# 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:** 4
**Author:** ![Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulf_the_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2014, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-word-gilead-call-to-mind-for-you/685317/61 "2014-04-04T20:54:15Z")
never mind ---
**Author:** ![Octarine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/22d042/32.png) [@Octarine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Octarine)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2014, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-word-gilead-call-to-mind-for-you/685317/62 "2014-04-04T23:24:49Z")
I thought of its use in “The Raven.” Also, it reminds me of the word “gilded,” but that’s just an association because the words sound similar. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2014, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-word-gilead-call-to-mind-for-you/685317/63 "2014-04-05T01:44:50Z")
Balm of Gilead. Both from the biblical expression and the name of a racehorse that I liked probably in the mid 60s. ---
**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 5, 2014, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-word-gilead-call-to-mind-for-you/685317/64 "2014-04-05T02:16:39Z")
> [@Antinor01](#): > > The sign is on I-71 at exit 151. I’m rarely on 71, I must have a thing for memorizing exit signs! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![The\_Holdsworth\_Effect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/848f3c/32.png) [@The\_Holdsworth\_Effect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Holdsworth_Effect)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2014, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-word-gilead-call-to-mind-for-you/685317/65 "2014-04-05T02:39:32Z")
> [@Dendarii\_Dame](#): > > One of Zenna Henderson’s stories about the People is called “Gilead”. After that, the hymn. First for me was the balm (there’s a species of poplar here that is colloquially known as B o G because you can make an unguent out of the sticky buds) And then, Zenna Henderson. Another Reader! ---
**Author:** ![snowmaster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e99b99/32.png) [@snowmaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowmaster)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2014, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-word-gilead-call-to-mind-for-you/685317/66 "2014-04-05T06:29:23Z")
Tiny town in Maine, near Bethel. ---
**Author:** ![kittenblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ba8739/32.png) [@kittenblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kittenblue)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2014, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-word-gilead-call-to-mind-for-you/685317/67 "2014-04-05T14:32:16Z")
> [@StusBlues](#): > > 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. It’s #741 in the United Methodist Hymnal! Your minister was slacking… ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2014, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-word-gilead-call-to-mind-for-you/685317/68 "2014-04-05T15:02:18Z")
Edgar Allan Poe ---
**Author:** ![Fretful\_Porpentine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fretful_porpentine/32/2873_2.png) [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2014, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-word-gilead-call-to-mind-for-you/685317/69 "2014-04-05T15:57:19Z")
My _first_ thought would be _The Handmaid’s Tale_, though I’m familiar with the phrase “balm in Gilead” (if a little uncertain about the context prior to reading this thread). ---
**Author:** ![Grestarian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grestarian/32/3227_2.png) [@Grestarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grestarian)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2014, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-word-gilead-call-to-mind-for-you/685317/70 "2014-04-06T04:03:50Z")
_sigh_ I guess I’m the only one to think of _Justin Gilead_, the protagonist in the Murphy/Cochran series Grandmaster (intended as a cold war trilogy, but then the Soviet Union conceded). Still an awesome pair of tales. –G! ---
**Author:** ![PookahMacPhellimey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pookahmacphellimey/32/3175_2.png) [@PookahMacPhellimey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PookahMacPhellimey)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2014, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-word-gilead-call-to-mind-for-you/685317/71 "2014-04-06T16:46:53Z")
Balm. Quoted in one of my favourite books ever, _Amaryllis Night and Day_ by Russel Hoban. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2014, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-word-gilead-call-to-mind-for-you/685317/72 "2014-04-06T17:49:46Z")
Heh. My first thought is the pharma company. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2014, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-word-gilead-call-to-mind-for-you/685317/73 "2014-04-07T13:36:36Z")
> [@misling](#): > > 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. It stuck in my head because one Sunday when we were kids, my brother had the hymnal open to “There is a Balm in Gilead” and he whispered to me in a faux-horror voice “There is a bomb in Gilead” :eek: We occasionally sing that one in church these days but not too often. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2014, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-word-gilead-call-to-mind-for-you/685317/74 "2014-04-07T14:29:30Z")
I have never heard the word before. It sounds to me like the name of someone in one of those Old English epic poems. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2014, 8:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-word-gilead-call-to-mind-for-you/685317/75 "2014-04-09T08:56:26Z")
I just remembered something: The land of Gilead figures in the story of Jephthah, judge of Israel, because he lived there. He led the Israelites against the Ammonites (Judges, Chap. 10-12) and swore an oath that, if victorious, he would sacrifice the first family member he sees when he returns home. When he returned home, victorious, his only daughter was the first to greet him. Jephthah was devastated, but felt he could not renege on his oath, so he sacrificed his daughter. So if anyone is getting bad vibes off the name Gilead, perhaps it’s some remembrance of this story that’s doing it. Overview of the story in Jephthah’s [Wiki page](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jephthah). Jephthah is also remembered for killing 42,000 fugitive Ephraimites who couldn’t say “Shibboleth”. ---
**Author:** ![Enright3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/enright3/32/2897_2.png) [@Enright3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enright3)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2014, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-word-gilead-call-to-mind-for-you/685317/76 "2014-04-09T15:23:09Z")
Ugh… honestly? The first thought that came to mind was that of a knight in armor. Then I paused and realized I was probably thinking of Sir Galahad. I don’t guess I’ve heard the word Gilead enough to associate it with anything. ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2014, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-word-gilead-call-to-mind-for-you/685317/77 "2014-04-09T15:31:16Z")
Nothing. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2014, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-word-gilead-call-to-mind-for-you/685317/78 "2014-04-09T15:43:16Z")
Nothing for me as well. It reminded me of the old ESPN fitness guy Gilad. ---
**Author:** ![meow\_meow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f04885/32.png) [@meow\_meow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/meow_meow)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2014, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-word-gilead-call-to-mind-for-you/685317/79 "2014-04-09T20:03:44Z")
Someone close to me participated in the clinical trial for this drug. I saw that the study was sponsored by Gilead Sciences and I thought to myself - How Dystopian! (Thinking of the Handmaids Tale and the Dark Tower Series.) ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2014, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-word-gilead-call-to-mind-for-you/685317/80 "2014-04-13T06:59:56Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > I just remembered something: The land of Gilead figures in the story of Jephthah, judge of Israel, because he lived there. He led the Israelites against the Ammonites (Judges, Chap. 10-12) and swore an oath that, if victorious, he would sacrifice the first family member he sees when he returns home. When he returned home, victorious, his only daughter was the first to greet him. Jephthah was devastated, but felt he could not renege on his oath, so he sacrificed his daughter. > > So if anyone is getting bad vibes off the name Gilead, perhaps it’s some remembrance of this story that’s doing it. > > Overview of the story in Jephthah’s [Wiki page](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jephthah). > > Jephthah is also remembered for killing 42,000 fugitive Ephraimites who couldn’t say “Shibboleth”. Apparently I’ve conflated a commentary with the actual scripture there, as I could have sworn that Jepthah just turned her over to the temple, and that this was used as a precedent for what happens if you accidentally offer your child as a sacrifice. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-word-gilead-call-to-mind-for-you/685317.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-word-gilead-call-to-mind-for-you/685317.md?page=5)