Gilead

Gilead (" region of rocks"), a tract of mountainous country east of the Jordan, extending from the Yarmuk on the N. to the borders of Moab and Ammon on the S. The geological formation is of dark-grey limestone towards the summit, and of sandstone lower down. Oak and terebinth forests clothe the slopes of the mountains, and the valleys abound in vegetation. The district was assigned by Joshua to the tribes of Reuben and Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh. Laurence Oliphant wished to colonise it with Jews, and wrote a description of it (The Land of Gilead, 1880).