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.