Rolling Stones and the Bible’s Long Arc
A Word Study of Gilgal
There are six huge, foot-shaped stone structures found in the Jordan Valley and Samaria that are believed to be Iron Age I (13th–12th centuries BCE). These are known as "gilgal sites" (Gilgalim) or "footprint sites" built by early Israelites to ceremonially mark ownership of the land upon entering Canaan. They symbolize the biblical concept of "foot ownership," or claiming territory by treading upon it.
They represent a physical monumental expression of taking ownership of the land, aligning with the biblical promise in Deuteronomy 11:24 that "every place where the sole of your foot shall tread shall be yours".
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| Gilgal Argaman |
Gilgal Argaman is an Iron-age ceremonial site in the Jordan valley near Moshav Argaman. It is likely that this site was erected by the Israelites, led by Joshua, and was their first camp after crossing the Jordan.
The shape itself acts as a "footprint" of God or the community and representing divine possession and protection.
1. Core observations about Gilgal
Gilgal (גִּלְגָּל) comes from the root ג־ל־ל (galal), “to roll,” and also carries the sense of “circle / wheel / round thing.”
In Joshua 5:9, God says, “Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you. And so the name of that place is called "Gilgal" to this day. The name is explicitly tied to the verb “to roll.”
Events at Gilgal:
- Twelve stones are set up from the Jordan (memorial for the twelve tribes).
- Mass circumcision of the wilderness generation.
- First Passover in the land; manna stops and they eat the land’s produce.
- Gilgal is the site where Israel’s shame (Egypt, wilderness unbelief, uncircumcision) is removed and their identity as a landed covenant people is marked.
2. Rolling Stones and Milestones
There is a pattern: Rolled stones signify milestones. Round stones mark thresholds, opening/closing wells, caves, altars, tombs.
Old Testament:
- Stones rolled from wells (Genesis 29) give access to life‑giving water.
- In Joshua 10:16-18 Large stones were rolled against cave mouths sealed in 5 kings of Israel's enemies who would be judged and killed.
- In 1 Samuel 14:33 A great stone is rolled to Saul marking a great sin during battle with the Philistines.
3. Gilgal, Gulgoleth, Golgotha
New Testament:
- A large stone rolled in front of Jesus’s tomb, then found rolled away on the first day of the week.
- Gilgal = ג־ל־ג־ל (glgl) and Skull = גֻּלְגֹּלֶת (gulgoleth) share the same "GLGL.
- Golgotha from the Aramaic "gulgolta" is equivalent to gulgoleth→ “place of a skull.”
- The final letter in גֻּלְגֹּלֶת is the final 22nd Hebrew letter Tav which is represents a cross and means mark/sign. In other words, add the cross, the Tav, to Gilgal and it is the place of the skull where Jesus was crucified.
Letters and numbers:
- Gimel (ג) = 3, Lamed (ל) = 30.
- Gilgal = ג־ל־ג־ל = GL + GL = 33 + 33 = 66.
66 plus the Cross (the 22nd letter) = 88.
Connections:
- Gilgal = “rolling/circle” place where reproach is rolled away for Israel.
- Gulgoleth/Golgotha = skull‑place, same root family, now with tav/cross marking the hill where Jesus bears and removes ultimate reproach.
- Jesus is generally believed he was 33 years old when crucified.
- The tomb and Joshua 10 are cases where the stone is rolled both ways, to seal and to open (33+33). The tomb is a hinge point of the rock.
4. 33 and Lag BaOmer
This section is probably going to confuse most any reader. Since I write to think, I am going to write it anyway. Besides, if the reader isn't already familiar with the Jewish holiday of Lag B'Omer, they are going to be lost from the very beginning of this section.
Lag BaOmer is a Jewish holiday that celebrates a very old story about a plague among Rabbi Akiva’s students. It is associated with “hidden Torah” / inner light coming to expression.
33 becomes a shorthand for a turning point (plague to joy, outer to inner).
Hebrew writing of 33 is ל״ג (lamed‑gimel), pronounced "lag." Lag BaOmer is the 33rd day of counting the Omer between the Passover and Revelation at Sinai.
Gilgal’s structure (33 + 33) can be seen as a two doors connected by a hinge. There is Egypt <> Canaan with the wilderness being the hinge. Circumcision is hinge point. The New Testament adds a third door with another gilgal another stone rolling away, being another hinge.
5. Gilgal and the Empty Tomb as Parallel “Rolling Away” Points:
Gilgal (Joshua 4–5):
- Twelve stones (tribes)
- Circumcision
- Passover in the land
- “I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt”
Golgotha:
- Skull‑place from same root family as Gilgal.
- Cross (tav) planted on the skull‑hill.
- Living water is marked by stones. Stone rolled from a well → life‑water for flocks.
- Stone‑rock in the wilderness → water for Israel, Miriam’s rock that rolled with the 12 tribes.
- Stones from the river at Gilgal → boundary crossed, new food, shame rolled away.
- Stone from the tomb → living water and resurrection life disclosed.
Parallel:
- Gilgal: reproach of Egypt rolled away, Israel marked and fed (Passover, land’s produce).
- Golgotha/garden: reproach of sin and death rolled away.
The “stone circle” of twelve tribes at Gilgal runs forward through the twelve apostles to the "final city." The people of God stay twelve‑shaped, but the circle widens to include all nations.
Notice an important progression that lines up well with how Joshua 5 and Deuteronomy frame the story.
Shame of slave‑labor in Egypt
Commentators on Joshua 5:9 note that “the reproach of Egypt” includes the stigma of being slaves: told when to get up, when to eat, what work to do, how long to labor.
In that setting, their work primarily enriched Pharaoh, a false master, and publicly exposed them as a humiliated, dominated people.
That “slave mentality” is part of what God is rolling away at Gilgal: they are no longer defined as forced laborers for another man’s empire.
Wilderness: no production, pure dependence
In the wilderness Israel does not plow, sow, or harvest. God feeds them with manna “to humble you and test you… and to do you good in the end.”
Deuteronomy stresses that they had “no bread and no wine,” their clothes didn’t wear out, and God Himself became their Feeder.
This period strips away both Egyptian slave‑economy and self‑reliant farming: no shame of serving Pharaoh, but also no pride in “my power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.”
In the land: dignified labor, still under God
Once they enter Canaan, God intends them to work the land: sow, harvest, plant vineyards, build houses. Deuteronomy 8 explicitly contrasts manna in the wilderness with the “good land” where they will eat bread without scarcity.
That labor is not a return to slavery. It is honored work under God, because:
- He gives the land and the power to get wealth.
- They bring firstfruits and tithes to acknowledge that their increase is from Him.
- Deuteronomy 26 lays this out: when they have harvested, they take the firstfruits in a basket, confess “He brought us to this place and gave us this land,” and present it before the Lord.
Judeo-Christian Work Ethic
Entering the Land (Canaan) represents a crucial shift. Work itself is not shameful; being owned by the wrong master. Work is covenant stewardship, not self‑made pride. In the wilderness, there is no production; God feeds them with manna “to humble you… and to do you good in the end,” so they will not say, “My power…has gotten me this wealth.” In the land, God insists that even their good, dignified labor must be framed by offerings—firstfruits and tithes that confess, “He brought us to this place and gave us this land.” So the ethic is: work diligently, but never as if you are self‑made; you work on God’s ground, with God’s strength, and you give back to Him.
The Gilgal are milestones on the road to understanding this Covenantial relationship.
Conclusion:
So the movement is:
1. Egypt: shameful labor under a false master, no ownership, no true rest.
2. Wilderness: no production at all; total dependence on God’s daily gift (manna). This is the hinge point. The time for the hiden to be revealed. The 33.
3. Land: full, fruitful labor with no shame, because it is exercised as stewardship—they “still have to give to God” in firstfruits and tithes, publicly declaring that the land and its produce are His gift, not Pharaoh’s and not their own achievement.
Gilgal sits precisely at that hinge: the slave‑shame is rolled away; they are not going back to forced work for Pharaoh, but forward into dignified, covenant work in a God‑given land, where giving back to God (bikkurim, tithes) is not humiliation but the sign that their labor has been redeemed.
This post is still a work in progress. I've only recently started to really think about gilgal and make connections. So there's a good chance I'll be making change and updates to this blog post. I welcome any ideas or input.
