Gilgal - The Gilgal Associated With Elijah and Elisha

The Gilgal Associated With Elijah and Elisha

In the Books of Kings, a Gilgal is mentioned that was said to have been home to a group of prophets. The text states that Elijah and Elisha came from here when they went down to Bethel from Gilgal (2 Kings 2:1-2); suggesting that the place was in the vicinity of Bethel, and hence in a mountainous region, which is somewhat different from the place associated with Joshua. Since Gilgal literally means circle of standing stones, it is quite plausible for there to have been more than one place named Gilgal, and although there are dissenting opinions, it is commonly held to be a different place to the one involved with Joshua; it has been identified with the village Jiljilia, about 11 km north of Bethel. It is significant that the Books of Kings treat it as a place of holiness, suggesting that stone circles still had a positive religious value at the time the source text of the passages in question was written, rather than having been condemned as heathen by religious reforms.

It is not different than the Book of Joshua, as it locates it near Bethel as does the Books of Chronicles.