Gad

(a troop, but according to others, fortune) — the name of two persons mentioned in the Bible: a) (Gen. 30:11–13) the seventh son of Jacob, firstborn of Zilpah, Leah’s maidservant, full brother of Asher. Dying, the patriarch Jacob foretold the following concerning Gad: “Gad, a troop shall overcome him: but he shall overcome at the last” (Gen. 49:19). Moses, in the book of Deuteronomy (33:20, 21), predicts in still more detail the events that would distinguish the history of the tribe of Gad from the others.

After the defeat of the kings of Bashan, the tribes of Reuben and Gad asked Moses to assign them territory in the former dominions of Bashan, since they seemed especially suited for cattle-raising. Moses granted their request, and the tribe of Gad was settled to the south of Reuben, between the mountains of Gilead and the river Jordan. In this territory both tribes were repeatedly subjected to attacks by neighboring pagan peoples, but always proved themselves brave and victorious (1 Chron.

5:19, 20–22; 12:8), and under David they overcame all their enemies. In the Song of Moses (Deut. 33:20, 21) there is an indication of the expansion of the tribe of Gad and its bravery, as well as of its faithfulness to its promise to go together with the other tribes to the conquest of the Promised Land, notwithstanding that it already had its own territory in Bashan.