Shiloh
Fausset's Bible Dictionary [1]
From Shaalah "to rest." The place at which Israel attained its state of rest, and where the Lord rested among them ( Psalms 132:14). Judges ( Judges 21:19) describes its position as "on the N. side of Bethel (Beitin), on the E. side of the highway that goeth up from Bethel to Shechem ( Nablus ), and on the S. of Lebonah." Now Seilun . The ark, which had been at Gilgal during the conquest of Canaan, was removed on the completion of the conquest to Shiloh where it remained from Joshua's closing days to Samuel's ( Joshua 18:1-10; Judges 18:31; 1 Samuel 4:3). Here Joshua divided by lot the part of the western Jordan land not yet allotted ( Joshua 19:51). Shiloh fell within Ephraim ( Joshua 16:5-6). The animal feast of Jehovah when the daughters of Shiloh went forth in dances gave Benjamin, when threatened with extinction, the opportunity of carrying off wives ( Judges 21:19-23). At a distance of 15 minutes' walk is a fountain reached through a narrow dale; it flows first into a well, thence into a reservoir, from which herds and flocks are watered.
Here the daughters of Shiloh would resort, the spectators could see their dances from the amphitheater of surrounding hills. Terraces are traceable at the sides of the rocky hills, once covered with verdure and productiveness. Though the scenery is not striking the seclusion was favorable to worship and religious study. In the rockhewn sepulchres may have been laid the remains of some of Eli's house. Here Eli judged Israel and died of grief at the capture of the ark by the Philistines. Here Hannah prayed and Samuel was reared in the tabernacle and called to the prophetic office (1 Samuel 1; 2; 3). The sin of Hophni and Phinehas caused the loss of the ark and God's forsaking of His tabernacle at Shiloh (Called In Spiritual Sense "The House Of God," Though Not Of Stone: Judges 18:31 ; 2 Samuel 7:6 ; 1 Kings 3:2 ) , so that this became a warning beacon of God's wrath against those who sin in the face of high spiritual privileges ( Jeremiah 7:12; Psalms 78:60-61).
Ahijah the prophet was here consulted by the messengers of Jeroboam's wife ( 1 Kings 11:29; 1 Kings 12:15; 1 Kings 14:1-2). From Shiloh came the half pagan men, with offerings for the Lord's house, who had cut themselves, and whom Ishmael slew ( Jeremiah 41:5). A tell or hill, surrounded by higher hills, rises from an uneven plain, with a valley on the south side. On the hill the tabernacle would be conspicuous from all sides. On the summit of the hill are the remains of what was once a Jewish synagogue, subsequently used as a mosque.
On the lintel over the doorway, between two wreaths of flowers, is carved a vessel shaped like a Roman Amphora , so closely resembling the "pot of Manna ," as found on coins and in the ruins of the synagogue at Capernaum, that it doubtless formed part of the original building. There is a curious excavation in the rock which may have been the actual spot where the ark rested; for its guardians would select a place sheltered from the bleak winds of the highlands. The position of the sanctuary was central for the Israelites W. of Jordan. Major Wilson says northwards the tell at Seilun slopes down to a broad shoulder, across which a level court has been cut, 77 by 412 ft.; the rock is scarped to the height of five feet, evidently the site of the tabernacle. The mosque's title, the mosque of the Eternal, points to its original occupation by Jehovah's sanctuary.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia [2]
(The most usual form is שׁלה , shı̄lōh , but it appears 8 times as שׁלו , shı̄lō , and 3 times as שׁילו , Shı̄low ; Σηλώ , Sēlṓ , Σηλώμ , Sēlṓm ): A town in the lot of Ephraim where Israel assembled under Joshua at the close of the war of conquest ( Joshua 18:1 ). Here territory was allotted to the seven tribes who had not yet received their portions. A commission was sent out to "describe the land into seven portions"; this having been done, the inheritances were assigned by lot. Here also were assigned to the Levites their cities in the territories of the various tribes (Joshua 18 through 21). From Shiloh Reuben and Gad departed for their homes East of the Jordan; and here the tribes gathered for war against these two, having misunderstood their building of the great altar in the Jordan valley (Joshua 22). From Judges 18:31 we learn that in the period of the Judges the house of God was in Shiloh; but when the sanctuary was moved thither from Gilgal there is no indication. The maids of Shiloh were captured by the Benjamites on the occasion of a feast, while dancing in the vineyards; this having been planned by the other tribes to provide the Benjamites with wives without involving themselves in responsibility ( Judges 21:21 ff). While the house of the Lord remained here it was a place of pilgrimage ( 1 Samuel 1:3 ). To Shiloh Samuel was brought and consecrated to God's service ( 1 Samuel 1:24 ). The sanctuary was presided over by Eli and his wicked sons; and through Samuel the doom of their house was announced. The capture of the ark by the Philistines, the fall of Hophni and Phinehas, and the death of the aged priest and his daughter-in-law followed with startling rapidity (1 Sam 3; 4). The sanctuary in Shiloh is called a "temple" ( 1 Samuel 1:9; 1 Samuel 3:3 ) with doorpost and doors ( 1 Samuel 1:9; 1 Samuel 3:15 ). It was therefore a more durable structure than the old tent. See Tabernacle; Temple . It would appear to have been destroyed, probably by the Philistines; and we find the priests of Eli's house at Nob, where they were massacred at Saul's order ( 1 Samuel 22:11 ff). The disaster that befell Shiloh, while we have no record of its actual occurrence, made a deep impression on the popular mind, so that the prophets could use it as an effective illustration ( Psalm 78:60; Jeremiah 7:12 :14; Jeremiah 26:6 ). Here the blind old prophet Ahijah was appealed to in vain by Jeroboam's wife on behalf of her son ( 1 Kings 14:2 , 1 Kings 14:4 ), and it was still occupied in Jeremiah's time ( Jeremiah 41:5 ).
The position of Shiloh is indicated in Judges 21:19 , as "on the north of Beth-el, on the east side of the highway that goeth up from Beth-el to Shechem, and on the south of Lebonah." This is very explicit, and points definitely to Seilūn , a ruined site on a hill at the Northeast of a little plain, about 9 miles North of Beitı̄n (Bethel), and 3 miles Southeast of Khān el - Lubbān (Lebonah), to the East of the highway to Shechem ( Nāblus ). The path to Seilun leaves the main road at Sinjil , going eastward to Turmus ‛Aya , then northward across the plain. A deep valley runs to the North of the site, cutting it off from the adjoining hills, in the sides of which are rock-hewn tombs. A good spring rises higher up the valley. There are now no vineyards in the district; but indications of their ancient culture are found in the terraced slopes around.
The ruins on the hill are of comparatively modern buildings. At the foot of the hill is a mosque which is going quickly to ruin. A little distance to the Southeast is a building which seems to have been a synagogue. It is called by the natives Jami' el - ‛Arba'in , "mosque of the Forty." There are many cisterns.
Just over the crest of the hill to the North, on a terrace, there is cut in the rock a rough quadrangle 400 ft. by 80 ft. in dimensions. This may have been the site of "the house of the Lord" which was in Shiloh.
Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature [3]
Bibliography Information McClintock, John. Strong, James. Entry for 'Shiloh (2)'. Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature. https://www.studylight.org/encyclopedias/eng/tce/s/shiloh-2.html. Harper & Brothers. New York. 1870.
