Anderson, H. G. “Shiloh.” Edited by Merrill C. Tenney and Moises Silva.

The Zondervan
Encyclopedia of the Bible, Q-Z (Revised, Full-Color Edition, Vol. 5, pp. 480–483).Grand Rapids,
Mich.: Zondervan, 2009.

Shiloh shi’loh (usually ‫ ִשֹׁלה‬H8926, but also ‫ ִשׁלוֹ‬H8931 [Jdg. 21:19 et al.] and ‫ ִשׁילוֹ‬H8870
[only Jdg. 21:21; Jer. 7:12], p 481 meaning uncertain; the original form was probably ‫ ִשֹׁלן‬, for

the gentilic is ‫ ִשׁיֹלנִ י‬H8872 [see SHILONITE]). A city in the territory of EPHRAIM, located by the
biblical text as N of BETHEL, S of LEBONAH, and to the E of a road that connected Bethel to
SHECHEM (Jdg. 21:19). It is identified with modern Khirbet Seilun, 20 mi. NNE of JERUSALEM.
The ARK OF THE COVENANT and the TABERNACLE were there from the time of JOSHUA through
that of SAMUEL. Shiloh was thus an important religious center for the Israelites. Its location was
well suited to be a quiet place of worship. The town was surrounded by hills on all sides except
the SW, and pasture lands and a water supply were nearby. The position is not strategic,
however, and did not lend itself to defense nor to control of highways and land areas.

Shiloh.

I. Excavations. Shiloh was identified with Seilun by E. Robinson in 1838 on the basis of surface
explorations and the similarity of names. Danish expeditions in 1926, 1929, and 1932 confirmed
this identification. There were traces of occupation in the Middle Bronze period (c. 2100 to 1600
B.C.), but no evidence of Canaanite occupation was found for the Late Bronze period (c. 1600 to
1200). Evidence was found, however, for the occupation of the site again beginning about 1200
and continuing to about 1050, when Shiloh or parts of it were destroyed, probably by the
PHILISTINES.
The Israelites were evidently the first to build extensively at the site. No sign of the shrine
that played a central role in the life of SAMUEL was found (1 Sam. 1:9; 3:3). Evidence of a city
wall, however, and also of a synagogue and a Christian church were discovered, and these
suggest that the site was remembered for many centuries later.
II. Shiloh in the Bible. After the conquest, Joshua first dwelt at GILGAL and then at Shiloh
(Josh. 14:6; 18:1). Why Shiloh was chosen is not known, though the fact that it was seemingly
uninhabited in Canaanite times may have suggested it as an “uncontaminated” location for
worship. The tent of meeting was set up in Shiloh and the Israelites assembled there. Three men
from each tribe were selected to travel the length and breadth of the Promised Land and to write
a description of it. They then returned to Shiloh, and Joshua cast lots to give the seven remaining
tribes their inheritances (18:1; 19:51). Shiloh did assume some military importance for Israel
when the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh built their own large altar by
the Jordan (22:9, 12).
The importance of Shiloh as a center for Israelite worship continued into the time of the
judges (see JUDGES, PERIOD OF), although the ark of the covenant was in Bethel at least for a time
(Jdg. 20:26–27). The biblical writer remarks upon the length of time that the house of God was
there (18:31). There was a yearly feast of Yahweh held at Shiloh in which hundreds of dancing
girls took part (21:20–23). Some four hundred virgin girls had been brought from JABESH
GILEAD to Shiloh to serve this purpose, and they eventually became wives to the Benjamites who
had suffered tragic defeat and who, through the loss of their wives, no longer had the means to
perpetuate the tribe. This annual festival with dancing girls has suggested to some the existence
of a kind of FERTILITY CULT at Shiloh.
p 482
Remains of ancient Shiloh in the hill country of Ephraim. (View to the E.)

Shiloh continues to figure largely in the religious life of Israel during Samuel’s time.
ELKANAH, Samuel’s father, went to Shiloh year by year to sacrifice to Yahweh. ELI and his two
sons, HOPHNI and PHINEHAS, were priests in Shiloh at the time. It was in the temple at Shiloh
that HANNAH prayed for a child and there she brought him to be dedicated to Yahweh’s service
(1 Sam. 1:9–28). The two sons of Eli had largely corrupted the sacrificial system as it was meant
to be practiced at Shiloh, and their conduct with the women who served at the entrance of the
shrine was scandalous (2:12–17, 22–25). This account has again suggested to some the presence
of a kind of Canaanite fertility cult at Shiloh. Yahweh’s appearance to the boy Samuel at Shiloh
and his establishment as a prophet there also emphasize the centrality of the place in the religious
history of early Israel (3:21).
When the ark of God was captured and Israel was defeated at the hands of the Philistines,
Shiloh lost its significance (1 Sam. 4:3–4, 12), and the priests evidently fled to NOB just N of
Jerusalem (22:11). Shiloh, or at least its temple, was evidently destroyed in about 1050 B.C., but
the visit of JEROBOAM’s wife to the home of AHIJAH the prophet in Shiloh probably implies the
existence of some kind of shrine there at least as late as 922 (1 Ki. 14:2, 4). It was generally
recognized that God had “abandoned the tabernacle of Shiloh, / the tent he had set up among
men. / He sent the ark of his might into captivity, / his splendor into the hands of the enemy” (Ps.
78:60–61). JEREMIAH implies that in his day the ruins of the shrine at Shiloh could still be seen,
and this fact he used to give force to his declaration that the TEMPLE at Jerusalem would suffer a
similar fate because of moral and religious corruption (Jer. 7:12, 14; 26:6, 9). The site of the city
itself seems to have experienced some occupation as late as the time of GEDALIAH (Jer. 41:5).
III. “Until Shiloh come.” In Gen. 49:10, part of JACOB’s blessing to his son JUDAH, we find the
Hebrew phrase ʿad kî-yābōʾ šîlōh (Qere šîlô). Rendered “until Shiloh come” by the KJV, these
words have been the occasion of a great deal of discussion and difficulty. It seems impossible to
give a truly satisfactory explanation of the problem.
Shiloh in this passage has been taken traditionally as a name designating the MESSIAH. The
name in this case might be derived from the verb šālâ H8922, “to be at ease,” and would mean
something like “the peace-giver.” This derivation, however, is linguistically difficult. Shiloh is
not found elsewhere in the Bible as a personal name, and the passage is not cited in the NT (as it
likely would p 483 be if it had been regarded as a prediction of the Messiah).
Interestingly, the QUMRAN compilation known as Patriarchal Blessings understands the
verse thus: “until the Messiah of righteousness [or righteous Messiah] comes, the branch of
David” (ʿd bwʾ mšyḥ hṣdq ṣmḥ dwyd, 4Q252 V, 3–4). The Dead Sea community took the
passage to mean that royal power belonged forever to the house of DAVID (who was of the tribe
of Judah), in contrast to the HASMONEAN priest-kings who ruled over them. Thus Gen. 49:10 was
interpreted messianically before the Christian era, though Shiloh was not taken as a personal
name, as far as is known, until much later (cf. in the TALMUD, b. Sanh. 98b). Further support for
a messianic understanding comes from the various TARGUMS to the Pentateuch; for example,
Targum Onkelos paraphrases, “until the Messiah comes to whom the kingdom belongs” (ʿd dyyty
mšyḥʾ dlylyh hyʾ mlkwtʾ).
 A second interpretation suggests that Shiloh does refer to the city mentioned above, and the
passage indicates that Judah or Judean rule was to continue until it extended as far as Shiloh (or
until the Messiah came to Shiloh). If Shiloh is understood as being the center of Israelite worship
and therefore as representative of Israel as a whole, the passage would find fulfillment in the
prominence which the tribe of Judah gained and in the extension of her sovereignty by David. If
in patriarchal times Shiloh was reckoned as a kind of foe to be conquered, this interpretation
would be beset by perhaps the least difficulties.
Another suggestion, which involves a minor textual change, is based on the ancient versions,
such as the Targumic paraphrase cited above as well as the SEPTUAGINT rendering (heōs an elthē
ta apokeimena autō, “until the things stored up for him come”). According to this view, the word
should be read as šellô, “what belongs to him” (i.e., the particle ša- H8611, “which,” plus lô, “to
him”). In support of this rendering, appeal can be made to Ezek. 21:27 (ʿad-bōʾ ʾăšer-lô
hammišpāṭ, “until he comes to whom it rightfully belongs,” probably an echo of Gen. 49:10).
Thus the NIV renders, “until he comes to whom it belongs” (so also the Syriac version).
Alternatively, some scholars understand the first element of the word to be šay H8856, “gift,”
and translate, “until tribute comes to him” (NRSV; similarly, NJPS).
Among various emendations proposed, a popular suggestion is mōšĕlōh, “his ruler.”
Interestingly, the Akkadian word for “prince” or “ruler” is šêlu (šîlu), and “his ruler” would
appear as šayyālô. Other Assyrian technical terms are found in the OT (e.g., RABSHAKEH;
TARTAN), and this may be a possible solution. It should be noted, however, that such terms occur
in the OT only in the literature dating from the time that Assyria was in contact with the
Hebrews, namely the 9th cent. B.C. and later.
(On the city and its excavations, see W. F. Albright in BASOR 9 [Feb. 1923]: 10–11; A. T.
Richardson in PEQ no vol. [1927]: 85–88; H. Kjaer in PEQ no vol. [1927]: 202–13 and [1931]:
71–88; id. in JPOS 10 [1930]: 87–174; I. Finkelstein in BAR 12/1 [Jan.–Feb. 1986]: 22–41;
NEAEHL, 4:1364–70. On the interpretation of Shiloh in Gen. 49:10, in addition to the
commentaries on Genesis, see G. R. Driver in JTS 23 [1922]: 70; J. Lindblom in Congress
Volume: Copenhagen, 1953 [1953], 78–87; O. Eissfeldt in Volume du congrès: Strasbourg, 1956
[1957], 138–47.)
H. G. ANDERSEN