Why was the place named Gilgal?
The place was named Gilgal because the Lord said He had rolled away the reproach of Egypt from Israel. The name Gilgal means a rolling, marking this act of God after the circumcision of the people, before they kept the Passover in the plains of Jericho.
Les teaches that God prioritized Israel's covenant relationship with Jehovah over military strategy. Even at the doorstep of Jericho, God had the nation circumcised to prepare them spiritually for the physical battles ahead. After they were healed, God declared, "This day have I rolled away the reproach of Egypt from off of you," so the place was called Gilgal, meaning a rolling. Israel then encamped in Gilgal and kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the month at evening in the plains of Jericho, forty years to the day from the Passover in Egypt.