# What does the word "Gilead" call to mind for you? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 4, 2014, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-word-gilead-call-to-mind-for-you/685317 "2014-04-04T03:33:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2014, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-word-gilead-call-to-mind-for-you/685317/41 "2014-04-04T14:02:27Z")
Another vote for “The Raven.” ---
**Author:** ![puddleglum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puddleglum/32/137_2.png) [@puddleglum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puddleglum)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2014, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-word-gilead-call-to-mind-for-you/685317/42 "2014-04-04T14:03:49Z")
> [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](#): > > Without looking at any of the other responses, the first thing I think of is Poe’s “The Raven” and one stanza that has the phrase something like, “is there, is there balm in Gilead.” > > I always thought that was a stupid stanza and I left it out when I memorized the whole rest of that poem. > > Actually that is not only the first thing I thought of, it’s the only thing. That stanza is the most important in the whole poem, it explains what the entire poem is about. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2014, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-word-gilead-call-to-mind-for-you/685317/43 "2014-04-04T14:15:07Z")
Lots of variety in people’s exposure to this. Why crass? Because the song “There is a Balm in Gilead” was my immediate thought, and the metaphorical balm in that song is Jesus. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2014, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-word-gilead-call-to-mind-for-you/685317/44 "2014-04-04T14:18:04Z")
For me, “Balm” and “Republic of” both immediately came to mind. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2014, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-word-gilead-call-to-mind-for-you/685317/45 "2014-04-04T14:46:16Z")
> [@CatherineZeta](#): > > Isn’t it the name of the country the US becomes in _The Handmaid’s Tale_\*\*? I would immediately think of that and wonder if someone at the company was a huge fan of the book. I actually do not know what the other meaning is and will look it up. I’m guessing we must have discussed that in high school when we read _The Handmaid’s Tale_\*\*, but I don’t remember. > > If it’s something from the Bible I am not familiar with anything in the Bible aside from really obvious things like Jesus, etc. > > Oops, ETA that it’s _THE Handmaid’s Tale_, not _A_. This. Then it would call to mind that the background and demographics of what Atwood posted makes absolutely no sense, then I would think about the message she was trying to say and how badly she handled it, then I would think about her denying that anything she wrote could be called “Science Fiction” while simultaneously rolling my eyes, then I would think… Yeah, I’d probably go down a long, winding thoughtpath. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2014, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-word-gilead-call-to-mind-for-you/685317/46 "2014-04-04T14:49:18Z")
Mt. Gilead, a town in Ohio. Also a place in the Bible. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2014, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-word-gilead-call-to-mind-for-you/685317/47 "2014-04-04T14:53:52Z")
Sir Galahad and the Green Knight. ---
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2014, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-word-gilead-call-to-mind-for-you/685317/48 "2014-04-04T14:56:19Z")
As above, the first thing it brings to mind is the reference from Poe’s “The Raven.” Close behind is a wry aside that a literature professor once made about his department’s reluctance to teach Homer’s second most famous epic: “There is no balm in Illiad.” ---
**Author:** ![boffking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/858c86/32.png) [@boffking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boffking)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2014, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-word-gilead-call-to-mind-for-you/685317/49 "2014-04-04T15:28:22Z")
The town in Maine. ---
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2014, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-word-gilead-call-to-mind-for-you/685317/50 "2014-04-04T15:29:48Z")
Forgot to mention: the “no balm in Illiad” phrase above is how I finally learned to pronounce “Giliead.” I was raised Methodist; we never sang that hymn. ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2014, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-word-gilead-call-to-mind-for-you/685317/51 "2014-04-04T17:55:25Z")
> [@Antinor01](#): > > Mt Gilead, a small town that was near where I grew up. > [@ZipperJJ](#): > > Mt. Gilead, a town in Ohio. Also a place in the Bible. I’m almost shocked, even though I shouldn’t be, that anyone else I run into has even heard of the place. I grew up about 10 minutes from there. (Near Chesterville) ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2014, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-word-gilead-call-to-mind-for-you/685317/52 "2014-04-04T18:02:23Z")
It was _Handmaid’s Tale_ for me ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2014, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-word-gilead-call-to-mind-for-you/685317/53 "2014-04-04T18:19:27Z")
A bomb/balm and the book by Marilynne Robinson. ---
**Author:** ![misling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3ab097/32.png) [@misling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/misling)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2014, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-word-gilead-call-to-mind-for-you/685317/54 "2014-04-04T18:24:27Z")
Is there no balm in Gilead; is there no physician there? why then is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered? - Jeremiah 8:22 I used to read the bible in church to pass the time, and I’ve got large chunks of the King James version memorized. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2014, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-word-gilead-call-to-mind-for-you/685317/55 "2014-04-04T18:30:09Z")
> [@Antinor01](#): > > I’m almost shocked, even though I shouldn’t be, that anyone else I run into has even heard of the place. I grew up about 10 minutes from there. (Near Chesterville) Hmm, I wonder why I’ve heard of it. It’s nowhere near me. I know our current school superintendent/my mom’s former boss came to us from there but I had heard of it before. I wonder if it is on a highway sign I’ve passed before. ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2014, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-word-gilead-call-to-mind-for-you/685317/56 "2014-04-04T18:36:44Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > Hmm, I wonder why I’ve heard of it. It’s nowhere near me. I know our current school superintendent/my mom’s former boss came to us from there but I had heard of it before. I wonder if it is on a highway sign I’ve passed before. The sign is on I-71 at exit 151. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2014, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-word-gilead-call-to-mind-for-you/685317/57 "2014-04-04T18:39:23Z")
Without reading anything but the thread title: My mind immediately goes to passage in the Book of Psalms (or perhaps Proverbs) with the line “Is there no balm in Gilead”. From there I go to the geography of ancient Israel and also to the notion of healing. ---
**Author:** ![markdash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@markdash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markdash)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2014, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-word-gilead-call-to-mind-for-you/685317/58 "2014-04-04T18:39:32Z")
The drug company was the first time I’d ever seen the name used. ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2014, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-word-gilead-call-to-mind-for-you/685317/59 "2014-04-04T19:17:53Z")
One of Zenna Henderson’s stories about the People is called “Gilead”. After that, the hymn. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2014, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-word-gilead-call-to-mind-for-you/685317/60 "2014-04-04T19:56:52Z")
It made me think of King Arthur…but only because I misrecalled the spelling for Galahad. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-word-gilead-call-to-mind-for-you/685317.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-word-gilead-call-to-mind-for-you/685317.md?page=4)