Joshua 18:1

_AND THE WHOLE CONGREGATION OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL ASSEMBLED TOGETHER AT SHILOH, AND SET UP THE TABERNACLE OF THE CONGREGATION THERE. AND THE LAND WAS SUBDUED BEFORE THEM._ The whole congregation of the children of Israel assembled together at Shiloh. The main body of the Israelites had been diminished by the separation of the three tribes, Judah, Ephraim, and Manasseh, into their respective allotments; and the country having been in a great measure subdued, the camp was removed to Shiloh, anciently Taanath (Joshua 16:6; according to Kurtz, vol. 2:, p. 70), now Seilun. "Shiloh," denoting 'rest,' was a name given in allusion to the ark being now placed in a permanent station. It was 20 or 25 miles north of Jerusalem, twelve north of Beth-el, and ten south of Shechem, and embosomed in a rugged and romantic glen. This sequestered spot in the heart of the country might have bee

1._And the whole congregation of the children of Israel, _etc Here we have a narrative of the celebrated convention held in Shiloh, where it was deliberated, as to the casting of the remaining lots. For although with pious zeal they had attempted the casting of lots, yet the proceeding had been interrupted, as if victory behooved to precede the distribution which depended solely on the mouth of God. They assemble, therefore, in Shiloh to determine what was necessary to be done in future. And there is no doubt that Joshua summoned this meeting in order to raise them from their lethargy. For they do not come forward spontaneously with any proposal, but he begins with upbraiding them with having been sluggish and remiss in entering on the inheritance which God had bestowed upon them. It is easy to infer from his speech that they had shown great alacrity at the outset, but that there had bee...

1 Shiloh was in the lot of Ephraim, the tribe to which Joshua belonged, and it was proper that the tabernacle should be near the residence of the chief governor. The name of this city is the same as that by which Jacob prophesied of the Messiah, Genesis 49:10. It is supposed by some that the city was thus called, when it was chosen for the resting-place of the ark, which typified our great Peace-maker, and the way by him to a reconciled God....

CHAPTER XVIII _The tabernacle is set up at Shiloh_, 1. _Seven of the tribes having not yet received their inheritance_, 2. _Joshua orders three men from each tribe to be chosen, and sent_ _to examine the land and divide it into seven parts, which_ _should be distributed among them by lot_, 3-7. _The men go and do as commanded, and return to Joshua_, 8, 9. _Joshua casts lots for them_, 10. _The lot of Benjamin, how situated_, 11. _Its_ northern _boundaries_, 12-14. _Its_ southern _boundaries_, 15-19....

After all overt resistance was overcome, the tabernacle with its sacred contents was removed from its place of safety at Gilgal, in a corner of the land near the Jordan, to a central place, Shiloh, the modern Scilun, which is two or three miles east of the main road, and rather more than half way between Jerusalem and Nablous. Its choice as the national sanctuary may indeed have been determined by Joshua, no doubt under divine direction Deuteronomy 12:11, because of its insignificance, in order to avoid local jealousies, as well as because of its position in the very center of the whole land, and perhaps also because of its seclusion. Its very name (“rest”) was probably bestowed at this juncture when God had given the people rest from their enemies. The tabernacle with its contents continued at Shiloh during the whole period of the Judges, until its capture by

EXPOSITION THE CONTINUED DIVISION OF THE LAND.— JOSHUA 18:1 CONGREGATION. The word signifies a body of persons gathered together at a spot before indicated. The LXX. renders by συναγωγή. The idea is evidently that of an assembly gathered together for some specific acts of worship. This passage teaches the duty of a national recognition of religion. Whatever evils there might be in Israel at that time, the absence of a general and formal acknowledgment of God was not one of them. When that public acknowledgment of Him ceased, the downfall of the nation was at hand. It was the absence of such acknowledgment that was the ruin of Israel, while the hypocritical and purely external recognition of God by Judah was equally o

AND THE WHOLE CONGREGATION OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL ASSEMBLED TOGETHER AT SHILOH,.... The whole body of the people, men, women, and children, as well as the camp, Joshua 18:9; at least all that had not received their inheritances in the land. Hither they came from Gilgal, where the camp and tabernacle had been ever since their passage over Jordan; but now the land being in the main subdued, that was too far off both for the camp and tabernacle, and therefore they moved further into the land, and nearer Jerusalem, where in time the tabernacle was to be placed. The place they assembled at, Shiloh, was in the tribe of Ephraim, of which tribe Joshua was, and whose lot and inheritance was now fixed, and it was not far from Jerusalem, about two leagues. Jerom says u it was ten miles from, Neapolis or Shechem, in the country of Acrabatena; and that there were scarce any ruins of it to be seen...

6. THE PORTION OF THE REST OF THE TRIBES CHAPTER 18 _ 1. The tabernacle at Shiloh (Joshua 18:1)_ 2. The remaining seven tribes (Joshua 18:2) 3. The lot of Benjamin (Joshua 18:11) The tabernacle of the congregation is now set up at Shiloh. Shiloh means “peace,” “security.” The land was then subdued before them. Shiloh is now the center. From there the operations proceed. Seven times after this Shiloh is mentioned in the book of Joshua: Joshua 18:8; Joshua 19:51;...

CHILDREN. sons. SHILOH. tranqaillity or rest. Compare Genesis 49:10. eight times in this book. See Joshua 18:1; Joshua 18:8; Joshua 18:9; Joshua 18:10; Joshua 19:51; Joshua 21:2; Joshua 22:9; Joshua 22:12. See note on...

Joshua 18:1-10. Erection of the Tabernacle at Shiloh 1. _And the whole congregation of the children of Israel_ The descendants of Judah and of Joseph had now taken up their respective inheritances, the one in the south, the other in the north of the country. But "the murmuring," it has been remarked, "of the children of Joseph, and the spirit from which it proceeded, gave sad indications of danger in the near future. National disintegration, tribal jealousies, coupled with boastfulness and unwillingness to execute the work given them of God, were only too surely foreboded in the conduct of the children of Joseph. If such troubles were to be averted, it was high time to seek a revival of religion." Dr Edersheim's _Israel in Canaan under Joshua and the Judges_, p. 94. The camp at Gilgal, therefore, was broken up, and the people removed to Shiloh, which was situated within