גִּלְעָד

From the study of Jeremiah 22:6

Range of meaning

The highland region east of the Jordan between the Yarmuk and the Arnon. It was known for oak forests (the 'forest of Ephraim' where Absalom died lay in this area), rich pasture (Num 32:1; Song 4:1) and balm (Gen 37:25; Jer 8:22; 46:11).

Against the English

English readers mostly know Gilead from the hymn 'balm in Gilead', or not at all. BSB, NIV and ESV add 'like', which turns a bold metaphor ('you are Gilead') into a simile.

Used elsewhere in the period

Jeremiah also pairs Gilead and Lebanon in 50:19 (Israel's restored pasture) and Zechariah 10:10 (land for returning exiles). Gilead was largely depopulated by the Assyrian king Tiglath-pileser III around 733 BC (2 Kgs 15:29).

From the study of 2 Kings 15:29

Range of meaning

The highland region east of the Jordan between the Yarmuk and the area north of the Dead Sea, divided between Gad and half of Manasseh. With the article ('the Gilead') it names the region as a whole, not one town.

Against the English

English drops the article, so readers can miss that the list has changed here from single cities to whole regions.

Used elsewhere in the period

Tiglath-pileser's summary inscription mentions Gal'aza (most likely Gilead) at the border of Israel. 1 Chronicles 5:26 says the same king deported 'the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh' (the Transjordanian tribes) to Halah, Habor, Hara and the river Gozan. Many historians, following Forrer's classic reconstruction, think Gilead became an Assyrian province, though this is debated.

From the study of Joshua 13:25

Range of meaning

A region name, and also a personal name in Manasseh's family tree (Num 26:29). As a region its extent varies: sometimes the highland north and south of the Jabbok, sometimes the whole of Israelite Transjordan (Deut 34:1; Josh 22:9). Folk etymology links it to gal'ed, "heap of witness" (Gen 31:47–48).

Against the English

English simply transliterates "Gilead." The question is how much land it covers. A reader who takes "all the cities of Gilead" in its widest sense will hit a contradiction with v. 31, where half of Gilead goes to Manasseh.

Used elsewhere in the period

Deut 3:12–16 divides Gilead: the southern half to Reuben and Gad, the rest to Manasseh. Josh 13:31 repeats this. Gad and Gilead are closely linked elsewhere too (Judg 5:17, "Gilead stayed beyond the Jordan"; 1 Sam 13:7, "the land of Gad and Gilead"). Outside the Bible, the Moabite Mesha Stele (9th century BCE) says "the men of Gad had dwelt in the land of Ataroth from of old," which confirms Gadites lived in this area.