Gad (son of Jacob)


Gad was, according to the Book of Genesis, the first son of Jacob and Zilpah, the seventh of Jacob overall, and the founder of the Israelite tribe of Gad. However, some Biblical scholars view this as postdiction, an eponymous metaphor providing an aetiology of the connectedness of the tribe to others in the Israelite confederation. The text of the Book of Genesis implies that the name of Gad means luck/fortunate, in Hebrew.

Biblical narrative and criticism

The Biblical account shows Zilpah's status as a handmaid change to an actual wife of Jacob. Her handmaid status is regarded by some biblical scholars as indicating that the authors saw the tribe of Gad as being not of entirely Israelite origin; many scholars believe that Gad was a late addition to the Israelite confederation, as implied by the Moabite Stone, which seemingly differentiates between the Israelites and the tribe of Gad. Gad by this theory is assumed to have originally been a northwards-migrating nomadic tribe, at a time when the other tribes were quite settled in Canaan.

Rabbinical sources

According to classical rabbinical literature, Gad was born on 10 Cheshvan, and lived 125 years. These sources go on to state that, unlike his other brothers, Joseph didn't present Gad to the Pharaoh, since Joseph didn't want Gad to become one of Pharaoh's guards, an appointment that would have been likely had the Pharaoh realised that Gad had great strength.

Book of Jasher

The Book of Jasher states that Gad married Uzith. Uzith was the daughter of Amuram, the granddaughter of Uz and the great-grandson of Nahor.

Traditional tombs

There are two tombs traditionally attributed to Gad: one at Nevei Ganda, Rehovot, Israel, and a Muslim one at Ain Al-Jadur, west of Salt, Jordan.

Family tree