1 Samuel 7:16

16. Beth-el… Gilgal… Mizpeh These places, with Ramah, he seems to have designated as places where he might be found at certain stated seasons of each year, and where the people from the neighbouring districts might resort unto him for counsel or judgment. On Beth-el, see Genesis 28:19, and Joshua 7:2. There were three places that bore the name of Gilgal: one, in the western part of Central Palestine, was a royal city of the Canaanites, whose king had been overthrown by Joshua, (Joshua 12:23;) another was at the site of the modern Jiljilia, about halfway between Jerusalem and Shechem; and the third was in the plains of Jericho. This last is the Gilgal mentioned in this verse, and was the most celebrated of the three. Here the Israelites first pitched their camp when they entered the Land of Promise, and here the tabernacle probably remained during the wars of the Conquest, and until it was set up at Shiloh. It was ever regarded by Israel as a sacred place. See on Joshua 4:19; Joshua 9:6. So Samuel, leaving his house at Ramah, would pass northwards to Beth-el, thence southeasterly to Gilgal, and thence westwards to Mizpeh, from which place it would be an easy return to Ramah. On Mizpeh, see 1 Samuel 7:5.