Biblical Geography

Gilead

Region · Old Testament

Scripture first

Genesis 31:47-49 · WEBU

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Jacob and Laban raise the heap of witness in Gilead, a boundary .

Gilead was Israel's frontier east of the Jordan, settled by Reuben, Gad and half of Manasseh, and forever raided by Ammon and Aram. Its fighters were famous; its balm was a byword for healing.

The wooded highlands east of the Jordan, between the Yarmuk and the Arnon, home of Jephthah and Elijah.

Biblical names
Gilead

Identification note. Ancient Gilead lay in the highlands of modern Jordan, east of the Jordan valley.

Gilead's highlands are cut by deep gorges, the Jabbok among them, making it defensible country and natural borderland between Israel and the eastern peoples.

  • Jacob and Laban raise the heap of witness in Gilead, a boundary covenant.
  • Jephthah of Gilead defeats Ammon
  • Elijah the Tishbite, of the settlers of Gilead
  • Is there no balm in Gilead?

What we know

Certain

  • Scripture consistently places Gilead east of the Jordan between Bashan and Moab.

Disputed

  • The precise boundaries of Gilead shift between biblical passages and are debated.