Gilead


"Hill of testimony, (Gen. 31:21), a mountainous region east of" "Jordan. 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). It comprised the possessions of the tribes of Gad and Reuben and the south part 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."

"The region of Gilead abounded in spices and aromatic gums, which" were exported to Egypt and Tyre (Gen. 37:25; Jer. 8:22; 46:11; "Ezek. 27:17). The word "balm" is a contracted form of "balsam," "a word derived from the Greek balsamon, which was adopted as the" "representative of the Hebrew words baal shemen, meaning "lord" "or "chief of oils." "The Hebrew name of this balm was tsori. The tree yielding this medicinal oil was probably the Balsamodendron opobalsamum of "botanists, and the Amyris opobalsamum of Linnaeus. It is an" "evergreen, rising to the height of about 14 feet. The oil or" "resin, exuding through an orifice made in its bark in very small" "quantities, is esteemed of great value for its supposed" medicinal qualities. (See [241]BALM.) It may be noted that "Coverdale's version reads in Jer. 8:22, "There is no triacle in" "Galaad." The word "triacle" = "treacle" is used in the sense of" ointment.


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Definition of Gilead:
"the heap or mass of testimony"

Related Bible Dictionary Terms:
Gilead Balm of