Joshua 18:1

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

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.

JOSHUA CHAPTER 18 The tabernacle is set up in Shiloh, . The remainder of the land described, and divided into seven parts, for the seven tribes which as yet had no inheritance, . Joshua casts the lot at Shiloh, : the first comes out for Benjamin, whose borders and cities are described, . Set up the tabernacle of the congregation there, by God’ s appointment, as is manifest from , &c.; . Hither it was removed from Gilgal, partly for the honour and conveniency of Joshua, that he being of the tribe of Ephraim, and seating himself there, might have the opportunity of consulting with God as oft as he desired and needed; and partly for the conveniency of all the tribes, that, being in the heart and centre of them, they might more easily resort to it from all places. Here the tabernacle continued for above three hundred years, even till Samuel’ s days, . And the land, or, for the land, because these words contain a reason of the former action: the particle and is oft used for for, as hath been showed.

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.Ver. 1. Assembled together at Shiloh.] Which, both by the signification of the name, and by the situation of the place, seemeth to some to be the same with Salem, Melchizedek’ s city, whose palace, Jerome saith, was in his time to be seen in the city Salem, near whereunto John baptized, which also, according to his translation and the Seventy’ s, is called the city of the Sichemites, because it stood in the country of the Shechemites, as did also Shiloh. And set up the tabernacle.] According to Deuteronomy 12:5 Jeremiah 7:12; and here the tabernacle abode for above three hundred years, till for sin it was removed thence. All that I fear, saith a reverend divine yet living, is, lest according to Mr Herbert’ s prophecy it prove true, viz., that the gospel be, in its solar motion, travelling for the west and American parts, and quitting its present places of residence and unworthy professors and possessors: and then, farewell, England. Ut enim שׁìí pacificam denotat et tranquillam, ita et שׁìä. Unde et Messias "Shiloh" appellatur. Mr Baxter.

XVIII.(1) At Shiloh.—Seilûn (sheet 14), about ten miles due south of Shechem, in the territory of Ephraim. The inheritance of the tribe of Judah was determined in Gilgal. The assignment of the central part of the country to Ephraim and Manasseh brought the leaders of Israel into that district, and as soon as the position of Ephraim, Joshua’s tribe, was settled, the tabernacle was set up there. For the situation of Shiloh, see Judges 21:19.

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. Its eastern boundary, 20. Its cities, 21-28. NOTES ON CHAP. XVIII Verse 1. Israel assembled together at Shiloh] This appears to have been a considerable town about fifteen miles from Jerusalem, in the tribe of Ephraim, and nearly in the centre of the whole land. To this place both the camp of Israel, and the ark of the Lord, were removed from Gilgal, after a residence there of seven years. Here the tabernacle remained one hundred and thirty years, as is generally supposed, being the most conveniently situated for access to the different tribes, and for safety, the Israelites having possession of the land on all sides; for it is here added, the land was subdued before them - the Canaanites were so completely subdued, that there was no longer any general resistance to the Israelitish arms.

Ch. 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 the territory of Ephraim, Joshua’s own tribe. The whole congregation of the children of Israel. This formula often recurs. Thus in Exodus 16:1 we read, “And they took their journey from Elim, and all the congregation of the children of Israel came unto the wilderness of Sin;” and again, Exodus 16:9, “And Moses spake unto Aaron, Say unto all the congregation of the children of Israel.” Sometimes it is more brief, “the congregation of Israel,” as in Exodus 12:3, “Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel.” Sometimes more briefly still, “the congregation,” as in Leviticus 4:15, “And the elders of the congregation shall lay their hands upon the head of the bullock before the Lord.” The Greek word here used is the same as that used by our Lord, Matthew 16:18, “Upon this rock I will build My Church.” Originally it denoted an assembly of persons called out from among others by the voice of a herald, as, at Athens, for the purpose of legislation. It is applied to the Israelites, as being a nation called out by God from the rest of the world, to bear witness to His unity, to preserve His laws, to keep alive the hope of Redemption, and to exhibit the pattern of a people living in righteousness and true godliness. Hence, St Stephen says of Moses, that he was “in the Church (or congregation) in the wilderness with the angel which spake to him in the mount Sina” (Acts 7:38); again, David says in Psalms 22:22, quoted in Hebrews 2:12, “I will declare Thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the church (or congregation) will I sing praise unto Thee;” and again he says in Psalms 26:12, “My foot standeth in an even place: in the congregations will I bless the Lord.” assembled together at Shiloh] Few places in respect to situation are described so accurately as Shiloh.

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 ERECTED AT SHILOH, Joshua 18:1.The location of the tribes was not yet completed, but it had proceeded so far that it was desirable that the tabernacle should be permanently established in a central place.