Bible Location
Meaning: sent · 30 cross references · Modern-day map available
Shiloh was an early sanctuary town in the hill country of Ephraim where the tabernacle stood for a long period before the rise of Jerusalem. It is important because it served as a central worship site in the days of Joshua, Judges, and Samuel, and later became a warning example of what could happen to a holy place under judgment. First appears in Josh 18:1.1
Place meaning
sent
Coordinates
32.06, 35.29
First appears
Josh 18:1
AI summary: Shiloh's importance lies in its role as Israel's early religious center. After the conquest, the tabernacle is set there, giving Shiloh a major place in the nation's worship and memory before the temple era. Stories about Hannah, Samuel, Eli, and the ark all deepen its significance, making it one of the defining locations of the transition from judges to monarchy. Yet Shiloh is also remembered for loss: its decline and destruction allow later prophets, especially Jeremiah, to use it as a warning that sacred status does not shield a people from judgment. The cross references show Shiloh as both a center of worship and a sobering lesson in covenant responsibility.1
Place meaning
sent
Latitude
32.06
Longitude
35.29
Bible references
30
Generally understood as denoting the Messiah, “the peaceful one,” as the word signifies (Gen. 49:10). The Vulgate Version translates the word, “he who is to be sent,” in allusion to the Messiah; the Revised Version, margin, “till he come to Shiloh;” and the LXX., “until that which is his shall come to Shiloh.” It is most simple and natural to render the expression, as in the Authorized Version, “till Shiloh come,” interpreting it as a proper name (comp. Isa. 9:6).
Shiloh, a place of rest, a city of Ephraim, “on the north side of Bethel,” from which it is distant 10 miles (Judg. 21:19); the modern Seilun (the Arabic for Shiloh), a “mass of shapeless ruins.” Here the tabernacle was set up after the Conquest (Josh. 18:1-10), where it remained during all the period of the judges till the ark fell into the hands of the Philistines. “No spot in Central Palestine could be more secluded than this early sanctuary, nothing more featureless than the landscape around; so featureless, indeed, the landscape and so secluded the spot that from the time of St. Jerome till its re-discovery by Dr. Robinson in 1838 the very site was forgotten and unknown.” It is referred to by Jeremiah (7:12, 14; 26:4-9) five hundred years after its destruction. 3
Source note: this 1893 dictionary language reflects its period and may be culturally insensitive or outdated. It is presented as historical source material, not as ai-BIBLE’s language, interpretation, or endorsement.
| Book | Cross-References |
|---|---|
| Josh | |
| Judg | |
| 1Sam | |
| 1Kgs | |
| Ps | |
| Jer |
Figure1: A table of cross references between the selected passage and other passages (Data from Robert Rouse, “Theographic Bible Information,” Theographic-Bible-Metadata, 2020, https://github.com/robertrouse/theographic-bible-metadata.)
AI-assisted summary prepared for ai-BIBLE and stored as page content, based on dictionary material, place metadata, and linked Bible cross references.
Alistair de Blacquiere-Clarkson, “ai-BIBLE Bible Names JSON Factsheet Aggregating Material from Smith’s Bible Dictionary & Hitcocks’s New and Complete Analysis of the Bible.” ai-BIBLE electronic edition, version 1.0.
M.G.Easton, Illustrated Bible Dictionary, ai-BIBLE electronic edition, version 1.0.
Robert Rouse, “Theographic Bible Information,” Theographic-Bible-Metadata, 2020, https://github.com/robertrouse/theographic-bible-metadata.