Shiloh

A Biblical Site Worth Knowing About (25 September 2017, 5 Tishrei, 5778)

shiloh

Contents:
1. Introduction
2. Shiloh, Hannah, and Present-Day Miracles of Female Fertility
3. Views from Shiloh
4. Israelite Tribes Depicted on the Synagogue Windows of Shiloh
5. The Tabernacle Synagogue at Shiloh
6. Jeremiah and Shiloh
7. Shiloh and Dan
8. When was Shiloh Destroyed?
9. Shiloh and Reconciliation of the Tribes to Each Other.
10. Shiloh and Messiah
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1. Introduction

We received a query about the site of Shiloh in the territory of Ephraim in Samaria, Israel.
Shiloh is of interest in studies concerning Ancient Israel, the Ten Tribes, and Israel in general.
The name Shiloh is believed to derive from a root "ShLH" connoting contentment and tranquility.
The name may also be understood to mean "He Whose It Is." In this case it relates to the coming of the future Messiah who is also known as "Shiloh," as explained below.

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2. Shiloh, Hannah, and Present-Day Miracles of Female Fertility

On the Hebrew New Years Day (Rosh HaShanah) in the Reading from the Prophets for the first day we read about Hannah wife of Elkanah
and future mother of Samuel (1-Samuel 1:1-28). Elkanah is described as an Ephraimite but according to tradition he was actually a Levite who dwelt in the area of Ephraim.
He had two wives, Peninah and Hannah (sometimes spelt as "Chanah). From Peninah he had children but Hannah had none.
At that time (before Jerusalem was chosen) the Tabernacle was in Shiloh.
Three times a year the Hebrews would make a pilgrimage to Shiloh to offer sacrifice at Festival time.
Hannah was grieved because she had no children.
She went to the Tabernacle to pray.
Eli the High Priest sat by the entrance. Eli noticed Hannah praying silently but moving her lips.
This method of prayer was later to become one of the accepted forms but then it was unusual.
Eli thought Hannah was drunk and reproved her.
It was the custom at Festival time to eat the meat of the sacrifice accompanied by wine and be happy. Drinking slightly in excess may therefore have happened from time to time but it was not appropriate to come to the Tabernace in that state.
Hannah explained that she was not drunk but bitter in spirit and beseeching the Almighty for a child.
Eli blessed her.
Hannah vowed that if she should bear a son that she would dedicate him to the service of the Almighty at the Tabernacle.
Her prayer was answered and Samuel was born.

In recent years an interesting custom has arisen. This practice so far has caught on with non-Jewish women more than Jewish ones.
Women who have not succeeded in conceiving have been coming to Shiloh to pray.
Consequently many females have had their prayers answered.
The numbers involved have been increasing from year to year

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3. Views from Shiloh

See Also:
Scenes from Shiloh (mostly photographed by Oriel Davidi).
http://www.britam.org/shiloh1/Shiloh1.html
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4. Israelite Tribes Depicted on the Synagogue Windows of Shiloh

See Also:

http://www.britam.org/TribesShiloh.html
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5. The Tabernacle Synagogue at Shiloh

Shiloh consists of the former site of ancient Shiloh and the present day Israeli settlement besides it.
The site of ancient Shiloh has been partially excavated and is possible to visit.
The Israeli settlement consists of several sections with synagogues in each part.
The major synagogue has been designed in a manner recalling the Original Tabernacle and is quite impressive.



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6. Jeremiah and Shiloh
Jeremiah exhorted the Jews of Judah to visit Shiloh and observe what had happened to it.

Jeremiah 7:
12 'But go now to My place which was in Shiloh, where I set My name at the first, and see what I did to it because of the wickedness of My people Israel.

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7. Shiloh and Dan

The Bible tells us (Judges ch.17) about Micah from Mount Ephraim who made statues to worship and imitations of Tabernacle appurtenances. He also employed a person named Yehonatan from the Tribe of Levi to act as priest in his worship center.
Micah dwelt in Migron on the outskirts of Shiloh. The Sages said that because the Israelites allowed the idolatry of Micah at a place so close to the central Tabernacle of Shiloh then Shiloh was destroyed.

Meanwhile, a group from the Tribe of Dan passed by Migron and Shiloh. The Tribe of Dan had originally received its Tribal portion in the southwest of Israel between Judah and Ephraim. This was insufficient for their needs and they did not succeed in driving out the Amorite Canaaanites who dwelt in that area. Consequently, a group of 600 Danites left to go north. On their way they abducted Yehonatan the Levite and an idol belonging to Micah who lived in Migron closeby to Shiloh. Hoping to retrieve his officiating priest and deity Micah got together a local posse and pursued the Danites. When he met up with them the Danites warned him to desist lest "angry fellows" (Judges 18:25) do him justice. Realizing that discretion is the better part of valor Micah took their advice.

The Danites continued northwards coming to Laish in what is now southeast Turkey. They conquered the city and set up the idol of Micah within it.
Jonathan son of Gershom, son of Moses [other versions: Menasseh] and his sons were priests to the tribe of Dan until the people went into exile. They set up for themselves the idol which Micah had made, and it was there as long as the House of God was at Shiloh" (Judges chapter 18).

See:
Dan and the Serpent Way.
Dan in Northern Israel, Greece, and Elsewhere
http://britam.org/dan3.html
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8. When was Shiloh Destroyed?

Shiloh was where the Holy Sanctuary, precursor to the Holy Temple. It stood for about 400 years during the Era of the Judges. It is first mentioned in the Book of Joshua, which also states that the Holy Sanctuary was built there. In the Book of Samuel, Shiloh is mentioned as a religious center, where Elkana and his family go to give sacrifices to G-d. During that pilgrimage, Elkana's wife, Hana, asks G-d to give her a son, and eventually gives birth to Samuel the Prophet.

Shiloh is said by tradition to have been destroyed after the Israelites' unsuccessful war with the Philistines, in which the enemy took the Holy Ark captive (1-Samuel 4:1-11 defeat at Eben Ezer).
The Prophet Samuel had been an assistant to Eli the Cohen at Shiloh. We later find Samuel officiating and offering up sacrifices int he area of Tsuf to the south. If the Tabernacle at Shiloh had have still been at Shiloh Samuel would not have been able to offer up sacrifices anywhere else (Rashi on 1-Samuel 9:13).
The site of the Tabernacle and the area around it apparently lay in ruins. Jeremiah exhorts the israelites to go and look at the ruins and contemplate their significance (Jeremiah 7:12).
Nevertheless a small Israelite settlement may have been built later nearby. Archaeological findings indicate that an Israelite] presence continued at Shiloh until the year 722 BCE, when the Kingdom of Israel was defeated by Assyria.
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9. Shiloh and Reconciliation of the Tribes to Each Other.

The Bible tells us how the men of the town, Gibeah, in the territory of Benjamin raped and caused the death of a woman who was travelling with her de facto husband (Judges ch.19).
The Tribe of Benjamin refused to deliver the culprits up for punishment so the Children of Israel went to war against the Tribe of Benjamin (Judges ch. 20).
Before going to battle the Israelites had taken an oath not to give any of their daughters as wives to the Sons of Benjamin (Judges 21:1).
After the war there remained alive only a handful of Benjaminite males with no women for them
to continue their tribe. Some women were obtained from Jabesh-Gilead in Manasseh east of the Jordan
(Judges 21:12). The rest were obtained from the dancing maidens of Shiloh
that the men of Benjamin were allowed to grab hold of and marry up with (Judges 21:21).
After that time the 15th of Ab was celebrated annually as a Holiday in honor of the day
in which the Tribes were allowed to marry with each other.
Apparently up until that time there had been a de facto prohibition not only against the
Tribe of Benjamin but against intermarriage between people from different tribes
in general. This was something that had not always existed since we see from the Book of Chronicles and
elsewhere numerous examples of inter-tribal marriage. Apparently the prohibition or taboo had developed over time and then received increased emphasis
with the vow against Benjamin. After the 15 of Ab (pronounced as "Av") the prohibition was abolished,
the Tribes were allowed to intermix, and the date became an annual holiday.
The Day is also taken to represent Unity of the Tribes of Israel in general.

See:
Shiloh and Re-Union
http://hebrewnations.com/articles/18/reunion.html
http://britam.org/judges/judges20.html
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10. Shiloh and Messiah

The name Shiloh is recalled in connection with the Messiah.

[Genesis 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.

The name Shiloh is usually explained by the traditional commentators to mean the Messiah.
Menasseh ben Israel (1604-1657) has given us further insights on this passage. Menasseh was the Chief Rabbi of Holland.
Menasseh ben Israel made contact with Oliver Cromwell the ruler of England. Manasseh also became a friend and correspondent of John Sadler who was a friend of Cromwell and an English parliamentarian. Sadler made a speech in the House of Commons declaring the English to be descended from the lost Ten tribes. He also wrote, "The Rights of the Kingdom," identifying English traditional institutions with those of ancient Israel.

Menasseh ben Israel explained (in his work "Conciliator") the above expression thusly:
# [Genesis 49:10] THE SCEPTRE SHALL NOT DEPART FROM JUDAH,
i.e. Judah shall always be recognizable as an Israelite Tribe.
[The word translated as "sceptre" in Hebrew is "shevet" which also connotes "Tribes."]
# NOR A LAWGIVER FROM BETWEEN HIS FEET, UNTIL SHILOH COME; AND UNTO HIM SHALL THE GATHERING OF THE PEOPLE BE.
The Messiah will enable individuals from the Lost Ten Tribes to know what Tribe they belong to.
The gathering of the People in Hebrew is in the plural i.e. "peoples" and according to Manasseh ben Israel means the other Tribes who shall gather into the Messiah.
The Messiah will confirm the Tribal identity of individual Israelites to them.
This aspect of the Messiah corresponds with the historical role of Shiloh and the reconciliation of Israelite Tribes with each other.