Gad

"Fortune", "Luck." Jacob's seventh son, by Zilpah, Leah's handmaid, and the brother of Asher.1 The tribe of Gad during the march through the wilderness had their place with Simeon and Reuben on the south side of the tabernacle.2

The tribes of Reuben and Gad continued all through their history to follow the pastoral pursuits of the patriarchs.3 The portion allotted to the tribe of Gad was on the east of Jordan, and comprehended the half of Gilead, a region of great beauty and fertility,4 bounded on the east by the Arabian desert, on the west by the Jordan,5 and on the north by the river Jabbok. It thus included the whole of the Jordan valley as far north as to the Sea of Galilee, where it narrowed almost to a point.

This tribe was fierce and warlike; they were "strong men of might, men of war for the battle, that could handle shield and buckler, their faces the faces of lions, and like roes upon the mountains for swiftness."6 Barzillai7 and Elijah8 were of this tribe. It was carried into captivity at the same time as the other tribes of the northern kingdom by Tiglath-pileser,9 and in the time of Jeremiah10 their cities were inhabited by the Ammonites.

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References

Notes

  1. Gen. 30:11-13; 46:16, 18.
  2. Num. 2:14.
  3. Num. 32:1-5.
  4. Deut. 3:12.
  5. Josh. 13:27.
  6. 1 Chr. 12:8; 5:19-22.
  7. 2 Sam. 17:27.
  8. 1 Kings 17:1.
  9. 1 Chr. 5:26.
  10. 49:1.

Source

  • Easton, M.G. (1897). Easton's Bible Dictionary. New York: Harper & Brothers.

This article incorporates text from Easton’s Bible Dictionary (1897) by M.G. Easton, which is in the public domain.