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.
Rolled away the reproach of Egypt - the taunts industriously cast by that people upon Israel as nationally rejected by God by the cessation of circumcision (cf. Exodus 32:12; Psalms 39:8; Ezekiel 16:57; Ezekiel 34:15) (Rosenmuller, in loco). But other texts seem to warrant the phrase being taken in a passive sense: that which exposes Egypt to reproach; namely, uncircumcision (cf. 1 Samuel 17:26); but see the note at Genesis 17:11, where it is shown that the rite of circumcision was to some extent practiced in Egypt. Gesenius renders the words, 'the stain resting on Israel ever since their departure out of Egypt.' But this rendering is not consistent with the view we have taken of the last clause of Joshua 5:2. Rosenmuller's interpretation, referring to the stigma arising from the lack of circumcision, is the best; and the renewal of that rite was a practical announcement of the restoration of the covenant (Keil).
Gilgal, х Gilgaal (H1537), a circle, a rolling away (Golgotha comes from the same root; the rolling away of the reproach of God's people), or generally with the article, ha-Gilgaal (H1537). Septuagint, Galgala]. The word Gilgal was not at first applied to a city, though it was in later times (1 Samuel 7:16). It was the first place pronounced "holy" in the Holy Land (Joshua 5:15) (Robinson's 'Biblical Researches,' 2:, p. 287).