Shiloh (;

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

: ''šīlō'' or ''šīlōh'' ) is a figure mentioned in the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. Hebrew: ''Tān ...

Genesis Genesis may refer to: Bible * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book of ...

49:10 as part of the

benediction A benediction (Latin: ''bene'', well + ''dicere'', to speak) is a short invocation for divine help, blessing and guidance, usually at the end of worship service. It can also refer to a specific Christian religious service including the expositio ...

given by

Jacob Jacob (; ; ar, يَعْقُوب, Yaʿqūb; gr, Ἰακώβ, Iakṓb), later given the name Israel, is regarded as a patriarch of the Israelites and is an important figure in Abrahamic religions, such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. J ...

to his son Judah. Jacob states that "the sceptre will not depart from Judah... until ''Shiloh'' comes...".

Versions and translations

The

Latin Vulgate The Vulgate (; also called (Bible in common tongue), ) is a late-4th-century Latin translation of the Bible. The Vulgate is largely the work of Jerome who, in 382, had been commissioned by Pope Damasus I to revise the Gospels us ...

translates the word as "he ... that is to be sent", which would be the equivalent of the Hebrew ''shaluach'' ( he, שלוח, "messenger"), indicating a possible corruption of the text (on either side). The

Peshitta The Peshitta ( syc, ܦܫܺܝܛܬܳܐ ''or'' ') is the standard version of the Bible for churches in the Syriac tradition, including the Maronite Church, the Chaldean Catholic Church, the Syriac Catholic Church, the Syriac Orthodox Church, the ...

has "the one to whom tbelongs" Similarly, the

Septuagint The Greek Old Testament, or Septuagint (, ; from the la, septuaginta, lit=seventy; often abbreviated ''70''; in Roman numerals, LXX), is the earliest extant Greek translation of books from the Hebrew Bible. It includes several books beyond th ...

translates the word to "the things stored up for him". Some English translations retain the word "Shiloh", either as a title ("until Shiloh come,"

King James Version The King James Version (KJV), also the King James Bible (KJB) and the Authorized Version, is an Bible translations into English, English translation of the Christian Bible for the Church of England, which was commissioned in 1604 and publis ...

) or as a

place name Place may refer to: Geography * Place (United States Census Bureau), defined as any concentration of population ** Census-designated place, a populated area lacking its own municipal government * "Place", a type of street or road name ** Often ...

("as long as men come to Shiloh,"

JPS Tanakh The New Jewish Publication Society of America Tanakh, first published in complete form in 1985, is a modern Jewish 'written from scratch' translation of the Masoretic Text of the Hebrew Bible into Jewish English Bible translations, English. It is ...

). Other translations render the whole phrase in English, yielding "until he comes to whom it belongs" (

Revised Standard Version The Revised Standard Version (RSV) is an English translation of the Bible published in 1952 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA. This translation itself is a revision of the Ameri ...

), "until tribute comes to him" (

English Standard Version The English Standard Version (ESV) is an English translation of the Bible. Published in 2001 by Crossway, the ESV was "created by a team of more than 100 leading evangelical scholars and pastors." The ESV relies on recently published critic ...

) or "until He whose right it is comes" (

Holman Christian Standard Bible The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB) is a modern English Bible translation from Holman Bible Publishers. The New Testament was published in 1999, followed by the full Bible in March 2004. Beginnings The roots of the HCSB can be traced to ...

Interpretation

The reference to

sceptre A sceptre is a staff or wand held in the hand by a ruling monarch as an item of royal or imperial insignia. Figuratively, it means royal or imperial authority or sovereignty. Antiquity Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia The ''Was'' and other ...

and the

Tribe of Judah According to the Hebrew Bible, the tribe of Judah (, ''Shevet Yehudah'') was one of the twelve Tribes of Israel, named after Judah, the son of Jacob. Judah was the first tribe to take its place in the Land of Israel, occupying the southern ...

has led many people to view this verse as a

Messianic prophecy The New Testament frequently cites Jewish scripture to support the claim of the Early Christians that Jesus was the promised Jewish Messiah, but few of these citations are actual predictions in their original context. The majority of these quotati ...

. mentions the

lion of Judah The Lion of Judah ( he, אריה יהודה, ) is a Jewish national and cultural symbol, traditionally regarded as the symbol of the tribe of Judah. The association between the Judahites and the lion can first be found in the blessing given by ...

that also is recalled in the Latin '' Exorcism against Satan and the apostate angels''. In the exorcism, Jesus the Lord is prayed as follows: "Vícit Leo de tríbu Júda, rádix Dávid". The verse explains Genesis 49.9-10 while indicating Christ as the

Good Shepherd The Good Shepherd ( el, ποιμὴν ὁ καλός, ''poimḗn ho kalós'') is an image used in the pericope of , in which Jesus Christ is depicted as the Good Shepherd who lays down his life for his sheep. Similar imagery is used in Psalm 23 ...

, preceded by the sceptre of His ancestor king

David David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

and by the law-giver of Moses. This interpretation goes back at least as far as the

Targum Onkelos Interlinear text of Hebrew Numbers 6.3–10 with British_Library.html"_;"title="Aramaic_Targum_Onkelos_from_the_British_Library">Aramaic_Targum_Onkelos_from_the_British_Library. Targum_Onkelos_(or_Onqelos;_Hebrew_language.html" "title="B ...

in the first century AD, and was indeed interpreted to be the promised Messiah in most traditional Jewish thoughts and writings. Among Christians, "Shiloh" is seen as a reference to

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

, whom they believe to have fulfilled the earlier prophecies of the Torah, although the word itself is not specifically mentioned in the

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Christ ...

, although some have connected it to the

Pool of Siloam The term Pool of Siloam ( ar, بركه سلوان, he, בריכת השילוח, ''Breikhat HaShiloah'') ( gr, Σιλωάμ) refers to a number of Rock-cut architecture, rock-cut pools on the southern slope of the City of David (Silwan), Wadi Hilw ...

, referred to in the story of the healing of the man born blind. However, Genesis 49:10 became a major messianic text appealed to by the

early Church Fathers The Church Fathers, Early Church Fathers, Christian Fathers, or Fathers of the Church were ancient and influential Christian theologians and writers who established the intellectual and doctrinal foundations of Christianity. The historical per ...

. The Christian messianic interpretation is found in the capitalisation of the pronoun "He" in the

("until He whose right it is comes"). Some Christian scholars, however, have pointed out that the rendering of the text labors under the difficulty that Shiloh is not found as a personal name in the Old Testament. Other interpretations from analysts have translated the term to indicating "the name of a place, not a person", although they also conclude that this is less likely overall.

Latter Day Saint movement

In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and according

Joseph Smith Joseph Smith Jr. (December 23, 1805June 27, 1844) was an American religious leader and founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement. When he was 24, Smith published the Book of Mormon. By the time of his death, 14 years later, he ...

Jr. "Shiloh" is a name of the messiah

Jesus Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

. In one of the sacred books of the Church of Christ with the Elijah Message called ''

The Word of the Lord ''The Word of the Lord'' refers to one of two books of scripture used by certain factions of the Latter Day Saint movement. The first book, simply entitled ''The Word of the Lord'', is used by members of the Church of Christ (Fettingite), the Ch ...

'' or ''

The Word of the Lord Brought to Mankind by an Angel ''The Word of the Lord'' refers to one of two books of scripture used by certain factions of the Latter Day Saint movement. The first book, simply entitled ''The Word of the Lord'', is used by members of the Church of Christ (Fettingite), the Ch ...

'' God says that "Shiloh" is one of his names along with "Jehovah", "Jesus Christ" and others.

Islamic interpretation

Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah Abū ʿAlī Manṣūr (13 August 985 – 13 February 1021), better known by his regnal name al-Ḥākim bi-Amr Allāh ( ar, الحاكم بأمر الله, lit=The Ruler by the Order of God), was the sixth Fatimid caliph and 16th Ismaili ima ...

(985-1021), the fourth

Fatimid Caliph This is a list of an Arab dynasty, the Shi'ite caliphs of the Fatimid dynasty (909–1171). The Shi'ite caliphs were also regarded at the same time as the imams of the Isma'ili branch of Shi'a Islam. Family tree of Fatimid caliphs ...

and 16th Imam according to the Ismaili tradition, was held to be the Shiloh Messiah figure referred to in Genesis.

Hamid al-Din al-Kirmani Hamid al-Din Abu'l-Hasan Ahmad ibn Abdallah al-Kirmani (; CE) was an Isma'ili scholar. He was of Persian origin and was probably born in the province of Kirman. He seems to have spent the greater part of his life as a Fatimid ''da'i'' (missiona ...

(d. 1026), as well as the various contemporary Ministers (

Da'i A da'i ( ar, داعي, dāʿī, inviter, caller, ) is generally someone who engages in Dawah, the act of inviting people to Islam. See also * Dawah * Da'i al-Mutlaq, "the absolute (unrestricted) missionary" (Arabic: الداعي المطلق) * ...

s) of al-Hakim who eventually founded the Druze community, propagated this view and denied that Jesus was the one concerned by the reference since Jesus was not a king. According to

al-Samawal al-Maghribi Al-Samawʾal ibn Yaḥyā al-Maghribī ( ar, السموأل بن يحيى المغربي, ; c. 1130 – c. 1180), commonly known as Samau'al al-Maghribi, was a mathematician, Islamic astronomy, astronomer and Islamic medicine, physician. Born to ...

in his ''Ifḥām al-Yahūd'', the Shiloh mentioned in Genesis 49:10 is none other than Jesus the son of Mary. Shiloh has been interpreted as referring to MuhammadKeldani, Muhammad in World Scriptures, 2006, p 42 with a special concern to Quran 3:81.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shiloh (Biblical Figure) Book of Genesis people Hebrew words and phrases in the Hebrew Bible Jacob Jewish messianism