Shiloh (Biblical figure)
Encyclopedia
Shiloh is a figure mentioned in the Hebrew Bible
in Genesis 49:10 as part of the benediction
given by Jacob
to his son Judah. Jacob states that "the scepter will not depart from Judah... until Shiloh comes...".
The translation and interpretation of this verse is subject to some controversy.
The Peshitta
"the one to whom [it] belongs"
Similarly, the Septuagint translates the word to "the things stored up for him".
No old version seem to interpret the word as to being the city called Shiloh.
The phrase is translated in the King James Version as "(..) until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.", thus making Shiloh a personal name.
, Targums , and various Rabbinic sources .
No other verse seem to support this interpretation, nor does the personal name make any obvious sense either to Christians or Jews.
Targum Yerushalmi mentions "till the time that the King the Meshiha, shall come", and Targum Onkelos
similarly mentions "until the Meshiha come"
The Medieval Jewish scholar Rashi
suggested that "Shiloh" is actually a composite of two Hebrew words: shai and loh or in English, "tribute" and "to him." This rendering makes more sense in the immediate context, in the course of the blessing which predicts the rule of Judah, replete with the images of royalty. The noun that is parallel to shai loh only occurs in one other place in the Hebrew Bible (Proverbs 30:17), in which it means something akin to "obedience."
Another strand of interpretation holds that the verse refers to the Israelite site of Shiloh, the original cultic center for the Israelites, which suffered conflagration during the Iron I period. This school of thought holds that the verse broadcasts a hope for the eventual reunion of Israel, reading the verse as, "until he comes to Shiloh." The name is though of a different spelling (The name of the city lacks a yod).
interpret it as a prophecy of Muhammad
Some Rastafari
ans have associated the name with the return of Haile Selassie I.
Joseph Smith, Jr. associates Shiloh with the root of Jesse, or in other words, Jesus Christ.
Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible is a term used by biblical scholars outside of Judaism to refer to the Tanakh , a canonical collection of Jewish texts, and the common textual antecedent of the several canonical editions of the Christian Old Testament...
in Genesis 49:10 as part of the benediction
Benediction
A benediction is a short invocation for divine help, blessing and guidance, usually at the end of worship service.-Judaism:...
given by Jacob
Jacob
Jacob "heel" or "leg-puller"), also later known as Israel , as described in the Hebrew Bible, the Talmud, the New Testament and the Qur'an was the third patriarch of the Hebrew people with whom God made a covenant, and ancestor of the tribes of Israel, which were named after his descendants.In the...
to his son Judah. Jacob states that "the scepter will not depart from Judah... until Shiloh comes...".
The translation and interpretation of this verse is subject to some controversy.
Variations according to manuscripts, early translations
The Latin Vulgate translates the word as "he ... that is to be sent" , which would be the equivalent of the hebrew shaluach , indicating a possible corruption of the text (on either side).The Peshitta
Peshitta
The Peshitta is the standard version of the Bible for churches in the Syriac tradition.The Old Testament of the Peshitta was translated into Syriac from the Hebrew, probably in the 2nd century AD...
"the one to whom [it] belongs"
Similarly, the Septuagint translates the word to "the things stored up for him".
No old version seem to interpret the word as to being the city called Shiloh.
The phrase is translated in the King James Version as "(..) until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.", thus making Shiloh a personal name.
Interpretations
For those who hold that Shiloh is an otherwise unattested personal name, the verse is interpreted as a Messianic prophecy. This tradition is reflected in the Dead Sea ScrollsDead Sea scrolls
The Dead Sea Scrolls are a collection of 972 texts from the Hebrew Bible and extra-biblical documents found between 1947 and 1956 on the northwest shore of the Dead Sea, from which they derive their name...
, Targums , and various Rabbinic sources .
No other verse seem to support this interpretation, nor does the personal name make any obvious sense either to Christians or Jews.
Targum Yerushalmi mentions "till the time that the King the Meshiha, shall come", and Targum Onkelos
Targum Onkelos
right|thumb|Interlinear text of [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] [[Book of Numbers|Numbers]] 6.3–10 with [[Aramaic language|Aramaic]] Targum Onkelos from the [[British Library]]....
similarly mentions "until the Meshiha come"
The Medieval Jewish scholar Rashi
Rashi
Shlomo Yitzhaki , or in Latin Salomon Isaacides, and today generally known by the acronym Rashi , was a medieval French rabbi famed as the author of a comprehensive commentary on the Talmud, as well as a comprehensive commentary on the Tanakh...
suggested that "Shiloh" is actually a composite of two Hebrew words: shai and loh or in English, "tribute" and "to him." This rendering makes more sense in the immediate context, in the course of the blessing which predicts the rule of Judah, replete with the images of royalty. The noun that is parallel to shai loh only occurs in one other place in the Hebrew Bible (Proverbs 30:17), in which it means something akin to "obedience."
Another strand of interpretation holds that the verse refers to the Israelite site of Shiloh, the original cultic center for the Israelites, which suffered conflagration during the Iron I period. This school of thought holds that the verse broadcasts a hope for the eventual reunion of Israel, reading the verse as, "until he comes to Shiloh." The name is though of a different spelling (The name of the city lacks a yod).
Other interpretations
Some MuslimsIslam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
interpret it as a prophecy of Muhammad
Muhammad
Muhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...
Some Rastafari
Rastafari movement
The Rastafari movement or Rasta is a new religious movement that arose in the 1930s in Jamaica, which at the time was a country with a predominantly Christian culture where 98% of the people were the black descendants of slaves. Its adherents worship Haile Selassie I, Emperor of Ethiopia , as God...
ans have associated the name with the return of Haile Selassie I.
Joseph Smith, Jr. associates Shiloh with the root of Jesse, or in other words, Jesus Christ.