Gilead 580009 224082348 2008-07-07T06:06:20Z CanisRufus 91310 dab: The Dark Tower {{alternateuses}} [[Image:Hills of Gilead.jpg|right|thumb|250px|The hills of Gilead (current day Jalʻād), [[Jordan]]]] From the Scriptures, "'''Gilead'''" means ''hill of testimony'' or ''mound of witness'', ([[Genesis]] 31:21), a mountainous region east of the [[Jordan River]], situated in the present-day Kingdom of [[Jordan]]. 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. 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 [[Jephthah]]. * "Gilead" mentioned in [[Book of Hosea]] may refer to [[Ramoth-Gilead]], [[Jabesh-Gilead]], 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 ([[Arabic Language|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 (Bible)|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). ==References in modern culture== In ''[[The Handmaid's Tale]]'' by [[Margaret Atwood]], the [[Theocracy|theocratic]] totalitarian nation the story takes place in is called "The Republic of ''Gilead''", referencing its biblical connotations. The [[Old Testament]] (or [[Jewish Bible]]) repeatedly mentions a mythological or real "balm in Gilead" or "[[balm of Gilead]]", which lead to occasional references in Western culture, see [[Balsam of Mecca]]. In [[Stephen King]]'s ''[[The Dark Tower (series)|Dark Tower]]'' novels, the protagonist, [[Roland Deschain]], hails from a kingdom called Gilead, which was destroyed by agents of the [[Crimson King]]. In [[Edgar Allan Poe]]'s poem "[[The Raven]]," the speaker asks: "Is there balm in Gilead? Tell me truly I implore" of the spectral bird. ''[[Gilead (novel)|Gilead]]'' is also the title of the 2004 award winning novel (2005 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the National Book Critics Circle Award) by American writer [[Marilynne Robinson]]. The novel is a remarkable testimony - a Gilead. [[Category:Ammon]] [[Category:Moab]] [[Category:Hebrew Bible people]] [[Category:Hebrew Bible places]] [[Category:Tourism in Jordan]] [[Category:Geography of Jordan]] [[ca:Gilead]] [[de:Gilead]] [[he:הגלעד]] [[ru:Галаад (область)]] [[yi:גלעד]]