Gilead was a very prominent Bible Place in Bible History. The judges Jair and Jephthah (see The Judges), King Jehu of Israel (see Kings of Israel and Judah), and the prophet Elijah were all from Gilead. Many well-known events of The Bible happened in Gilead:
"the rest of Gilead, and all Bashan, the kingdom of Og, that is, all the region of Argob, I gave to the half-tribe of Manasseh ... and to the Reubenites and the Gadites I gave the territory from Gilead as far as the valley of the Arnon" (Deuteronomy 3:13,16 RSV) (see Division Of The Land)
"And Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo [see Heartbreak Mountain], to the top of Pisgah, which is opposite Jericho. And The Lord showed him all the land, Gilead as far as Dan, all Naphtali, the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the Western Sea, the Negeb, and the Plain, that is, the valley of Jericho the city of palm trees, as far as Zoar. And The lord said to him, "This is the land of which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, 'I will give it to your descendants.' I have let you see it with your eyes, but you shall not go over there." (Deuteronomy 34:1-4 RSV)
"Then all the people of Israel came out, from Dan to Beersheba, including the land of Gilead, and the congregation assembled as one man to The Lord at Mizpah." (Judges 20:1 RSV)
"Then David came to Mahanaim. And Absalom crossed the Jordan with all the men of Israel. Now Absalom had set Amasa over the army instead of Joab. Amasa was the son of a man named Ithra the Ishmaelite, who had married Abigal the daughter of Nahash, sister of Zeruiah, Joab's mother. And Israel and Absalom encamped in the land of Gilead." (2 Samuel 17:24-26 RSV)
Fact Finder: Were many people from "beyond the Jordan" (i.e. Gilead) among the large crowds that followed Jesus Christ?
Matthew 4:25