Shiloh

A city of Ephraim, (Josh. 18: 10.) This place was rendered memorable in the history of Israel, (Josh. xix. 51. 1 Sam. 4: 4. 1 Kings 14. 2. Jer. 7: 12, &c.)

Gen 49:10. The Hebrew text is, “until Shiloh come.” All Christian commentators agree, that this word ought to be understood of the Messiah, that is, of Jesus Christ. The LXX read it, “Until the coming of him to whom it is reserved.” It must be owned that the signification of the Hebrew word Shiloh is not well known. Some translate the clause, “The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, till he comes to whom it belongs;” others, “till the coming of the peacemaker, or the pacific, or prosperity;” and some, “The sceptre shall not depart from Judah till its end, its ruin,” till the downfall of the kingdom of the Jews. However, this much is clear, that the ancient Jews are in this matter agreed with the Christians, in acknowledging that the word stands for Messiah, the King. It is thus that the paraphrasts, Onkelos and Jonathan, and the ancient Hebrew commentaries upon Genesis, and the Talmudists explain it. If Jesus Christ and his Apostles did not make use of this passage to prove the coming of the Messiah, it was because then the completion of this prophecy was not sufficiently manifest. The sceptre still continued among the Jews; they had still kings of their own nation, in the persons of the Herods; but soon after the sceptre was entirely taken away from them, and a people began to be gathered to Christ, out of the Gentile nations.

2. SHILOH, a celebrated city of the tribe of Ephraim, twelve miles from Shechem, Joshua 18, 19, 21. It was in this place that the tabernacle of the Lord was set up, when the people were settled in the country. The ark and the tabernacle of the Lord continued at Shiloh from A.M. 2560 till 2888, when it was taken by the Philistines, under the administration of the high priest Eli. 1 Samuel 4. Here the Prophet Ahijah dwelt, 1Ki 14:2.

Shiloh, 1

Shi´loh, the epithet applied, in the prophetic benediction of Jacob on his death-bed (Gen 49:10), to the personage to whom ’the gathering of the nations should be,’ and which has ever been regarded by Christians and by the ancient Jews as a denomination of the Messiah. The oracle occurs in the blessing of Judah, and is thus worded—’The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come: and unto him the gathering of the people shall be.’ The term itself, as well as the whole passage to which it belongs, has ever been a fruitful theme of controversy between Jews and Christians, the former, although they admit for the most part the Messianic reference of the text, being still fertile in expedients to evade the Christian argument founded upon it. Neither our limits nor our object will permit us to enter largely into the theological bearings of this prediction; but it is perhaps scarcely possible to do justice to the discussion as a question of pure philology, without at the same time displaying the strength of the Christian interpretation, and trenching upon the province occupied by the proofs of Jesus of Nazareth being the Messiah of the Old Testament prophecies.

Various etymologies have been assigned to the term. Some very eminent commentators trace it to the root to rest, to be at peace, and make it equivalent to Pacificator, Tranquillizer, or Great Author of Peace. This is a sense accordant with the anticipated and realized character of the Messiah, one of whose crowning denominations is ’Prince of Peace.’ Another opinion is, that it is derived from a word which signifies to ask, seek, require, and that its import is the asked, the desired, a designation which is, equally with the former, in accordance with the character of the predicted Messiah, and is free from some philological objections to which the other derivation is liable.

Shiloh, 2

Shiloh, a city in the tribe of Ephraim, situated among the hills to the north of Bethel, eastward of the great northern road, where the tabernacle and ark remained for a long time, from the days of Joshua, during the ministry of all the judges, down to the end of Eli’s life (Jos 18:1; 1Sa 4:3). To this circumstance Shiloh owed all its importance; for after the loss of the ark—which never returned thither after it had been restored to Israel by the Philistines—it sunk into insignificance. It was, indeed, the residence of Ahijah the prophet (1Ki 11:29; 1Ki 12:15; 1Ki 14:2), but it is more than once mentioned as accursed and forsaken (Psa 78:60; Jer 7:12; Jer 7:14; Jer 26:6). The last mention of it in Scripture is in Jer 41:5, which only shows that it survived the exile. Dr. Robinson identifies it with a place named Seilun, a city surrounded by hills, with an opening by a narrow valley into a plain on the south. The ruins consist chiefly of an old tower with walls four feet thick, and of large stones and fragments of columns indicative of an ancient site (Robinson’s Palestine, iii. 85-89).

1. This term is used, Gen 49:10, to denote the Messiah, the coming of whom Jacob foretells in these words: "The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be;" that is, until the time of Christ, Judah’s self-governments as a tribe should not ceases. It must be admitted, however, that the literal signification of the word is not well ascertained. Some translate, "The scepter shall not depart from Judah till he comes to whom it belongs." Others, with more probability, till the coming of the Peacemaker, or of the One desired.\par 2. A famous city of Ephraim, about ten miles south of Shechem, and twenty-four north of Jerusalem. Here Joshua assembled the people to make the second distribution of the Land of Promise; and her the tabernacle of the Lord was set up, when they were settled in the country, Jos 18:1 ; 19:51. The ark and the tabernacle continued at Shiloh, from B. C. 1444 to B. C. 1116, when it was taken by the Philistines, under the administration of the high priest Eli. In honor of the presence of the ark, there was "a feast of the Lord in Shiloh yearly;" and at one of these festivals the daughters of Shiloh were seized by a remnant of the Benjamites, Jdg 21:19-23 . At Shiloh Samuel began to prophesy, 1Sa 4:1, and here the prophet Ahijah dwelt, 1Ki 14:2 .\par

Shi’loh.

1. In the Authorized Version of the Bible, Shiloh is once used as the name of a person, in a very difficult passage, in Gen 49:10, "The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be." Supposing that the translation is correct, the meaning of the word is peaceable or pacific, and the allusion is either to Solomon, whose name has a similar signification, or to the expected Messiah, who in Isa 9:6, is expressly called, the Prince of Peace. See Messiah.

Other interpretations, however, of the passage are given, one of which makes it refer to the city of this name. See Shiloh, 2. It might be translated, "The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, till he shall go to Shiloh." In this case, the allusion would be to the primacy of Judah in war, Jdg 1:1-2; Jdg 20:18; Num 2:3; Num 10:14, which was to continue until the Promised Land was conquered, and the Ark of the Covenant was solemnly deposited at Shiloh.

(place of rest).

2. A city of Ephraim. In Jdg 21:19 , it is said that Shiloh is "on the north side of Bethel, on the east side of the highway that goeth up from Bethel to Shechem and on the south of Lebonah." In agreement with this, the traveller of our own city, going north from Jerusalem, lodges the first night at Beitin, the ancient Bethel; the next day, at the distance of a few hours, turns aside to the right, in order to visit Seilun, the Arabic for Shiloh; and then passing through the narrow wady which brings him to the main road, leaves el-Lebban, the Lebonah of Scripture, on the left, as he pursues "the highway" to Nublus, the ancient Shechem. See Shechem.

Shiloh was one of the earliest and most sacred of the Hebrew sanctuaries. The Ark of the Covenant, which had been kept at Gilgal during the progress of the conquest, Jos 17:1, seq., was removed, thence, on the subjugation of the country, and kept at Shiloh, from the last days of Joshua to the time of Samuel. Jos 18:10; Jdg 18:31; 1Sa 4:3 . It was here, the Hebrew conqueror divided, among the tribes, the portion of the west Jordan region, which had not been already allotted. Jos 18:10; Jos 19:51. In this distribution, or an earlier one, Shiloh fell within the limits of Ephraim. Jos 16:5. The ungodly conduct of the sons of Eli occasioned the loss of the Ark of the Covenant, which had been carried into battle against the Philistines, and Shiloh, from that time, sank into insignificance. It stands forth in the Jewish history as a striking example of the divine indignation. Jer 7:12.

Gen 49:10. The Messianic interpretation is evaded by translated "until he (Judah) shall come to Shiloh," Judah leading in the march (Num 2:3-9; Num 10:14); and when Israel came to Shiloh they pitched the tabernacle there (Jos 18:1-10), and Judah’s principality ceased. But the town Shiloh did not exist in Jacob’s time, and Judah did not lose the preeminence there; nor indeed did Judah, but Moses and Aaron, lead Israel in the wilderness. Shiloh means "the Peacemaker", "the Prince of peace" (Isa 9:6), from shalah "to be at peace." Solomon ("peaceful") typically (Psalm 72), Messiah antitypically, fulfils the prophecy (Gesenius, Keil, etc.). The ancient versions, however, almost unanimously translated "He to whom, it belongs," "He whose right it is": Eze 21:27 (Septuagint, Aqu., Symm., Syriac, Saad., Onk., Targum Jer., all except Vulgate and Pseudo Jon.).

The letter Yod[h] ( י ) (the i in Shiloh) is made an objection to this latter translation, but many Hebrew manuscripts and all Samaritan manuscripts are without the yod[h], which probably did not appear until the tenth century. The reading without the yod[h] being the harder reading is the less likely to be spurious; the copyists would more probably insert than omit it. However, (as sh for the relative pronoun ’asher is unknown in the Pentateuch, and "it (huw’) is due," namely, the sceptre, would be needed), "the Peacemaker" is best, and so our Hebrew text requires as it has the yod[h]. "Abraham rejoiced to see Messiah’s day, he saw it and was glad" (Joh 8:56); Jacob naturally expresses the same sure anticipation.

The taxing (Luk 2:1-2) on the eve of Jesus’ birth definitely marked the passing of the sceptre (the tribal authority and royal prominence) and of the lawgiver (the Sanhedrin expounders of the law, literally, the ruler’s staff, mechoqeeq; Num 21:18) from Judah, which virtually had begun some time before, and which was consummated only at Jerusalem’s overthrow by Rome. The Herods, though Rome’s creatures, exercised a quasi-native sovereignty in Judah just before and after Jesus’ birth. After Archelaus a Roman procurator for the first time was sent there. Keil’s view however is probably preferable: "the sceptre shall not depart from Judah ... until Shiloh come," i.e. shall NEVER depart.

"Until" (’ad kiy) is not exclusive (Psa 110:1); "and (until) to Him shall the willing obedience (as of a son yiqhath; Pro 30:17) of the peoples be." Judah should bear the sceptre with "lion" courage until in the future Shiloh, sprung from Judah, the willing obedience of the nations came to Him, and His rule over the tribes was widened into the peaceful government of the world. Balaam refers to this prophecy of Jacob (Num 24:17; Isa 11:1-9; Zec 9:10; Eph 2:14; Rev 5:5). "From between his feet" is explained by the versions, "from his posterity." Rather it is the ruler’s staff resting between his feet when he sat, and inclining toward himself. When he spoke in public assemblies he held it in his hand (Keil).

Shiloh (shî’loh). 1. The word "Shiloh," as used in Gen 49:10, has given rise to much discussion. Some consider it as referring to the town; others apply it to the Messiah. 2. A city of Ephraim, north of Bethel, and where the tabernacle was set up. Jos 18:1. It was thus the sacred capital where solemn assemblies were held, Jos 18:8-10; Jos 19:51; Jos 21:2; Jos 22:12; not, however, to the entire exclusion of other places. Jos 24:1; Jos 24:25-26. Through the period of the judges’ administration the tabernacle seems to have remained at Shiloh. Jdg 18:31; Jdg 21:12; Jdg 21:19; Jdg 21:21. It was there in the priesthood of Eli. Samuel was there called to be a prophet. 1Sa 1:3; 1Sa 1:9; 1Sa 1:24; 1Sa 2:14; 1Sa 3:21; 1Sa 4:3-4; 1Sa 4:12; 1Ki 2:27. After the ark of God had been taken by the Philistines we do not find that it was ever restored to the tabernacle at Shiloh. It was sometimes with the army, 1Sa 14:18; but its resting-place was with Abinadab at Kirjath-jearim. 1Sa 7:1-2. And then we hear little more of Shiloh; the tabernacle itself was removed, 2Ch 1:3; and Jerusalem became ultimately the city which the Lord chose, to place his name there.

[Shi’loh]

Title of the Messiah as ’Prince of Peace.’ Gen 49:10; cf. Isa 9:6. See SCEPTRE.

[Shi’loh]

A place within the territory of Ephraim (which tribe had the first-born’s place), and where the tabernacle was located at the close of the life of Joshua (who was also of the tribe of Ephraim); Eli was priest there, and there Samuel began his ministry. The ark had been removed from Gilgal and remained at Shiloh until it was carried into the camp and captured by the Philistines. God had put His name there, but because of the wickedness of the Israelites He forsook the tabernacle at Shiloh, and the place was afterwards held up as a sign of desolation. The break-down of the flesh, represented by Ephraim the firstborn, in the day of battle, made way for the election of God, who chose the tribe of Judah and Mount Zion. Psa 78:9; Psa 78:60-68; Jer 7:12; Jer 7:14; Jer 26:6-9.

When the sin of the tribe of Benjamin led to its being nearly destroyed (Judges 20), the virgins of Shiloh were allowed to be seized to furnish wives for the survivors. Judges 21.

On the division of the kingdom the prophet Ahijah was residing there. Jos 18:1-10; Jdg 18:31; Jdg 21:12-21; 1Sa 1:3-24; 1Sa 4:3; 1Sa 4:12; 1Ki 14:2; 1Ki 14:4; Jer 41:5. Identified with the ruins at Seilun, 32° 3’ N, 35° 17’ E.

( or ; originally, ; comp. ):

By: Emil G. Hirsch, Immanuel Benzinger

City of Ephraim, where were placed, after the settlement in Palestine, the Ark and the sanctuary of Yhwh at which the family of Eli officiated (I Sam. i. 3 et passim, iii. 1 et seq.). As the Ark was not taken back to Shiloh when it was recovered from the Philistines, who had held it for some time, and as the sons of Eli officiated in the sanctuary of Nob in the reign of Saul, it may be assumed that the sanctuary of Shiloh was destroyed during thewar with the Philistines (comp. Jer. xvii. 12, 14; xxvi. 6, 9). According to the Priestly Code, the tabernacle was set up at Shiloh (Josh. xviii. 1), which consequently became the religious center for the entire people, where the land was allotted and where the congregation assembled (Josh. xviii. 8 et seq., xxii. 12; Judges xxi. 12). From there the women were carried off by the Benjamites during the autumn festival. Subsequently Shiloh is mentioned only as the home of the prophet Ahijah (I Kings xi. 29 et al.). It is described in Judges xxi. 19 as being "on the north side of Beth-el, on the east side of the highway that goeth up from Beth-el to Shechem, and on the south of Lebonah," while according to Eusebius it was 15 kilometers from Shechem. All these descriptions apply to the modern Sailun, 18 kilometers south of Nablus, with ancient rock tombs and a pool in a hollow cut into the rock. It is doubtful if there is a reference to Shiloh in the blessing of Jacob (Gen. xlix. 10), as the ordinary interpretation assumes: "as long as [pilgrims] come to Shiloh," that is, while the sanctuary is established there. See Adolf Posnanski, "Shiloh: Ein Beitrag zur Gesch. der Messiaslehre" (Leipsic, 1904), and the commentaries of Drumann and others.

SHILOH.—1. Here the Israelites assembled at the completion of the conquest, and erected the Tent of Meeting; portions were assigned to the still landless tribes, and cities to the Levites (Jos 18:1 etc. Jos 21:1 etc.). At Shiloh the congregation deliberated regarding the altar built by the men of the eastern tribes in the Jordan Valley (Jos 22:12 ff.). During the period of the Judges, it was the central sanctuary (Jdg 18:31), the scene of great religious festivals and pilgrimages (Jdg 21:19, 1Sa 1:2). On one of these occasions the Benjamites captured as wives the women who danced among the vineyards (Jdg 21:18 ff.). Here the youth of Samuel was spent, and from this narrative we gather that the ‘tent’ had given place to a permanent structure, a ‘temple’ (hçkâl), under the care of the high priest Eli and his family. The loss of the ark and the disaster to his sons proved fatal to Eli (1Sa 4:12 ff.), and Shiloh apparently ceased to rank as a sanctuary. The destruction of its temple, possibly by the Philistines, is alluded to in Jer 7:12; Jer 7:14; Jer 26:6; Jer 26:9 (cf. Psa 78:60). Eli’s descendants are afterwards found at Nob (1Sa 14:3; 1Sa 22:11). The prophet Ahijah was a native of Shiloh (1Ki 11:29; 1Ki 14:2; 1Ki 14:4).

The original name, as shown by the gentilic Shilonite, was Shiôn. This form survives in the mod. Seilûn, a ruined site on a hill E. of the road to Shechem, about 9 miles N. of Bethel, and 3 miles S.W. of Khân el-Lubbân (Lebonah, Jdg 21:19). A terrace on the N. of the hill, with a rock-hewn quadrangle, c. 400 ft. × 80 ft., may have been the site of the ancient temple. There is an excellent spring in the valley to the east. There are also numerous rock-hewn tombs. The terraced slopes tell of vineyards, long since disappeared.

2. The real meaning of the clause ‘until Shiloh come’ (Gen 49:10 EV [Note: English Version.] ) is doubtful. If ‘Shiloh’ were a name applied to the Messiah, it would have a special significance; but this cannot be discovered. No ancient version so reads it. The Targg. (Onk., Jerus., and pseud.-Jon.) all interpret it of the Messiah. The Peshitta, on the other hand, reads ‘until he shall come whose it [i.e. the kingdom] is.’ Three possible readings are given in RVm [Note: Revised Version margin.] . (1) ‘Till he come to Shiloh’; grammatically correct, and supported by many scholars. Elsewhere in Scripture, Shiloh means the Ephraimite town. This is taken to refer to Judah’s laying down the leadership he had exercised, when, the conquest finished, Israel assembled at Shiloh. Apart from other objections, however, shçbet, ‘sceptre,’ seems to denote something more than a mere tribal supremacy, and it is not certain that Judah possessed even that pre-eminence. (2) ‘Until that which is his shall come’; so LXX [Note: Septuagint.] ‘till the things reserved for him come.’ (3) ‘Until he shall come whose it is’ (Pesh., Targg. as above). While no certain decision as to the exact meaning is possible, the Messianic character of the verse is clear. It contemplates the ultimate passing of the power of Judah into the bands of an ideal ruler.

Shilonite = ‘native of Shiloh’ is used of—1. Ahijah (1Ki 11:29 etc.). 2. A family dwelling in Jerusalem (1Ch 9:5 etc.). In the latter passage the true reading is prob. ‘the Shelanite’ (cf. Num 26:20).

W. Ewing.

shı̄´lō (שׁילה, shı̄lōh): The prophecy in Gen 49:10, “The scepter shall not depart from Judah,... until Shiloh come,” etc., has been the subject of very diverse interpretations. the Revised Version margin gives as alternative renderings, “ ’Till he come to Shiloh having the obedience of the peoples’ Or, according to the Syriac, ’Till he come whose it is,’ etc.” (1) From the earliest times the passage has been regarded as Messianic, but the rendering in the text, which takes “Shiloh” as a proper name, bearing a meaning such as “peaceful” (compare Isa 9:6, “Prince of Peace”), labors under the difficulty that Shiloh is not found elsewhere as a personal name in the Old Testament, nor is it easy to extract from it the meaning desired. Further, the word was not personally applied to the Messiah in any of the ancient VSS, which rather assume a different reading (see below). Apart from a purely fanciful passage in the Talmud (compare Driver, Gen, 413), this application does not appear earlier than the version of Seb. Munster in the 16th century (1534). (2) The rendering, “till he come to Shiloh,” where Shiloh is taken as the name of a place, not a person, is plausible, but is felt to yield no suitable sense in the context. It is, therefore, now also set aside by most recent scholars. (3) The 3rd rendering, which regards Shiloh as representing the Hebrew שלּה, shellōh = שׁלה, shı̄lōh for לו אשר, ’ăsher lō, “whose (it is),” has in its favor the fact that this is evidently the reading presupposed in the Septuagint, the Peshitta, and the this is evidently the reading presupposed in the Septuagint, the Peshitta, and the Jewish Targums, and seems to be alluded to in Eze 21:27, “until he come whose right it is.” In this view the passage has still a Messianic reference, though critics argue that it must then be regarded as late in origin. Other interpretations need not detain us. See for details the full discussions in Hengstenberg’s Christology, I, 54 ff, English translation, the commentaries of Delitzsch, Driver, and Skinner, on Genesis (especially Excursus II in Driver), and the articles in the various Bible dictionaries. See also PROPHECY.

Gen 49:10 (a) This name is given to the Lord JESUS CHRIST. The word means "the peacemaker."

Jos 18:1 (c) The word means "sent." It may be used as a type of the plan and purposes of GOD for it was at Shiloh that many of GOD’s plans were revealed to His people. (See Jdg 21:19, 1Sa 1:24, 1Ki 2:27, 1Ki 14:2, Jer 7:12).

One of the main routes from Egypt to northern Palestine was the road that passed along the top of the central hill country through the towns of Beersheba, Hebron, Jerusalem, Bethel, Shiloh and Shechem (Jdg 21:19). (For map see PALESTINE.) Shiloh’s convenient location on this road may have been one reason why it was Israel’s central place of worship for most of the period of the judges. There that the nation’s leaders set up the tabernacle and the people held religious festivals (Jos 18:1; Jos 18:8-10; Jos 19:51; Jos 22:9; Jos 22:12; Jdg 18:31; Jdg 21:19-21; 1Sa 1:3; 1Sa 1:9; 1Sa 3:21; 1Sa 4:3).

Some time later, because of the sins of the people, God allowed invaders to destroy Shiloh (Psa 78:60; Jer 7:12-14). This may have occurred during the period of Philistine oppression that led to the establishment of Israel’s monarchy (1Sa 4:2; 1Sa 8:20). In the early days of the monarchy the tabernacle was set up at Nob, a town close to Jerusalem (1Sa 21:1-6; 1Sa 22:18-19). Later, Shiloh was partly rebuilt, but never again was the tabernacle set up there (1Ki 14:4).