The people came up out of the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and they encamped at Gilgal on the east border of Jericho.
English Standard Version (ESV)
This specific date, the tenth of the first month, is incredibly significant because it mirrors the exact day forty years earlier when Israel was commanded to set aside the lamb for Passover. It highlights God's perfect timing, bringing them into the promised land precisely when their forty-year journey began.
The people came up out of the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and they encamped at Gilgal on the east border of Jericho.
English Standard Version (ESV)
Having just crossed the Jordan River, the people of Israel make their first encampment in the Promised Land at a place called Gilgal, east of Jericho. This move marks the completion of their forty-year journey in the wilderness and sets the stage for the conquest of Canaan, beginning with the capture of Jericho. The timing of their arrival, precisely on the tenth day of the first month, holds symbolic weight, aligning with the day they were to select the Passover lamb forty years prior.
Did you know that the timing of Israel's crossing the Jordan wasn't random? It was a moment deliberately chosen by God, echoing a significant event from their past.
The verse pinpoints the exact day Israel emerged from the Jordan River: the tenth day of the first month. This date, the month of Nisan, held special meaning. Forty years prior, on this very same day, the Israelites were instructed to select the lamb that they would sacrifice for the Passover (Exodus 12:3). This wasn't just a coincidence; it was a divine bookend. The journey that began with selecting a lamb for sacrifice in Egypt concluded with entering the Promised Land on the same significant date. It shows God's faithfulness in fulfilling His promises across generations and seasons.
The place they camped was called Gilgal. But this name wasn't just a label; it marked a pivotal spiritual reset for the entire nation.
Israel's encampment at Gilgal wasn't just a geographical location; it was a place rich with theological significance, even though the name itself was given by anticipation here. The name 'Gilgal' likely relates to the idea of 'rolling away.' This became the site where Joshua circumcised the men of Israel who had been born in the wilderness. This act, as described in Joshua 5, 'rolled away' the reproach of their forty years of wandering and their lack of covenant identity. Gilgal became the first base camp in the Promised Land, a place of spiritual cleansing and reaffirmation of God's covenant before they could truly possess the land. It served as a reminder that entering God's promises requires obedience and a shedding of past uncleanness.
Ask a follow-up
Those stones from the Jordan weren't just piled up. They were intended to spark conversations and preserve a monumental truth for centuries.
The act of bringing twelve stones up from the Jordan and setting them up at Gilgal was designed to be a perpetual memorial. The text implies these stones were arranged in a way that would naturally prompt questions, like "What do these stones mean?" (Joshua 4:21). This was God's strategy to ensure the memory of His mighty acts – specifically, drying up the Jordan – would live on. Parents were meant to teach their children, and those children their own children, about God's power and faithfulness. This monument wasn't just for the generation that crossed; it was a deliberate act of intergenerational discipleship, ensuring that the stories of God's deliverance would be retold, strengthening faith through the shared history of God's covenant with His people.
Understand the original words
Gilgal · Hebrew Proper Noun
A place of rolling or circular formation, used in the Bible as a location for spiritual renewal, the renewal of the covenant, and a base of operations for the conquest of Canaan.
Yericho · Hebrew Proper Noun
The primary city and fortress at the entry point into the Promised Land, representing the first major obstacle and victory for Israel under God's command.
This specific day marks a pivotal moment: exactly 40 years after the initial Passover preparation in Egypt, Israel enters the Promised Land and establishes its first base camp at Gilgal, signifying the fulfillment of God's promise and the beginning of a new phase of their covenant relationship.
c. 1446 BC
Israelites leave Egypt
The Israelites depart from Egypt after 400 years of slavery, marking the beginning of their 40-year wilderness journey.
c. 1446 BC, 10th day of the 1st month
Israelites take Passover lamb
Israelites are commanded to select a lamb for Passover, which will be celebrated four days later, just before their exodus.
c. 1406 BC, 10th day of the 1st month— this verse
Israelites cross the Jordan River
After 40 years of wandering, the Israelites miraculously cross the Jordan River into the Promised Land, led by Joshua.
c. 1406 BC, 10th day of the 1st month— this verse
Camp established at Gilgal
The people set up their first camp in the Promised Land at Gilgal, east of Jericho, immediately after crossing the Jordan.
c. 1406 BC, 14th day of the 1st month
First Passover in the Promised Land
The Israelites celebrate their first Passover in Canaan at Gilgal, four days after crossing the Jordan.
c. 1406 BC
Circumcision at Gilgal
Joshua renews the covenant by circumcising the males at Gilgal, as the generation born in the wilderness had not been circumcised.
c. 1406 BC
Manna ceases at Gilgal
After the Passover and the renewal of circumcision, the miraculous manna that had sustained Israel in the wilderness stops falling.
This passage details the institution of the Passover, which the Israelites celebrated exactly forty years after their crossing of the Jordan. The timing highlights God's faithfulness in bringing His people into the promised land on a significant anniversary.
Joshua 5:2-10This immediately following passage explains why the place was named Gilgal, revealing that circumcision, a sign of the covenant, was reinstituted there. This adds a crucial layer of meaning to the encampment at Gilgal beyond just a stopping point.
Deuteronomy 32:40-43This prophetic song speaks of God's vengeance against His enemies and His comfort for His people. It anticipates the 'day of vengeance' and the 'day of redemption,' which the crossing of the Jordan and entering the land powerfully symbolize.
Psalm 78:12-16This Psalm recounts God's mighty acts for Israel, including parting the sea and bringing forth water from rocks. It emphasizes God's desire for His people to remember these wonders, directly paralleling the purpose of the Gilgal memorial stones.
John 1:14This verse speaks of the Word becoming flesh and dwelling among us. It offers a New Testament parallel to the idea of God's presence powerfully manifesting in a specific location, as the Israelites experienced at the Jordan and Gilgal.
calvinJoshua 4:19-24: "And the people came up out of Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and encamped in Gilgal, in the east border of Jericho."
- And the people came up, etc Why the day on which they entered the land, and first encamped in it, is marked, we shall see in next chapter. But the name of Gilgal is given to the first station by anticipation, for this new name was afterwards given to it by Joshua on the renewal of circumcision; its etymology will be explained in its own place. Mo…
gillJoshua 4:19: "And the people came up out of Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and encamped in Gilgal, in the east border of Jericho."
And the people came up out of Jordan,.... The channel of it, to the shore: on the tenth day of the first month; the month Nisan or Abib, which from the time of Israel's coming out of Egypt was appointed the first month of the year, Exodus 12:2; on the fifteenth of which month they came out of Egypt, having kept the passover on the fourteenth at even; so…
This specific date, the tenth of the first month, is incredibly significant because it mirrors the exact day forty years earlier when Israel was commanded to set aside the lamb for Passover. It highlights God's perfect timing, bringing them into the promised land precisely when their forty-year journey began.
Having just crossed the Jordan River, the people of Israel make their first encampment in the Promised Land at a place called Gilgal, east of Jericho. This move marks the completion of their forty-year journey in the wilderness and sets the stage for the conquest of Canaan, beginning with the capture of Jericho. The timing of their arrival, precisely on the tenth day of the first month, holds symbolic weight, aligning with the day they were to select the Passover lamb forty years prior.
Having just crossed the Jordan River, the people of Israel make their first encampment in the Promised Land at a place called Gilgal, east of Jericho. This move marks the completion of their forty-year journey in the wilderness and sets the stage for the conquest of Canaan, beginning with the capture of Jericho. The timing of their arrival, precisely on the tenth day of the first month, holds symbolic weight, aligning with the day they were to select the Passover lamb forty years prior.
"The people came up out of the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and they encamped at Gilgal on the east border of Jericho." — This specific date, the tenth of the first month, is incredibly significant because it mirrors the exact day forty years earlier when Israel was commanded to set aside the lamb for Passover. It highl…
Get the original Greek and Hebrew, verse-by-verse context, and related passages inside the app.
Last reviewed October 2026