Location
Overview
Shiloh, in the hill country of Ephraim, was the first permanent home of the tabernacle in the Promised Land and the religious centre of Israel through the period of the judges.
The house of the tabernacle
After the conquest, "the whole congregation of the children of Israel assembled together at Shiloh, and set up the tabernacle" (Joshua 18:1). There the land was apportioned among the tribes by lot.
Hannah and Samuel
To Shiloh the barren Hannah came to pray for a son, and there she brought the young Samuel to serve the LORD under Eli the priest (1 Samuel 1:24–28). In its sanctuary the boy heard God call his name in the night (1 Samuel 3:4–10).
The glory departed
When Israel carried the ark from Shiloh into battle against the Philistines, it was captured and Eli's house fell (1 Samuel 4). Shiloh was later laid waste, and Jeremiah held it up as a warning: "Go ye now unto my place which was in Shiloh... and see what I did to it" (Jeremiah 7:12).
Events Here
The tabernacle is set up at Shiloh; the land is divided by lot
Hannah brings the young Samuel to serve at Shiloh
The ark is taken from Shiloh and captured by the Philistines
Scripture References
31 versesGenesis1 verse
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.
Joshua8 verses
Joshua 18:1
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.
Joshua 18:8
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.
Joshua 18:9
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.
Joshua 18:10
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.
Joshua 19:51
These are the inheritances, which Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun, and the heads of the fathers of the tribes of the children of Israel, divided for an inheritance by lot in Shiloh before the LORD, at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. So they made an end of dividing the country.
Joshua 21:2
And they spake unto them at Shiloh in the land of Canaan, saying, The LORD commanded by the hand of Moses to give us cities to dwell in, with the suburbs thereof for our cattle.
Joshua 22:9
And the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh returned, and departed from the children of Israel out of Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan, to go unto the country of Gilead, to the land of their possession, whereof they were possessed, according to the word of the LORD by the hand of Moses.
Joshua 22:12
And when the children of Israel heard of it, the whole congregation of the children of Israel gathered themselves together at Shiloh, to go up to war against them.
Judges4 verses
Judges 18:31
And they set them up Micah's graven image, which he made, all the time that the house of God was in Shiloh.
Judges 21:12
And they found among the inhabitants of Jabeshgilead 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. young: Heb. young women virgins
Judges 21:19
Then they said, Behold, there is a feast of the LORD in Shiloh yearly in a place which is on the north side of Bethel, on the east side of the highway that goeth up from Bethel to Shechem, and on the south of Lebonah. yearly: Heb. from year to year on the east: or, toward the sunrising of the highway: or, on the highway
Judges 21:21
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.
1 Samuel9 verses
1 Samuel 1:3
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. yearly: Heb. from year to year
1 Samuel 1:9
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.
1 Samuel 1:24
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 Samuel 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.
1 Samuel 3:21
And the LORD appeared again in Shiloh: for the LORD revealed himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the LORD.
1 Samuel 4:3
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. fetch: Heb. take unto us
1 Samuel 4:4
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.
1 Samuel 4:12
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.
1 Samuel 14:3
And Ahiah, the son of Ahitub, Ichabod's brother, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eli, the LORD'S priest in Shiloh, wearing an ephod. And the people knew not that Jonathan was gone. Ahiah: called Ahimelech
1 Kings3 verses
1 Kings 2:27
So Solomon thrust out Abiathar from being priest unto the LORD; that he might fulfil the word of the LORD, which he spake concerning the house of Eli in Shiloh.
1 Kings 14:2
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.
1 Kings 14:4
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. were: Heb. stood for his hoariness
Psalms1 verse
Psalms 78:60
So that he forsook the tabernacle of Shiloh, the tent which he placed among men;
Jeremiah5 verses
Jeremiah 7:12
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.
Jeremiah 7:14
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.
Jeremiah 26:6
Then will I make this house like Shiloh, and will make this city a curse to all the nations of the earth.
Jeremiah 26:9
Why hast thou prophesied in the name of the LORD, saying, This house shall be like Shiloh, and this city shall be desolate without an inhabitant? And all the people were gathered against Jeremiah in the house of the LORD.
Jeremiah 41:5
That there came certain from Shechem, from Shiloh, and from Samaria, even fourscore men, having their beards shaven, and their clothes rent, and having cut themselves, with offerings and incense in their hand, to bring them to the house of the LORD.
Archaeology & History
Khirbet Seilun, the site of ancient Shiloh, has been excavated to reveal a flourishing Iron Age settlement and a destruction layer consistent with the biblical and Philistine-era picture. A level area on the site is often proposed as where the tabernacle once stood.
People who appear here
Objects mentioned here
Frequently asked about Shiloh
Where is Shiloh today?
Today, Shiloh corresponds to Khirbet Seilun, West Bank.
What does the name Shiloh mean?
The name Shiloh means “Place of rest, tranquility”.
What happened at Shiloh in the Bible?
Key biblical events at Shiloh include the tabernacle is set up at shiloh; the land is divided by lot; hannah brings the young samuel to serve at shiloh; the ark is taken from shiloh and captured by the philistines.
Where is Shiloh first mentioned in the Bible?
Shiloh is first mentioned in Genesis 49:10.
How often is Shiloh mentioned in the Bible?
Shiloh is mentioned in 31 verses across 7 books: Genesis, Joshua, Judges, 1 Samuel, 1 Kings, Psalms, Jeremiah.
What was at Shiloh in the Bible?
Shiloh held the tabernacle and the ark of the covenant and was Israel’s central place of worship through the era of the judges, until the ark was captured by the Philistines.
Who served God at Shiloh as a child?
Samuel. His mother Hannah dedicated him to the LORD there, and he ministered under Eli the priest, hearing God call him by name at night.