the biblical account shows zilpah's status as a handmaid change to an actual wife of jacob (genesis 30:9,11). her handmaid status is regarded by some biblical scholars as indicating that the authors saw the tribe of gad as being not of entirely israelite origin; many scholars believe that gad was a late addition to the israelite confederation, as implied by the moabite stone, which seemingly differentiates between the israelites and the tribe of gad. "gad" by this theory is assumed to have originally been a northwards-migrating nomadic tribe, at a time when the other tribes were quite settled in canaan.