Gilgal
Gilgal is an ancient city mentioned in the Old Testament, located in the region of Judea in modern-day Israel. Known today as Khirbet el Mefjir. It appears across 33 verses in Scripture.
Biblical History
This Gilgal, near the Jordan Valley and associated with Khirbet el-Mefjir, is the most prominent and historically significant of the biblical Gilgals. It first appears in Joshua 4:19-20, where Israel crossed the Jordan and encamped at Gilgal, erecting twelve stones from the riverbed as a memorial of God's miraculous passage. Here Joshua circumcised the new generation of Israelites (Joshua 5:2-9), and the nation celebrated its first Passover in Canaan (Joshua 5:10). Gilgal became the base camp for Israel's early Canaanite campaigns and the site where the Gibeonite covenant was ratified (Joshua 9:6). Samuel later judged Israel at Gilgal (1 Samuel 7:16), and it was here that Saul was publicly confirmed as king (1 Samuel 11:14-15). However, Saul's unauthorized sacrifice at Gilgal prompted Samuel's rebuke and the announcement of divine rejection (1 Samuel 13:8-14). The prophets Amos and Hosea condemned the Gilgal sanctuary for its spiritual corruption, calling the faithful to abandon its apostate worship.
Archaeological & Historical Notes
Khirbet el-Mefjir, located near Jericho in the lower Jordan Valley, has been associated by many scholars with the principal Gilgal of Joshua. The site was excavated in part during the mid-twentieth century, revealing significant occupation levels from the Iron Age. The broader Jericho plain has yielded extensive archaeological evidence of early Israelite presence, including pottery assemblages consistent with the Iron Age I period when the conquest traditions are set. A Byzantine tradition identified a Gilgal site near ancient Jericho, and some scholars locate the Joshua Gilgal at nearby Khirbet en-Nitla. The flat, alluvial terrain is consistent with the narrative's description of an encampment accessible from the Jordan crossing.
Verse Appearances (33)
Josh
1Sam
Mic
References
- Orr, J. (ed.) (1915) The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Chicago: Howard-Severance Company. [Public Domain]
- OpenBible.info (n.d.) Bible Geocoding. Available at: https://www.openbible.info/geo/. [CC BY 4.0]
- Bagnall, R. et al. (eds.) (n.d.) Pleiades: A Gazetteer of Past Places. Available at: https://pleiades.stoa.org. [CC BY 3.0]
- Wikidata contributors (n.d.) Wikidata. Available at: https://www.wikidata.org. [CC0]
- Lawrence, D. et al. (2025) Villages to Empires: a settlement dataset for the Southern Levant. doi:10.5281/zenodo.15111732. [CC BY 4.0]
- Church of England (1769) The Holy Bible, Authorized (King James) Version. [Public Domain]