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Shiloh

A place in the Bible

A town in the hill country of Ephraim, in the middle of the land of Israel. For a long time the Lord’s tent with the ark of the covenant stood there.

What happened here

  1. The Lord’s tent: after they entered the land, all Israel gathered at Shiloh and set up the tent of meeting there.
  2. Hannah: every year she went up to Shiloh with her husband Elkanah. There she prayed in tears and promised the Lord that, if he gave her a son, she would dedicate him to the Lord.
  3. The boy Samuel: Hannah brought her son Samuel to the house of the Lord at Shiloh. There he served the Lord with the priest Eli, and there he heard the Lord calling him.
  4. The ark: in a war with the Philistines, the people carried the ark of the covenant from Shiloh to the camp.

Today

Its ruins remain at Khirbet Seilun, in the West Bank.

Where it appears in the Bible

Joshua 18:1; 1 Samuel 1:3; 1 Samuel 1:9-11; 1 Samuel 1:24; 1 Samuel 2:11; 1 Samuel 3:10; 1 Samuel 4:3-4

What the Bible says

Joshua 18:1

And all the children of Israel assembled together in Silo, and there they set up the tabernacle of the testimony, and the land was subdued before them.

1 Samuel 1:3

And this man went up out of his city upon the appointed days, to adore and to offer sacrifice to the Lord of hosts in Silo. And the two sons of Heli, Ophni and Phinees, were there priests of the Lord.

1 Samuel 1:9-11

9So Anna arose after she had eaten and drunk in Silo: And Heli the priest sitting upon a stool, before the door of the temple of the Lord: 10As Anna had her heart full of grief, she prayed to the Lord, shedding many tears, 11And she made a vow, saying: O Lord, of hosts, if thou wilt look down on the affliction of thy servant, and wilt be mindful of me, and not forget thy handmaid, and wilt give to thy servant a man child: I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall come upon his head.

Douay-Rheims Bible (Challoner revision), public domain.

Source: Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), “Siloe”; Easton’s Bible Dictionary (1897), “Shiloh”

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