Temple (post tabernacle) site for hundreds of years. Site of Joshua's final message to Israel. The place of Hannah's prayer, and Samuel's childhood. Sacked after Israelites removed the ark to the Philistine front lines and suffered a major defeat. Jeremia: "Remember Shiloh." (more photos: Wiki & Bible)
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Bible Photo & Explanation In this western view, the ruins of the ancient city of Shiloh are just left of center.
Significant Events: The tribes of Israel assembled and received their allotment of territory (Josh. 18–22). The tabernacle and ark of the covenant were set up here and remained for centuries (Josh. 18:1). Here Hannah prayed and dedicated her son Samuel to the Lord’s service (1 Sam. 1). The Israelites took the ark from Shiloh and were defeated by the Philistines, who then captured the ark (1 Sam. 4:1–11). (See BD Shiloh.)
BD Shiloh (1) A sacred city of the Holy Land, 9¼ miles north from Bethel and 11½ miles south from Shechem, in the tribe of Ephraim (Josh. 18:1; Judg. 18:31). The tabernacle was here during the greater part of the period of the Judges, and the place continued to be the religious center of the nation (1 Sam. 1:3) until after the loss of the Ark in the disastrous battle of Ebenezer. See also Josh. 22:9, 12; Judg. 21:12–23; 1 Sam. 1:24; 3:21; 4:3–4; 14:3; 1 Kgs. 2:27; 14:2, 4; Ps. 78:60; Jer. 7:12–14; 26:6; 41:5.
(2) The name as found in Gen. 49:10 has been regarded by many biblical scholars as a prophecy of the coming of Messiah. This interpretation is confirmed by JST Gen. 50:24 (Appendix) and was fulfilled in Jesus Christ’s being literally of the lineage so as to be the heir to the throne of David. Shiloh can be read as a short form for “He to whom it belongs”; for such a phrase referring to the Messiah, see Ezek. 21:27.
1 And the whole congregation of the children of Israel assembled together at Shiloh, and set up the tabernacle of the congregation there. And the land was subdued before them.
8 ¶ And the men arose, and went away: and Joshua charged them that went to describe the land, saying, Go and walk through the land, and describe it, and come again to me, that I may here cast lots for you before the Lord in Shiloh.
9 And the men went and passed through the land, and described it by cities into seven parts in a book, and came again to Joshua to the host at Shiloh.
10 ¶ And Joshua cast lots for them in Shiloh before the Lord: and there Joshua divided the land unto the children of Israel according to their divisions.
12 And they found among the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead four hundred young virgins, that had known no man by lying with any male: and they brought them unto the camp to Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan.
19 Then they said, Behold, there is a feast of the Lord in Shiloh yearly in a place which is 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.
21 And see, and, behold, if the daughters of Shiloh come out to dance in dances, then come ye out of the vineyards, and catch you every man his wife of the daughters of Shiloh, and go to the land of Benjamin.
3 And this man went up out of his city yearly to worship and to sacrifice unto the Lord of hosts in Shiloh. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, the priests of the Lord, were there.
9 So Hannah rose up after they had eaten in Shiloh, and after they had drunk. Now Eli the priest sat upon a seat by a post of the temple of the Lord.
24 And when she had weaned him, she took him up with her, with three bullocks, and one ephah of flour, and a bottle of wine, and brought him unto the house of the Lord in Shiloh: and the child was young.
1 Sam 2:14 And he struck it into the pan, or kettle, or caldron, or pot; all that the fleshhook brought up the priest took for himself. So they did in Shiloh unto all the Israelites that came thither.
And the Lord appeared again in Shiloh: for the Lord revealed himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the Lord.
And when the people were come into the camp, the elders of Israel said, Wherefore hath the Lord smitten us to day before the Philistines? Let us fetch the ark of the covenant of the Lord out of Shiloh unto us, that, when it cometh among us, it may save us out of the hand of our enemies.
4 So the people sent to Shiloh, that they might bring from thence the ark of the covenant of the Lord of hosts, which dwelleth between the cherubims: and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.
12 ¶ And there ran a man of Benjamin out of the army, and came to Shiloh the same day with his clothes rent, and with earth upon his head.
2 And Jeroboam said to his wife, Arise, I pray thee, and disguise thyself, that thou be not known to be the wife of Jeroboam; and get thee to Shiloh: behold, there is Ahijah the prophet, which told me that I should be king over this people.
4 And Jeroboam’s wife did so, and arose, and went to Shiloh, and came to the house of Ahijah. But Ahijah could not see; for his eyes were set by reason of his age.
12 But go ye now unto my place which was in Shiloh, where I set my name at the first, and see what I did to it for the wickedness of my people Israel.
14 Therefore will I do unto this house, which is called by my name, wherein ye trust, and unto the place which I gave to you and to your fathers, as I have done to Shiloh.
BD Tabernacle The center place of Israel’s worship activities during the wanderings and until the building of the temple in Solomon’s day. The tabernacle was in fact a portable temple. It was an inner tent, the area available for sacred purposes (Ex. 26:7; 36:14). It was oblong, 30 cubits in length and 10 in breadth and height. Its north, west, and south sides were made of 46 boards (10 cubits by 1½) and two narrower corner ones of acacia wood (Ex. 26:15), overlaid with gold (26:29). These boards were fitted with golden rings, through which were passed bars of acacia wood overlaid with gold to fasten all firmly together. Suspended over them, and serving as an inner lining to the tent covering, was the rich covering—10 curtains (each 28 cubits by 4) made of fine twined linen, and blue and purple and scarlet, embroidered with figures of cherubim (Ex. 26:1).
Over the tabernacle the tent was spread. Its length was 40 cubits, or 10 cubits longer than the tabernacle. The entrance toward the east was closed by a screen of blue, purple, and scarlet and fine twined linen. Over the tent came the covering of the tent, which consisted of two parts: (1) an inner covering of ramskins dyed red; (2) a covering of badger skins over all (Ex. 26:14).
The tent stood in a court 100 cubits by 50, surrounded by a fence (Ex. 27:18) five cubits high, composed of pillars and hangings of fine white linen. The entrance toward the east was 20 cubits wide (Ex. 27:16) and was closed by a screen of linen of four different colors on four pillars.
In the court outside the tent and in front of its door stood the altar of burnt offering, a square of five cubits, three cubits high. Its outer frame was acacia wood overlaid with brass (Ex. 27:1–2, 8), whence its name (Ex. 39:39). The hollow was probably filled with earth or unhewn stones (Ex. 20:24–25). Around and halfway up the altar was a ledge (Ex. 27:5), supported by a grating or network of brass. Besides various brazen utensils for use in the sacrifices, it had rings and staves by means of which it was carried.
Between the altar of burnt offering and the door of the tent stood a laver of brass on a base of brass (Ex. 30:18). In it the priests washed their hands and feet when they went into the tent for any priestly purpose (Ex. 30:19–21).
The tabernacle was divided into two parts by a veil of the same materials as the screen of the court, the inner roof covering of the tabernacle, and the screen of the tent (Ex. 36:35, 37). In the outer compartment (20 cubits by 10), called the Holy Place, were three things: (1) In the middle, before the veil and before the mercy seat (Ex. 30:6), stood the altar of incense, similar in construction to the altar of burnt offering but smaller and overlaid with gold. On it incense was burned morning and evening (no animal sacrifices); and on its horns was put once a year, on the Day of Atonement, the blood of the sin offering (Ex. 30:10). (2) On the south side of the altar of incense stood the candlestick (Ex. 26:35), of pure gold of beaten work, with six branches and seven lamps. Pure olive oil beaten was burned in the lamps (Ex. 27:20–21; Lev. 24:2). Aaron lit the lamps at evening and dressed them in the morning (Ex. 30:8; Lev. 24:3). (3) On the north side of the altar stood the table of shewbread (Ex. 25:23–30) made of acacia wood. On it was placed the shewbread, consisting of 12 unleavened cakes made of fine flour. They were placed in two rows (or piles), and frankincense was put on each row (Lev. 24:7). The shewbread was changed every Sabbath day, and the old loaves were eaten by the priests in a holy place (Lev. 24:9).
The Holy of Holies contained only one piece of furniture: the Ark of the Covenant, or the Ark of the Testimony (Ex. 25:22). It was an oblong box of acacia wood, 2½ cubits long and 1½ cubits wide and high, overlaid within and without with gold, and with a rim or edging of gold round its top. It had rings and staves by which to carry it, and the staves were never to be removed from the rings (Ex. 25:15). The ark had within it “The Testimony” (the two tables of stone) (Ex. 25:21; 31:18). From these the ark got both its names. According to Heb. 9:4 the ark also contained a pot of manna and Aaron’s rod that budded. In the Old Testament it is said of these that they were put or laid up “before the testimony” (Ex. 16:34; Num. 17:10). They were not in the ark in the time of Solomon (1 Kgs. 8:9). The book of the law was placed by the side of the ark of the covenant, not inside it (Deut. 31:26). Upon the ark and forming the lid was the mercy seat. It served, with the ark beneath, as an altar on which the highest atonement known to the Jewish law was effected. On it was sprinkled the blood of the sin offering of the Day of Atonement (Lev. 16:14–15). The mercy seat was the place of the manifestation of God’s glory (Ex. 25:22). It was God’s throne in Israel. Compare the phrase “The Lord God of Israel, which sitteth upon (or dwelleth between) the cherubim” (1 Sam. 4:4). At the ends were placed two cherubim of gold of beaten work, spreading out their wings so as to cover the mercy seat and looking toward it.
The pattern of the tabernacle was delivered by God to Moses. Bezaleel and Aholiab were the chief constructors (Ex. 31:3–6). The people so freely offered for the service of the work that they had to be restrained from bringing. There was more than sufficient for all the work to make it (Ex. 36:6–7). The tabernacle with all its furniture was brought to Moses when complete, and on the first day of the first month of the second year (one year less 14 days from the Exodus) he reared it up and finished the work. When the whole building was set in order, the cloud covered the tent and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle (Ex. 40:34). The cloud, the token of Jehovah’s presence, had the appearance of a fire by night, and by its rising from or abiding on the tent, determined the journeyings and encampments of the children of Israel (Ex. 40:34; Num. 9:17–18). The tabernacle accompanied the children of Israel during their wanderings in the desert and in the different stages of the conquest of the land of Canaan. The conquest complete, it was fixed in Shiloh as the place that the Lord had chosen (Josh. 18:1). Here we find it in the earliest (Judg. 18:31) and latest days of the Judges (1 Sam. 1:3). At the time of the capture of the ark God forsook the tabernacle of Shiloh (Ps. 78:60). The ark never returned to the tabernacle. It was removed from Shiloh; we find it some years later with its priests and its table of shewbread at Nob (1 Sam. 21:1), and in Solomon’s reign with its altar of burnt offering and ministered at by Zadok the high priest at Gibeon (1 Chr. 16:39–40). After the building of the temple it entirely disappears from the history.
Isaiah uses the figure of the tabernacle as a foreshadowing of Zion and the holy city of Jerusalem when it is built up at the Lord’s Second Coming (Isa. 33:20).
BD Samuel Name of God. Son of Elkanah and Hannah, born in answer to his mother’s prayers (1 Sam. 1); as a child placed in Eli’s charge at the tabernacle at Shiloh (2:11; 3:1). After Eli’s death he became the great prophet and judge of Israel, and restored law and order and regular religious worship in the land (7:2–17). After Saul had been appointed king (see 8; 9:14–10:25), Samuel seems to have ceased to act as judge, but he continued to be the prophet and representative of Jehovah. The following are the chief events belonging to this later period of his life: he calls the people to witness to his own integrity (1 Sam. 12); reproves Saul for his presumption (13:8–15); bids Saul destroy the Amalekites, and reproves him for his disobedience (1 Sam. 15); anoints David (16:1–13); receives David at Naioth (19:18); his death (25:1). There are also references to him in 1 Chr. 6:28; 9:22; 11:3; 26:28; 29:29; 2 Chr. 35:18; Ps. 99:6; Jer. 15:1; Acts 3:24; 13:20; Heb. 11:32. Though not a priest, he performed priestly functions and constantly offered sacrifice at various places. His old age was saddened by the willfulness of Saul, and he is a signal example of faith, patience, integrity, and self-sacrifice through a long and trying career.
The account in 1 Sam. 28:5–20 of the prophet being brought back from the dead by the witch of Endor, at King Saul’s request, presents a problem. It is certain that a witch or other medium cannot by any means available to her bring up a prophet from the world of spirits. We may confidently be assured that if Samuel was present on that occasion, it was not due to conjuring of the witch. Either Samuel came in spite of and not because of the witch, or some other spirit came impersonating him.
BD Ark of the Covenant Also known as the Ark of Jehovah and the Ark of the Testimony; an oblong chest of acacia or shittim wood overlaid with gold, 2½ cubits long, 1½ broad and high, made by Moses at God’s command (Ex. 25). It was the oldest and most sacred of the religious symbols of the Israelites, and the Mercy Seat which formed its covering was regarded as the earthly dwelling place of Jehovah (Ex. 25:22). (See Mercy Seat.) The Ark was fitted with rings and staves, by which it was carried. Prayers were recited before it moved or rested (Num. 10:35–36), and during its progress it was treated with the greatest reverence. According to 1 Kgs. 8:9 it contained only the Tables of the Law, but in Heb. 9:4 it is said to have contained the “pot of manna” and “Aaron’s rod that budded,” which had been ordered to be kept “before the Testimony” (Ex. 16:32–34; 25:16; 40:20; Num. 17:10). The usual resting place of the Ark was in the Holy of Holies (see Tabernacle). It led the way at the passage of the Jordan (Josh. 3:3–13); it was present at the capture of Jericho (Josh. 6); and during the conquest of Canaan it seems to have been kept at Gilgal (9:6; 10:43). It was present at the solemn service held at Ebal (8:30–33). Later on it was removed to Shiloh (18:1; 1 Sam. 3:3). In the days of Eli it was captured by the Philistines (1 Sam. 4–7), who sent it back to Beth-shemesh (6:11–20), whence it was taken to Kirjath-jearim or Baale of Judah (6:21–7:2). Thence it was brought by David to Jerusalem, the journey being interrupted at Perezuzzah (2 Sam. 6; 1 Chr. 13:11). In Jerusalem it was placed in a separate tent, which David pitched for it (2 Sam. 7:2; 1 Chr. 16:1). It accompanied the army in the war against Ammon (2 Sam. 11:11), but David refused to take it with him in his campaign against Absalom (2 Sam. 15:24–25). On the completion of Solomon’s temple it was placed in the Holy of Holies (1 Kgs. 8:1–8). Apparently it was removed by Manasseh and reinstated by Josiah (2 Chr. 33; 35:3). In 2 Maccabees 2:4 there is an untrustworthy tradition of its preservation by Jeremiah at the destruction of the temple. It had certainly disappeared before the building of the second temple. It was seen by John in his vision of heaven (Rev. 11:19).