Page 35 - Holyland Magazine - 2016 Edition

By Shahar Shilo
TYisrael Meidad consulted on this article
he exhortation of the Prophet Jeremiah
to the Israelites, to “go now unto my
place which was in Shiloh, where I first
caused my name to dwell” (Jeremiah
7:12), was uttered out of a deep
concern for the required spiritual uplifting he
knew that was necessary for them to return
to the moral ways of their ancestors. Without
seeing the physical evidence of what was
then at Shiloh, Jeremiah knew that his fellow
Jews could not be fully convinced.
That message is as relevant now as it was
then.
Today, that same charge, to “recall the fate of
the Tabernacle location at Shiloh,” is one that
invites visitors, tourists, history buffs and Bible been destroyed, yet they met a treacherous
students to travel into the beautiful scenery of
the hill country north of Jerusalem, into the
tribal portion of Ephraim, and arrive at ancient
Shiloh where almost 4,000 years of history
and uplifting messages of faith and hope have
been uncovered at Tel Shiloh.
The centrality of Shiloh to the human
understanding of God’s presence in his holy
land of promise is critical to an understanding
of the purpose of the biblical recounting of the
actions of the Israelites in their homeland. The
national development from inheritance and
conquest under Joshua and the prophetic
callings in the period of the Judges segues
into the early monarchy, all at Shiloh.
At Shiloh, Joshua assembled the people for
several tasks. He appointed three men from
each tribe who were sent out to walk through
the land so as to fix the borders for the tribal
portions. The portions were then distributed
to the various tribes through the casting of
lots. Most significantly, the Tabernacle, the
Tent of the Meeting, was set up where the
Holy Ark rested for almost four centuries.
my place at Shiloh
Elkana of Ramatayim-Tzofim re-established
the thrice-yearly national obligation to make a
pilgrimage to the Tabernacle which had been
neglected. It was his son Samuel, through
his second wife Hannah, who prayed at the
Tabernacle for fruit of the womb, who became
the Seer and professed and judged at Shiloh.
The annual Feast of the Lord was celebrated
at Shiloh and afforded an opportunity for
the tribe of Benjamin to be reunited after
the unfortunate incident at Gibeah. Later,
following the destruction of Shiloh after the
battle of Eben-ezer and the consequent death
of Eli, the High Priest, it was Samuel who
anointed Saul, vanquished Agag, king of the
Amalekites, and also anointed David. During
the reign of Jeroboam, Shiloh was the home of
the Prophet Ahiyah, called the Shilonite. From
Shiloh, and others of Samaria, came fourscore
men with offerings for the Temple which had
tragic fate at Mizpah. The Bible’s references to and still is a meeting place between God, land
Shiloh come to a close at this point.
The history of Shiloh, however, does not
end here.
At your forthcoming visit to ancient Shiloh
you will travel through time. Biblical-era finds observation tower, using a new technology
include the site of Hannah’s prayer and the
courtyard of the Tabernacle and many other
artifacts. You’ll be able to walk among the
uncovered remains from the Second Temple
period and see the recently excavated Israelite
Four-Room House with its exciting finds. You
can observe an underground second century
Roman era Bar-Kochba domicile as well as
other period structures and in close proximity,
a Byzantine basilica from the late 4th century,
one of three churches from that time. There
the Jama’a A-Sattin mosque, a monumental
early Muslim period building and, just across
the pathway from it, two impressive 1,500
year old olive presses.
Model of the Tabernacle covered in gold
and silver
Shiloh’s wall, at some sections 8 meters high,
was approximately 30 dunams (7.5 acres) in
size, and within it and close by centuries of
human endeavors as well as God-directed
accomplishments are visible and well
preserved. For example, you can see rooms
inside the wall, recalling Rahab’s “house in the
wall” according to Joshua 2:15 and where a
figurine featuring an Egyptian inscription from
the Iron Age (3,000 years ago) was found.
Some of the churches became mosques
during the Arab period, underscoring the
strength of Shiloh as a site of worship for
different religions, even when its inhabitants
changed. Indeed, it is a sacred place, one of
incredible spiritual power.
Shiloh, however, is no longer desolate. It was
and man.
The Mishkan Shiloh Association, with help
from others, has invested a lot in making
Tel Shiloh accessible to visitors. In 2013, a
new attraction was established - a unique
combining the natural view with a specially
made movie. The second floor of the tower
is a video presentation auditorium that seats
50, where the exciting and emotional film on
the biblical Shiloh is shown with respect to the
natural view around. The first floor is devoted
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