Gilead

Gilead in the Bible

• Jacob and Laban: As Jacob fled from Laban, he was overtaken at Mount Gilead. The two men heaped up a pile of stones and made a covenant there, and Jacob called the heap "Galeed" (Genesis 31:21–48).
• Joseph: The Ishmaelite traders who bought Joseph were coming from Gilead on their way down to Egypt, "bearing spicery and balm and myrrh" (Genesis 37:25).
• Allotment of the land: The tribes of Reuben and Gad asked for the land east of the Jordan because it was well suited for raising livestock. Moses gave Gilead to Machir, the son of Manasseh (Numbers 32).
• Period of the judges: Jephthah the Gileadite defeated Ammon. Later, in the conflict with Ephraim, the Gileadites identified Ephraimites at the fords of the Jordan by how they pronounced the word "Shibboleth" (Judges 11–12).
• Period of the monarchy: Saul rescued Jabesh-gilead from the Ammonites (1 Samuel 11). Elijah is introduced as "the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead" (1 Kings 17:1). Ahab died in battle at Ramoth-gilead (1 Kings 22), and Jehu was anointed at the same place (2 Kings 9).
• Fall: Tiglath-pileser, king of Assyria, captured Gilead and carried its people away captive (2 Kings 15:29).

Geography and Background

Gilead refers to the hill country and plateau east of the Jordan River. It is said to have had abundant forests and pastureland. Its exact extent varies by text and period. In a narrow sense the name refers to the area around the Jabbok River; in a broader sense it can designate all Israelite territory east of the Jordan. The original meaning of the word is uncertain. Genesis 31 connects the name, through wordplay, with "Galeed" ("heap of witness"). Gilead also appears as a personal name: it is the name of the son of Machir (Numbers 26:29) and of Jephthah's father (Judges 11:1).

Significance Across Scripture

Gilead serves as a symbol of abundance and beauty (Song of Solomon 4:1; Micah 7:14). Hosea, however, rebuked it: "Gilead is a city of them that work iniquity" (Hosea 6:8). The best-known verse is Jeremiah 8:22: "Is there no balm in Gilead; is there no physician there?" The question is a lament that the people remain unhealed. The name Gilead does not appear in the New Testament, although part of the region is known to have been called by names such as the Decapolis in New Testament times.

Interpretation and Debated Points

It is not known precisely which plant produced the resin called the "balm of Gilead" (Hebrew tsori). Christians have long read Jeremiah's question as pointing to the healing and comfort of Christ; the African American spiritual "There Is a Balm in Gilead" is a prominent example. This, however, is a later application; the Jeremiah passage itself laments Judah's unrepentant condition.

In the Korean Church

In Korean churches, Jeremiah 8:22 is cited as a sermon text on wounds and healing, and Gilead is also mentioned in sermons on the story of Jephthah.