Then the LORD said to Joshua, “Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you.” So that place has been called Gilgal to this day.
Parallel translations
- WEB Yahweh said to Joshua, “Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt off of you.” Therefore the name of that place was called Gilgal, to this day.
- KJV And the LORD said unto Joshua, This day have I rolled away the reproach of Egypt from off you. Wherefore the name of the place is called Gilgal unto this day.
- NKJV Then the Lord said to Joshua, “This day I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you.” Therefore the name of the place is called Gilgal to this day.
- NASB Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Today I have rolled away the shame of Egypt from you.” So the name of that place is called Gilgal to this day.
- NLT Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Today I have rolled away the shame of your slavery in Egypt.” So that place has been called Gilgal to this day.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
God declared He had 'rolled away the reproach of Egypt,' and the place was named Gilgal. Israel's shame as former slaves was removed as they entered God's promise.
Overview
The 'reproach of Egypt' likely refers to the disgrace of bondage and the lapsed covenant sign. By renewing circumcision, God lifted that reproach and confirmed Israel as His own free people. The name Gilgal (sounding like 'roll') memorialized this grace, picturing how God removes the shame of His people, fully accomplished in Christ who takes away our sin.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- 1 Sam 17:26David asked the men who were standing with him, “What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and removes this disgrace from Israel? Just who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?”
- Josh 4:19On the tenth day of the first month the people went up from the Jordan and camped at Gilgal on the eastern border of Jericho.
- Gen 34:14“We cannot do such a thing,” they said. “To give our sister to an uncircumcised man would be a disgrace to us.
- Lev 24:14“Take the blasphemer outside the camp, and have all who heard him lay their hands on his head; then have the whole assembly stone him.
- Jer 9:25“Behold, the days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when I will punish all who are circumcised yet uncircumcised:
- Josh 24:14Now, therefore, fear the LORD and serve Him in sincerity and truth; cast aside the gods your fathers served beyond the Euphrates and in Egypt, and serve the LORD.
- Eph 2:11–12Therefore remember that formerly you who are Gentiles in the flesh and called uncircumcised by the so-called circumcision (that done in the body by human hands)—
- Ezek 23:3and they played in Egypt, prostituting themselves from their youth. Their breasts were fondled there, and their virgin bosoms caressed.
- Ezek 23:8She did not give up the prostitution she began in Egypt, when men slept with her in her youth, caressed her virgin bosom, and poured out their lust upon her.
- 1 Sam 17:36Your servant has killed lions and bears; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the living God.”
- 1 Sam 14:6Jonathan said to the young man bearing his armor, “Come, let us cross over to the outpost of these uncircumcised men. Perhaps the LORD will work on our behalf. Nothing can hinder the LORD from saving, whether by many or by few.”
- Ezek 20:7–8And I said to them: ‘Each of you must throw away the abominations before his eyes, and you must not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt. I am the LORD your God.’
- Ps 119:39Turn away the disgrace I dread, for Your judgments are good.
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Christ at the center
Joshua — the same name as Jesus, 'the LORD saves' — leads God's people into their inheritance, a shadow of the greater Joshua who brings us into the true rest and the promised land that remains.
How Joshua 5:9 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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