is pleased to manifest his presence or is worshipped; and the place thus honored becomes his abode or tem- ple, whether it be a tent or a structure of wood or stone, or even the sanctuary of the heart alone. Ahijah the prophet had his abode at Shiloh in the time of Jero- boam I, and was visited there by the messengers of Jeroboam's wife to ascertain the issue of the sickness of their child (1 Kings xi, 29; xii, 15; xiv, 1, etc.). The peoyile there after the time of the exile (Jer. xli, 5) appear to have been (yuthites (2 Kings xvii, 30) who had adopted some of the forms of Jewish worship. (See Hit- zig, Zit Jerem. p. 331.) Jerome, who surveyed the ruins in the 4th century, says, "Yix ruinarum parva vestigia, vix altaris fundamenta monstrantur" {A d Zeph. i, 14),
The principal conditions for identifying with confi- dence the site of a place mentioned in the Bible are — (1) that the modern name should bear a proper resem- blance to the ancient one, (2) that its situation accord with the geographical notices of the Scriptures; and (3) that the statements of early writers and travellers point to a coincident conclusion. Shiloh affords a strik- ing instance of the combination of these testimonies. The description in Judg. xxi, 19 is singularly explicit. Shiloh, it is said there, is "on the north side of Bethel, on the east side of the highway that goeth \\\t from Bethel to Shecheni, and on the south of Lebonab." In agreement with this, the traveller at the present day, going north from Jerusalem, lodges the tirst night at Beitin, the ancient Bethel; the next day, at the dis- tance of a few hours, turns aside to the right, in order to visit SeilOn, the Arabic for Shiloh ; and then passing through the narrow Wady which brings him to the main road, leaves el-Lebliaii, the Lebonab of Scripture, on Ihe left, as he pursues "the highway" to Xablus, the ancient Sliechem. Its present name is sufficiently like tlie more familiar Hebrew name, while it is identical with Shihiu (see above), on which it is evidently found- ed. Again, Jerome (jit sup.') and Kusebius {Oiiomasf. s. v. yiijXw) certainly have Seiliui CSliXtoft) in view when they speak of the situation of Shiloh with reference to Ncapolis or Nablus. It discovers a strange oversight of the data which contnd the (piestion, that some of the older travellers have placed Shiloh at Neby Samwil, about two hours north-west of Jerusalem. The con- tour of the region, as the traveller views it on the ground, indicates very closely where the ancient town must have stood. A tell, or moderate hill, rises from
SHILON
683
SHIMEAM
an uneven plain, surrounded by other higher hills, ex- cept a narrow valley on the south, which hill would naturally be chosen as the principal site of the town. The tabernacle may have been pitcheil on this emi- nence, where it would be a conspicuous object on every side. The ruins found there at present are very incon- siderable. They consist chiefly of the remains of a comparatively modern village, with which some large stones and fragments of columns are intermixed, evi- dently from much earlier times. Near a ruined mosque flourishes an immense oak, the branches of which the winds of centuries have swayed. Just beyond the pre- cincts of the hill stands a dilapidated edifice, which combines some of the arcliitectural properties of a for- tress and a church. Three columns with Corinthian capitals lie prostrate on the floor. An amphora be- tween two chaplets, perhaps a work of Roman sculpture, adorns a stone over the doorway. The natives call this ruin the "Mosque of Seilun" (so Kobinson; Wil- son understood it was called " Mosque of the Sixty" [Sitting \_Lands of the 7j/6/p, ii, 294]). The interior was vaulted. The materials are unsuited to the struct- ure, and have been taken from an older building. At the distance of about fifteen minutes from the main site is a fountain, which is approached through a nar- row dale. Its water is abimdant, and, according to a practice very common in the East, flows first into a pool or well, and thence into a large reservoir, from which flocks and herds are watered. This fountain, which would be so natural a resort for a festal party, may have been the place where the '-daughters of Shi- loh" were dancing when they were surprised and borne off by their captors. In this vicinity are rock-hewn sepulchres, in which the bodies of some' of the unfort- iniate house of Eli may have been laid to rest. There was a Jewish tradition ( Asher, Beiij. of Tiid. ii, 435) that Eli and his sons were buried here. It is certainly true, as some travellers remark, that the scenery of Shi- loh is not specially attractive ; it presents no feature of grandeur or beauty adapted to impress the mind and awaken thoughts in harmony with the memories of the place. At the same time, it deserves to be men- tioned that, for the objects to which Shiloh was de- voted, it was not unwiselv chosen. It was secluded, and therefore favorable to acts of worship and religions study, in which the youth of scholars and devotees, like Samuel, was to be spent. Yearly festivals were cele- brated there, and brought together assemblages which would need the supplies of water and pasturage so ea- sily obtained in such a place. Terraces are still visible on the sides of the rocky hills which show that every foot and inch of the soil once teemed with verdure and fertility. The ceremonies of such occasions consisted largely of processions and dances, and the place afford- ed ample scope for such movements. The surrounding hills served as an amphitheatre whence the spectators could look and have the entire scene under their eyes. The position, too, in times of sudden danger, admitted of an easy defence, as it was a hill itself, and the neigh- boring hills could be turned into bulwarks. To its oth- er advantages we should add that of its central position for the Hebrews on the west of the Jordan. An air of oppressive stillness hangs now over all the scene, and adds force to the reflection that truly the "oracles" so long consulted there " are dumb ;" they had fulfilled their purpose, and given place to " a more sure word of prophecy." A visit to Shiloh requires a detour of sev- eral miles from the ordinary track, and it has been less frequently described than other more accessible places. See Reland, Pahestinn, p. 1016; Bachiene, Beschreibunp, ii. 582 ; Raumer, Paldst. p. 201 ; Ritter, Krdk. xv, 631 sq. ; Robinson, Bib. Res. ii, 269-276 ; Wilson, Lands of Ihe Bible, ii, 294; Stanle5% Sin. and Pal p. 231-233; Porter, Handb. of S;/ria, ii, 328 ; Ividgaway, The Lord's Land, p. 517 sq. ; Badeker, Palestine, p. 327 ; Conder, Tent Work in Palestine, i, 81 sq. Shilon. See Shiloh ; Shilonite,