“Gilgal.” Gilgal had long been a center of idol worship (cp. Judges 3:19).

“Beth-aven.” “Beth-aven” means “House of Wickedness,” and it was the name that God was giving Bethel (Beth-el; House of God) which is where Abraham had stayed a while and Jacob had seen God in the “Jacob’s Ladder” incident. That once godly place had become a center of idolatry.