Gilead
/ˈɡɪliəd/noun
A mountainous region east of the Jordan River in the Hebrew Bible, also used as a biblical personal name.
Did you know?Genesis connects Gilead with Jacob and Laban’s treaty, where a stone heap served as a visible witness and boundary marker between them.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Semitic or Northwest Semitic period
Semitic
galʿad
“A traditionally reconstructed place-name of uncertain origin; its earliest exact derivation is debated.”
Biblical Hebrew
Hebrew
גִּלְעָד (Gilʿad)
“Gilead, the highland territory east of the Jordan.”
Biblical Hebrew
Hebrew
גַּלְעֵד (Galʿed)
“Heap of witness, the explanatory name associated with the stone monument in Genesis 31.”
Ancient Greek
Septuagint Greek
Γαλαάδ (Galaad)
“Galaad, the Greek-script form of the biblical place-name.”
Latin Antiquity
Latin
Galaad
“Galaad, the Latin biblical form transmitted through scriptural translation.”
Modern English
English
Gilead
“The biblical region and a personal name, later used in literary and fictional settings.”
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