SHILOH (שילוח), is a term famous among interpreters and commentators upon Scripture. It is found (Gen. xlix. 10) to denote the Messiah. The patriarch Jacob foretells His coming in these words:—"The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be." All Christian commentators agree that Shiloh ought to be understood of the Messiah, or Jesus Christ; but all are not agreed about its literal and grammatical signification. St Jerome, who translates it by Qui mittendus est, manifestly reads Shiloach, "sent," instead of Shiloh. The Septuagint have it, "Until the coming of him to whom it is reserved;" or, "till we see arrive that which is re-
served for him." It must be owned that the signification of the Hebrew word Shiloh is not well known. Some translate, "the sceptre shall not depart from Judah, till he comes to whom it belongs. Others render it, "Till the coming of the peace-maker," or "the pacific;" or "of prosperity," prosperatus est. Others, again, "till the birth of him who shall be born of a woman that shall conceive without the knowledge of a man;" otherwise, "the sceptre shall not depart from Judah till its end, its ruin; till the downfall of the kingdom of the Jews." Some rabbis have taken the name Shiloh or Shiloh, as if it signified the city of this name in Palestine: "The sceptre shall not be taken away from Judah till it comes to Shiloh; till it shall be taken from him to be given to Saul at Shiloh." But in what part of Scripture is it said that Saul was acknowledged as king or consecrated at Shiloh? A more modern author derives Shiloh from a word which signifies to be weary, or to suffer; "till his labours, his sufferings, his passion, shall happen."
But it is sufficient to show that the ancient Jews are in this matter agreed with the Christians. They acknowledge that this word stands for the Messiah, the King. It is thus that the paraphrasts Onkelos and Jonathan, that the ancient Hebrew commentaries upon Genesis, and that the Talmudists themselves, explain it. The curious reader may consult Jacobi's Alting Sehilo, iii. 8, for further information respecting this matter.