then seating themselves, they took their meal: and looking up, they saw a travelling band of Ishmaelites, coming from Gilead on their way to Egypt, with spices and perfumes on their camels.
The sons of Manasseh: of Machir, the family of the Machirites: and Machir was the father of Gilead: of Gilead, the family of the Gileadites. These are the sons of Gilead: of Iezer, the family of the Iezerites: of Helek, the family of the Helekites:
Then the daughters of Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, of the families of Manasseh, the son of Joseph, came forward: their names are Mahlah, Noah, and Hoglah, and Milcah, and Tirzah.
Now the heads of the families of the children of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, of the families of the sons of Joseph, came to Moses, the chiefs and the heads of families of the children of Israel being present,
And this was the part marked out for the tribe of Manasseh, because he was the oldest son of Joseph. As for Machir, the oldest son of Manasseh, the father of Gilead, because he was a man of war he had Gilead and Bashan.
But Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, had no sons, but only daughters; and these are the names of his daughters: Mahlah, and Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah.
Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a great man of war; he was the son of a loose woman, and Gilead was his father. And Gilead's wife gave birth to sons, and when her sons became men, they sent Jephthah away, saying, You have no part in the heritage of our father's house, for you are the son of another woman.
And the king of Israel said to his servants, Do you not see that Ramoth-gilead is ours? and we are doing nothing to get it back from the hands of the king of Aram.
In the days of Pekah, king of Israel, Tiglath-pileser, king of Assyria, came and took Ijon and Abel-beth-maacah and Janoah and Kedesh and Hazor and Gilead and Galilee and all the land of Naphtali; and he took the people away to Assyria.
These were the sons of Abihail, the son of Huri, the son of Jaroah, the son of Gilead, the son of Michael, the son of Jeshishai, the son of Jahdo, the son of Buz;
Is there no life-giving oil in Gilead? is there no expert in medical arts? why then have my people not been made well?
Go up to Gilead and take sweet oil, O virgin daughter of Egypt: there is no help in all your medical arts; nothing will make you well.
And the east side will be from Hazar-enon, which is between Hauran and Damascus; and between Gilead and the land of Israel the Jordan will be the limit, to the east sea, to Tamar. This is the east side.
Smith
Gil'e-ad
(rocky region).
1. A mountainous region bounded on the west by the Jordan, on the north by Bashan, on the east by the Arabian plateau, and on the south by Moab and Ammon.
Ge 31:21; De 3:12-17
It is sometimes called "Mount Gilead,"
sometimes "the land of Gilead,"
and sometimes simply "Gilead."
The name Gilead, as is usual in Palestine, describes the physical aspect of the country: it signifies "a hard rocky region." The mountains of Gilead, including Pisgah, Abarim and Peor, have a real elevation of from 2000 to 3000 feet; but their apparent elevation on the western side is much greater, owing to the depression of the Jordan valley, which averages about 3000 feet. Their outline is singularly uniform, resembling a massive wall running along the horizon. Gilead was specially noted for its balm collected from "balm of Gilead" trees, and worth twice its weight in silver.
2. Possibly the name of a mountain west of the Jordan, near Jezreel.
We are inclined, however, to think that the true reading in this place should be GILBOA.
See Gilboa
3. Son of Machir, grandson of Manasseh.
4. The father of Jephthah.
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So he went away with all he had, and went across the River in the direction of the hill-country of Gilead.
Now when Laban overtook him, Jacob had put up his tent in the hill-country; and Laban and his brothers put up their tents in the hill-country of Gilead.
Then seating themselves, they took their meal: and looking up, they saw a travelling band of Ishmaelites, coming from Gilead on their way to Egypt, with spices and perfumes on their camels.
The sons of Manasseh: of Machir, the family of the Machirites: and Machir was the father of Gilead: of Gilead, the family of the Gileadites. These are the sons of Gilead: of Iezer, the family of the Iezerites: of Helek, the family of the Helekites:
Now the children of Reuben and the children of Gad had a great number of cattle: and when they saw that the land of Jazer and the land of Gilead was a good place for cattle;
And this land which we took at that time, from Aroer by the valley of the Arnon, and half the hill-country of Gilead with its towns, I gave to the Reubenites and the Gadites. The rest of Gilead and all Bashan, the kingdom of Og, all the land of Argob, together with Bashan, I gave to the half-tribe of Manasseh. (This land is named the land of the Rephaim. read more. Jair, the son of Manasseh, took all the land of Argob, as far as the country of the Geshurites and the Maacathites, naming it, Bashan, Havvoth-Jair after himself, as it is to this day.) And Gilead I gave to Machir. And the land from Gilead to the valley of the Arnon, with the middle of the valley as a limit, as far as the river Jabbok which is the limit of the country of the children of Ammon, I gave to the Reubenites and the Gadites; As well as the Arabah, with the river Jordan as their limit, from Chinnereth to the Salt Sea, under the slopes of Pisgah to the east.
So now, let it be given out to the people that anyone who is shaking with fear is to go back from Mount Galud. So twenty-two thousand of the people went back, but there were still ten thousand.
Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a great man of war; he was the son of a loose woman, and Gilead was his father. And Gilead's wife gave birth to sons, and when her sons became men, they sent Jephthah away, saying, You have no part in the heritage of our father's house, for you are the son of another woman.
Moab is my washpot; over Edom will I put out my shoe; over Philistia will a glad cry be sounded.
Watsons
GILEAD, the name given to the monument erected by Laban and Jacob, in testimony of a mutual covenant and agreement, Ge 31:47-48. Hence the hill upon which it was erected, was called Mount Gilead, Song 4:1; 6:5; Jer 50:19. The mountains of Gilead were part of that ridge of mountains which extend from Mount Lebanon southward, on the east of the Holy land; they gave their name to the whole country which lies on the east of the sea of Galilee, and included the mountainous region called in the New Testament Trachonitis. The Scripture speaks of the balm of Gilead, Jer 8:22; 46:11; 51:8. The merchants who bought Joseph came from Gilead, and were carrying balm into Egypt, Ge 37:25. See BALM.
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And the name Laban gave it was Jegar-sahadutha: but Jacob gave it the name of Galeed. And Laban said, These stones are a witness between you and me today. For this reason its name was Galeed,
Then seating themselves, they took their meal: and looking up, they saw a travelling band of Ishmaelites, coming from Gilead on their way to Egypt, with spices and perfumes on their camels.
See, you are fair, my love, you are fair; you have the eyes of a dove; your hair is as a flock of goats, which take their rest on the side of Gilead.
Let your eyes be turned away from me; see, they have overcome me; your hair is as a flock of goats which take their rest on the side of Gilead.
Is there no life-giving oil in Gilead? is there no expert in medical arts? why then have my people not been made well?
Go up to Gilead and take sweet oil, O virgin daughter of Egypt: there is no help in all your medical arts; nothing will make you well.
And I will make Israel come back to his resting-place, and he will get his food on Carmel and Bashan, and have his desire in full measure on the hills of Ephraim and in Gilead.
Sudden is the downfall of Babylon and her destruction: make cries of grief for her; take sweet oil for her pain, if it is possible for her to be made well.