Gilead was a judge in Israel during the time of the judges (post-patriarch/pre-Kings). Only 300 men volunteered to go with him to fight the Madiantes as the rest were too-scared. Willingness was not the only factor though. Gilead was told to choose only the men that drank from the river with cupped hands and not the ones who kneeled down and lowered their heads to drink like a dog. The men who drank from cupped hands were watchful and alert while they were drinking. In the end, only 70 men were chosen.
The interesting part was Gilead was ousted by his brothers. However, when they were in need, they sought his help. Gilead’s condition was that they would then make him their leader.
And, yes, Gilead is also a place.

I’m just surprised no one got the Barbara Eden reference. Blink. Blink. BLA. Twitch. twitch. NASDAQ. Blink. Blink. EUA. Twitch. Twitch. PIM.