Gilead or Gilad (, ; Gilʿāḏ, , Jalʻād) is the ancient, historic, biblical name of the mountainous northern part of the region of Transjordan, present-day Jordan. The region is bounded in the west by the Jordan River, in the north by the deep ravine of the river Yarmouk and the region of Bashan, and in the southwest by what were known during antiquity as the "plains of Moab", with no definite boundary to the east. In some cases, "Gilead" is used in the Bible to refer to all the region east of the Jordan River. Gilead is situated in modern-day Jordan, corresponding roughly to the Irbid, Ajloun, Jerash and Balqa Governorates.
Etymology
Gilead is explained in the Hebrew Bible as derived from the Hebrew words , which in turn comes from ('heap, mound, hill') and ('witness, testimony'). If that is the case, Gilead means 'heap [of stones] of testimony'. There is also an alternative theory that it means 'rocky region'.
From its mountainous character, it is called the Mount of Gilead (; ). It is called also the Land of Gilead (, ) in many translations, and sometimes simply Gilead (; ; ), also mentioned in .
History
Hebrew Bible
The name Gilead first appears in the biblical account of the last meeting of Jacob and Laban (). In Book of Genesis, Gilead was also referred to by the Aramaic name Yegar-Sahadutha, which carries the same meaning as the Hebrew Gilead, namely "heap [of stones] of testimony" ().
Arabic
Gilead (, Ǧalʻād or Jalaad) is an Arabic term used to refer to the mountainous land extending north and south of Jabbok. It was used more generally for the entire region east of the Jordan River. It corresponds today to the northwestern part of the Kingdom of Jordan. The region appears in the ancient Safaitic inscriptions.
See also
- Balm of Gilead
- Machir
- Machir (tribal group)
- Shibboleth
- Tribe of Manasseh
- Perea
- Balqa
- Republic of Gilead