GILEAD, gire-ad (rough, rugged, hard), a country on the east side of the Jordan, at one time a portion of the kingdom of Israel. Its exact area is doubtful; but the southern bound ary, the river Arnon, and the western boundary, the Jordan River, are well defined. The Yar muk is given by some as a northern boundary; and some historians mention the country of Gilead as extending to the shores of the sea of Galilee and the plains of Bashan. The eastern boundary was "the desert.' It is a mountainous country traversed by many small streams which flow into the Jordan. All the mountains are mentioned frequently as "mountains of Gilead,' and one peak is called in ancient history, "Mount of Gilead.' This peak is thought to be the one now known as Jebel or Djabal (mount) Osha. The soil is fertile and the vegetation generally luxuriant and the region is well wooded and well watered. The low round mountains or hills are no hindrance to cultivation as practised by the native inhabitants. A considerable portion is devoted to pasturage and large herds of cat tle and flocks of sheep graze on the hillsides and table-lands as in the times mentioned in the Old Testament. The true balm of Gilead was a product of the Balsantodendron gileadense, now quite extinct in Palestine, but still cultivated about Mecca. It was probably a native of East
Africa. The terebinth tree and the oak still flourish in Gilead, especially in the valley of the Jabbok.
Gilead is mentioned frequently in the Bible. Much of its history before the birth of Christ is given in the Old Testament. In Deuteronomy and Numbers may be found an account of the conquest of the country and the transfer of a part Reuben and Gad. In Judges and Kings is a record of the wars waged upon Gilead by the Syrians, the Midianites and the Ammonites, and finally the victory of the Assyrians. The flight of Absalom is given in 2 Sam. xiii. In 1 Sam. xxi is an account of the battle in which the sons of Saul were slain, and of Saul's own death. It is there told that •the valiant men of Jabesh-Gilead arose and went all night, and took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beth-Shan,) and burned them according to the custom of the times. And afterward these °valiant men) fasted several days. The chief cities of Gilead were Jazer, Mizpeh, Mahanaim, Penuel and Succoth. Con sult Oliphant, Lawrence, 'The Land of Gilead) (London 1880).