Shiloh

Shiloh carries two distinct meanings in Scripture. As a city, Shiloh was the central Israelite sanctuary town in the hill country of Ephraim where the tabernacle was set up after the conquest and remained for approximately three centuries (Joshua 18:1). It was the annual site of religious assemblies, the location where Hannah prayed and received the promise of Samuel, and the priestly center of Israel under Eli and his sons — until the Philistines captured the ark and apparently destroyed the site (1 Samuel 4; Jeremiah 7:12–14; Psalm 78:60).

As a title or name, Shiloh appears in Jacob's dying blessing of Judah: 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 (Genesis 49:10). This Shiloh has been widely interpreted in Jewish and Christian tradition as a messianic title meaning the one to whom it belongs (cf. Ezekiel 21:27) or the peaceful one — a prophecy that the royal authority of Judah culminates in a coming king to whom the nations will be gathered. The New Testament sees this fulfilled in Jesus Christ of the tribe of Judah.