Bible Encyclopedias
Gad

Kitto's Popular Cyclopedia of Biblical Literature

Gad (a troop, or fortunate).

Gad, 1

A son of Jacob by his concubine Zilpah (, sq.), and who became the progenitor of one of the twelve tribes. The sons of Gad are enumerated in , sq., and , sq. At the time of the conquest of Canaan, the tribe of Gad counted 45,650 warriors (): the position of their camp in the desert is given , and the names of their chiefs,;; , sq.

As a reward for their having formed the vanguard in war of the army of the tribes collectively, they were allowed to appropriate to their exclusive use some pastoral districts beyond the Jordan (, sq.).

The inheritance of this tribe, called the landsof Gad (; ), was situated beyond the Jordan in Gilead, north of Reuben, and separated on the east from Ammon by the river Jabbok. According to , the Gadites had extended their possessions on the east as far as Salcah, though the latter had been allotted by Moses to Manasseh (; ): a proof how difficult it is to draw a strong line of demarcation between the possessions of pastoral tribes. The territory of Gad forms a part of the present Belka.

In , the land of Gad is called 'half the land of the children of Ammon;' not because the latter were then in possession of it, but probably because the part west of the Jabbok had formerly borne that name (comp. ).

The principal cities of Gad pass by the general appellation of the Cities of Gilead ()

The Gadites were a warlike people, and were compelled to be continually armed and on the alert against the inroads of the surrounding Arabian hordes (comp.;; , sq.).

Gad, 2

Gad, a prophet contemporary with David, and probably a pupil of Samuel, who early attached himself to the son of Jesse (). Instances of his prophetic intercourse with David occur in , sq.; , sq.; 29:25. Gad wrote a history of the reign of David, to which the author of the II Samuel seems to refer for further information respecting that reign (), B.C. 1062-1017.

 

 

 

 

Bibliography Information
Kitto, John, ed. Entry for 'Gad'. "Kitto's Popular Cyclopedia of Biblical Literature". https://www.studylight.org/​encyclopedias/​eng/​kbe/​g/gad.html.