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Easton's Bible Dictionary
(FROM GAD)
(2) The tribe of Gad during the march through the wilderness had their place with
Simeon and Reuben on the south side of the tabernacle ( Numbers
2:14 ). The tribes of Reuben and Gad continued all through their history to
follow the pastoral pursuits of the patriarchs ( Numbers
32:1 - 5
).
Hitchcock's Dictionary of Bible Names
(no entry)
Smith's Bible Dictionary
The country allotted to the tribe of Gad appears, speaking
roughly, to have lain chiefly about the centre of the land east of Jordan. The
sought of that district --from the Arnon (Wady Mojeb ), about halfway down the
Dead Sea, to Heshbon, nearly due east of Jerusalem --was occupied by Reuben, and
at or about Heshbon the possessions of Gad commenced. They embraced half Gilead,
( Deuteronomy
3:12 ) or half the land of the children of Ammon, ( Joshua
13:25 ) probably the mountainous district which is intersected by the torrent
Jabbok, including, as its most northern town, the ancient sanctuary of Mahanaim.
On the east the furthest landmark given is "Aroer that is before Rabbah," the
present Amman. ( Joshua
13:25 ) West was the Jordan. ver. ( Joshua
13:27 ) The character of the tribe is throughout strongly marked --fierce
and warlike.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
(FROM GAD)
Gad (1)
(gadh, "fortune"; Gad):
1. The Name:
The seventh son of Jacob, whose mother was Zilpah (Genesis
30:11), and whose birth was welcomed by Leah with the cry, "Fortunate!" Some
have sought to connect the name with that of the heathen deity Gad, of which traces
are found in Baal-gad, Migdal-gad, etc. In the blessing of Jacob (Genesis
49:19) there is a play upon the name, as if it meant "troop," or "marauding
band." "Gad, a troop shall press upon him; but he shall press upon their heel"
(Hebrew gadh, gedhudh, yeghudhennu, wehu yaghudh 'aqebh). Here there is doubtless
a reference to the high spirit and valor that characterized the descendants of
Gad. The enemy who attacked them exposed himself to grave peril. In the blessing
of Moses again (Deuteronomy
33:20) it is said that Gad "dwelleth as lioness, and teareth the arm, yea,
the crown of the head." Leonine qualities are ascribed to the Gadites, mighty
men of valor, who joined David (1
Chronicles 12:8,14).
Their "faces were like the faces of lions, and they were as swift as the roes
upon the mountain." Among their captains "he that was least was equal to a hundred,
and the greatest to a thousand."
2. The Tribe:
Of the patriarch Gad almost nothing is recorded. Seven sons went down with him
into Egypt, when Jacob accepted Joseph s invitation (Genesis
46:16). At the beginning of the desert march Gad numbered 45,650 "from twenty
years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war" (Numbers
1:24). In the plains of Moab the number had fallen to 40,500 (Numbers
26:18). The place of Gad was with the standard of the camp of Reuben on the
South side of the tabernacle (Numbers
2:14). The prince of the tribe was Eliasaph, son of Deuel (Numbers
1:14), or Reuel (Numbers
2:14). Among the spies Gad was represented by Geuel son of Machi (Numbers
13:15). See NUMBERS.
3. The Tribal Territory:
From time immemorial the dwellers East of the Jordan have followed the pastoral
life. When Moses had completed the conquest of these lands, the spacious uplands,
with their wide pastures, attracted the great flock-masters of Reuben and Gad.
In response to their appeal Moses assigned them their tribal portions here: only
on condition, however, that their men of war should go over with their brethren,
and take their share alike in the hardship and in the glory of the conquest of
Western Palestine (Numbers
32). When the victorious campaigns of Joshua were completed, the warriors
of Reuben and Gad returned to their possessions in the East. They halted, however,
in the Jordan valley to build the mighty altar of Ed. They feared lest the gorge
of the Jordan should in time become all too effective a barrier between them and
their brethren on the West. This altar should be for all time a "witness" to their
unity in race and faith (Joshua
22). The building of the altar was at first misunderstood by the western tribes,
but the explanation given entirely satisfied them.
4. Boundaries:
It is impossible to indicate with any certainty the boundaries of the territory
of Gad. Reuben lay on the South, and the half-tribe of Manasseh on the North.
These three occupied the whole of Eastern Palestine. The South border of Gad is
given as the Arnon in Numbers
32:34; but six cities to the North of the Arnon are assigned in Numbers
32:16 to Reuben. Again, Joshua
13:26 makes Wady Chesban the southern boundary of Gad. Mesha, however (MS),
says that the men of Gad dwelt in Ataroth from old time. This is far South of
Wady Chesban. The writer of Numbers
32 may have regarded the Jabbok as the northern frontier of Gad; but Joshua
13:27 extends it to the Sea of Chinnereth, making the Jordan the western boundary.
It included Rabbath-ammon in the East. We have not now the information necessary
to explain this apparent confusion. There can be no doubt that, as a consequence
of strifes with neighboring peoples, the boundaries were often changed (1
Chronicles 5:18). For the Biblical writers the center of interest was in Western
Palestine, and the details given regarding the eastern tribes are very meager.
We may take it, however, that, roughly, the land of Gilead fell to the tribe of
Gad. In Judges
5:17 Gilead appears where we should naturally expect Gad, for which it seems
to stand. The city of refuge, Ramoth in Gilead, was in the territory of Gad (Joshua
20:8). For description of the country see GILEAD.
5. History:
Reuben and Gad were absent from the muster against Sisera (Judges
5:15); but they united with their brethren in taking vengeance on Benjamin,
Jabesh-gilead, from which no contingent was sent, being destroyed (20 f). Jephthah
is probably to be reckoned to this tribe, his house, Mizpah (Judges
11:34), being apparently within its territory (Joshua
13:26). Gad furnished a refuge for some of the Hebrews during the Philistine
oppression (1
Samuel 13:7). To David, while he avoided Saul at Ziklag, certain Gadites attached
themselves (1
Chronicles 12:8). A company of them also joined in making him king at Hebron
(1
Chronicles 12:38). In Gad the adherents of the house of Saul gathered round
Ish-bosheth (2
Samuel 2:8). Hither David came in his flight from Absalom (2
Samuel 17:24). Gad fell to Jeroboam at the disruption of the kingdom, and
Penuel, apparently within its borders, Jeroboam fortified at first (1
Kings 12:25). It appears from the Moabite Stone that part of the territory
afterward passed into the hands of Moab. Under Omri this was recovered; but Moab
again asserted its supremacy. Elijah probably belonged to this district; and the
brook Cherith must be sought in one of its wild secluded glens.
Gad formed the main theater of the long struggle between Israel and the Syrians.
At Ramoth-gilead Ahab received his death wound (1
Kings 22). Under Jeroboam II, this country was once more an integral part
of the land of Israel. In 734 BC, however, Tiglath-pileser appeared, and conquered
all Eastern Palestine, carrying its inhabitants captive (2
Kings 15:29; 1
Chronicles 5:26). This seems to have furnished occasion for the children of
Ammon to occupy the country (Jeremiah
49:1). In Ezekiel's ideal picture (Ezekiel
48:27,34),
a place is found for the tribe of Gad. Obadiah seems to have forgotten the tribe,
and their territory is assigned to Benjamin (Obadiah
1:19). Gad, however, has his place among the tribes of Israel in Revelation
7. |
W. Ewing
Tags:
bible commentary, bible history, bible reference, bible study, define, tribe of gad
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