Gad (Heb., fortune), the seventh son of Jacob, elder son of Zilpah, Leah's maid, and whole brother of Asher. Of his youth there is no record. At the descent into Egypt he had seven sons.-The tribe of this name marched in the wilderness on the S. side of the tabernacle, and numbered 45,650. At the entrance into Canaan Gad and Reuben had many flocks, and obtained permission to settle E. of the Jordan, where the territory of Gad was central between Reuben on the south and Manasseh on the north, including the mountain district of southern Gilead and the lowland of the Jordan valley. The Gadites were restless half-nomads, and early extended over all Gilead; and later the names Gilead and Gad were used interchangeably. They were fierce and warlike, and some of them joined David during his outlawry. Among the famous members of the tribe were Jephtha and Barzillai, and probably the prophet Elijah. The isolation of the tribe, and perhaps the impulsive character of its people, weakened its influence in national affairs.

Its territory was the battle field of Israel and Syria, and its population was carried away captive by Tiglath-pileser about 740 B. C.