Who
The first son of Zilpah, Leah’s maid. Leah said “How fortunate!” and named him Gad (Genesis 30:11). Jacob’s blessing foretold a warlike tribe: “A troop will press on Gad, but he will press on their heel” (Genesis 49:19). With Reuben and half of Manasseh his tribe asked for the pasture lands east of the Jordan, and crossed over to fight for the others before settling there (Numbers 32). David’s seer, a different Gad, bore the same name.
Key verses
- Genesis 30:11
Leah said, “How fortunate!” She named him Gad.
- Genesis 35:26
The sons of Zilpah (Leah’s servant): Gad and Asher. These are the sons of Jacob, who were born to him in Paddan Aram.
- Genesis 49:19
“A troop will press on Gad, but he will press on their heel.
- 1 Chronicles 2:2
Dan, Joseph, Benjamin, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher.
Where the Bible names him
Family
Discussed by
Comments on the verses that name him.
- Hippolytus of Rome, Exegetical Fragments §2
On Genesis. Gen. i. 5 And it was evening, and it was morning, one day. Hippolytus. He did not say “night and day,” but “one day,” with reference to the name of the light. He did not say the “first day;” for if he had…