Joshua 5:9

5:9 The Lord said to Joshua, “Today I have taken away ¹  the disgrace ²  of Egypt from you.” So that place is called Gilgal ³  even to this day.

Joshua 10:6

10:6 The men of Gibeon sent this message to Joshua at the camp in Gilgal, “Do not abandon ⁴  your subjects! ⁵  Rescue us! Help us! For all the Amorite kings living in the hill country are attacking us.” ⁶ 

Joshua 10:43

10:43 Then Joshua and all Israel returned to the camp at Gilgal.

Joshua 15:7

15:7 It then went up to Debir from the Valley of Achor, turning northward to Gilgal (which is opposite the Pass ⁷  of Adummim south of the valley), crossed to the waters of En Shemesh and extended to En Rogel.

Joshua 15:1

15:1 The land allotted to the tribe of Judah by its clans reached to the border of Edom, to the Wilderness of Zin in the Negev far to the south. ⁸ 

Joshua 11:14-15

11:14 The Israelites plundered all the goods of these cities and the cattle, but they totally destroyed all the people ⁹  and allowed no one who breathed to live. 11:15 Moses the Lord’s servant passed on the Lord’s commands to Joshua, and Joshua did as he was told. He did not ignore any of the commands the Lord had given Moses. ¹⁰ 

Joshua 15:33

15:33 These cities were ¹¹  in the lowlands: ¹²  Eshtaol, Zorah, Ashnah,

Amos 4:4

Israel has an Appointment with God

4:4 “Go to Bethel ¹³  and rebel! ¹⁴ 

At Gilgal ¹⁵  rebel some more!

Bring your sacrifices in ¹⁶  the morning,

your tithes on ¹⁷  the third day!

Amos 5:5

5:5 Do not seek Bethel! ¹⁸ 

Do not visit Gilgal!

Do not journey down ¹⁹  to Beer Sheba!

For the people of Gilgal ²⁰  will certainly be carried into exile; ²¹ 

and Bethel will become a place where disaster abounds.” ²² 

Micah 6:5

6:5 My people, recall how King Balak of Moab planned to harm you, ²³ 

how Balaam son of Beor responded to him.

Recall how you journeyed from Shittim to Gilgal,

so you might acknowledge that the Lord has treated you fairly.” ²⁴ 

[5:9]  ¹ tn Heb “rolled away.”

[5:9]  ² sn One might take the disgrace of Egypt as a reference to their uncircumcised condition (see Gen 34:14), but the generation that left Egypt was circumcised (see v. 5). It more likely refers to the disgrace they experienced in Egyptian slavery. When this new generation reached the promised land and renewed their covenantal commitment to the Lord by submitting to the rite of circumcision, the Lord’s deliverance of his people from slavery, which had begun with the plagues and the crossing of the Red Sea, reached its climax. See T. C. Butler, Joshua (WBC), 59.

[5:9]  ³ sn The name Gilgal sounds like the Hebrew verb “roll away” (גַּלַל, galal).

[10:6]  ⁴ tn Heb “do not let your hand drop from us.”

[10:6]  ⁵ tn Heb “your servants!”

[10:6]  ⁶ tn Heb “have gathered against us.”

[15:7]  ⁷ tn Or “ascent.”

[15:1]  ⁸ tn Heb “The lot was to the tribe of the sons of Judah by their clans to the border of Edom, the wilderness of Zin toward the south, southward.”

[11:14]  ⁹ tn Heb “but all the people they struck down with the edge of the sword until they destroyed them.”

[11:15]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “As the Lord commanded Moses his servant, so Moses commanded Joshua, and Joshua acted accordingly; he did not turn aside a thing from all which the Lord commanded Moses.”

[15:33]  ¹¹ tn The words “these cities were” have been supplied for English stylistic reasons.

[15:33]  ¹² tn Or “the foothills”; Heb “the Shephelah.”

[4:4]  ¹³ sn Bethel and Gilgal were important formal worship centers because of their importance in Israel’s history. Here the Lord ironically urges the people to visit these places so they can increase their sin against him. Their formal worship, because it was not accompanied by social justice, only made them more guilty in God’s sight by adding hypocrisy to their list of sins. Obviously, theirs was a twisted view of the Lord. They worshiped a god of their own creation in order to satisfy their religious impulses (see 4:5: “For you love to do this”). Note that none of the rituals listed in 4:4-5 have to do with sin.

[4:4]  ¹⁴ tn The Hebrew word translated “rebel” (also in the following line) could very well refer here to Israel’s violations of their covenant with God (see also the term “crimes” in 1:3 [with note] and the phrase “covenant transgressions” in 2:4 [with note]; 3:14).

[4:4]  ¹⁵ sn See the note on Bethel earlier in this verse.

[4:4]  ¹⁶ tn Or “for.”

[4:4]  ¹⁷ tn Or “for.”

[5:5]  ¹⁸ sn Ironically, Israel was to seek after the Lord, but not at Bethel (the name Bethel means “the house of God” in Hebrew).

[5:5]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “cross over.”

[5:5]  ²⁰ tn Heb “For Gilgal.” By metonymy the place name “Gilgal” is used instead of referring directly to the inhabitants. The words “the people of” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[5:5]  ²¹ tn In the Hebrew text the statement is emphasized by sound play. The name “Gilgal” sounds like the verb גָּלָה (galah, “to go into exile”), which occurs here in the infinitival + finite verb construction (גָּלֹה יִגְלֶה, galoh yigleh). The repetition of the “ג” (g) and “ל” (l) sounds draws attention to the announcement and suggests that Gilgal’s destiny is inherent in its very name.

[5:5]  ²² tn Heb “disaster,” or “nothing”; NIV “Bethel will be reduced to nothing.”

[6:5]  ²³ tn Heb “remember what Balak…planned.”

[6:5]  ²⁴ tn Heb “From Shittim to Gilgal, in order to know the just acts of the Lord.” Something appears to be missing at the beginning of the line. The present translation supplies the words, “Recall how you went.” This apparently refers to how Israel crossed the Jordan River (see Josh 3:1; 4:19-24).