In the Biblical account, Gad's mother is only a handmaid, rather than a wife of Jacob, which scholars see as indicating that the [[authors]] saw the tribe of Gad as being not of entirely Israelite [[origin]][2]; many scholars believe that Gad was a late addition to the Israelite confederation[4], as implied by the Moabite Stone, which seemingly differentiates between the Israelites and the tribe of Gad[5], and the books of Samuel and of Kings, which appear to portray Gad as an enemy of Israel[6]. Gad appears to have originally been a northwards-migrating nomadic tribe, at a time when the other tribes were quite settled in Canaan[7]. | In the Biblical account, Gad's mother is only a handmaid, rather than a wife of Jacob, which scholars see as indicating that the [[authors]] saw the tribe of Gad as being not of entirely Israelite [[origin]][2]; many scholars believe that Gad was a late addition to the Israelite confederation[4], as implied by the Moabite Stone, which seemingly differentiates between the Israelites and the tribe of Gad[5], and the books of Samuel and of Kings, which appear to portray Gad as an enemy of Israel[6]. Gad appears to have originally been a northwards-migrating nomadic tribe, at a time when the other tribes were quite settled in Canaan[7]. |