Gilead
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In the Bible, Gilead (גִּלְעָד "Heap/mass of testimony/witness", Standard Hebrew Gilʿad, Tiberian Hebrew Gilʿāḏ) 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 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 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).