Gilead

Gilead or Gilaad (Hebrew: גִּלְעָד), (/ˈɡɪl.i.əd/), is the name of three persons and two geographic places In the Bible.

Places

Gilead was a mountainous region east of the Jordan River divided among the tribes of Gad and Manasseh, and situated in modern-day Jordan. It is also referred to by the Aramaic name Yegar-Sahadutha, which carries the same meaning as the Hebrew (Genesis 31:47). From its mountainous character, it is called the mount of Gilead (Genesis 31:25).

It is called also the land of Gilead (Numbers 32:1), and sometimes simply Gilead (Psalm 60:9; Genesis 37:25). As a whole, it included the tribal territories of Gad, Reuben, and the eastern half of Manasseh (Deut 3:13; Num 32:40). In the Book of Chronicles, Segub controlled twenty-three towns in Gilead.1 Chronicles 2:21-22 It was bounded on the north by Bashan, and on the south by Moab and Ammon (Genesis 31:21; Deut 3:12-17).

"Half Gilead" was possessed by Sihon, and the other half, separated from it by the river Jabbok, by Og, king of Bashan. The deep ravine of the river Hieromax (the modern Sheriat el-Mandhur) separated Bashan from Gilead, which was about 60 miles in length and 20 miles in breadth, extending from near the south end of the Lake of Gennesaret to the north end of the Dead Sea. Abarim, Pisgah, Nebo, and Peor are its mountains mentioned in Scripture.

Balm in Gilead

Balm in Gilead is a 1965 play written by American playwright Lanford Wilson.

Dramatic structure

Wilson's first full-length effort, Balm in Gilead centers on a cafe frequented by heroin addicts, prostitutes (both male and female) and thieves. It features many unconventional theatrical devices, such as overlapping dialogue, simultaneous scenes and largely unsympathetic lead characters. The plot draws a parallel between the amoral, often criminal activity that the café's denizens engage in to provide temporary relief from their boredom and suffering, and the two main characters' becoming a couple in order to escape from their lives.

The play takes its title from a quote in the Old Testament. (Book of Jeremiah, chapter 46, v. 11)

Production history

Wilson wrote the play while living in New York City, finding inspiration by sitting in cafés and listening to different conversations. He approached Marshall W. Mason, whom he knew from the Caffe Cino, to direct the production. After workshops in the directing and playwriting units of the Actors Studio, it debuted off-off-Broadway at the La Mama Experimental Theater Club on January 20, 1965, and was a notable critical and commercial success. It was the first full-length play produced off-off-Broadway. Wilson said that he wrote the play partially because he wanted "to break out of the physical limitations inherent in wrting a play for the Cino." (referring to the Caffee Cino). and became the first play from off-off-Broadway to be published (by Hill and Wang).