Shiloh

Aerial Photo of Shiloh (Khirbet Seilûn).
Photo by Barry Kramer. Used by permission of ABR.

Shiloh (Khirbet Seilûn)

INDEX of Sites

Shiloh or Shilo (Khirbet Seilûn) is a large site so you may need to narrow your survey a bit. The site has not been excavated in many years, but since 2017, is being excavated  by the Associates for Biblical Research under the direction of Dr. Scott Stripling. It is an important site since the tabernacle was located here for a number of years. Remember to provide "the historical background of the site (including history of previous archaeological excavations, if any), objectives of the current excavation, progress at the site, and significance of discoveries to biblical study." Make sure to choose a good encyclopedia, journal articles, and books that specialize in the subject. This will give you a broad cross–section of material.

• See also The Shiloh website.
• Week Five Season one 2017 discoveries.
  
• For a Occupational overview and many nice photos of the site see Bible Walks.
• For the altars at Shiloh see Bible Walks.
• More information can be found at Emek Shaveh website.
• Jewish Virtual Library

Israelite houses from about 1050 BC. Large vessels in situ.
Wall of house in the background. Kjaer, Hans Andersen.
“Shiloh a Summary Report of the Second Danish Expedition,
1929.” Palestine Exploration Quarterly 63, no. 2 (1931): 74.

• Ackerman, Susan. “Who Is Sacrificing at Shiloh? The Priesthoods of Ancient Israel’s Regional Sanctuaries.” Pages 25–44 in Levites and Priests in Biblical History and Tradition, edited by Mark A. Leuchter and Jeremy M. Hutton. Ancient Israel and Its Literature 9. Atlanta, Ga.: Society of Biblical Literature, 2011.
• Albright, William F. “The Danish Excavations at Shiloh.” Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research 9 (Feb. 1923): 10–11.
• Albright, William F. “The Danish Excavations at Seilun—A Correction.” Palestine Exploration Quarterly 59, no. 3 (July 1927): 157–58.
• Albright, William F. “Notes and News of the School in Jerusalem: Shiloh.” Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research, no. 48 (1932): 14–15.
• Andersen, H. G., “The Site of Shiloh,” Palestine Exploration Quarterly 59 (1927): 85–88.
• Anderson, Fleming G. Shiloh II. The Danish Excavations at Tall Sailun, Palestine in 1926, 1929, 1932, and 1963: The Remains from the Hellenistic to the Mamluk Periods. Denmark: Aarhaus University Press, 1985.
• Anonymous, “Did the Philistines Destroy the Israelite Sanctuary at Shiloh? - The Archaeological Evidence,” Biblical Archaeology Review 1 no. 2 (1975): 3-5. LINK
• Batten, L. W. “The Sanctuary at Shiloh, and Samuel’s Sleeping Therein.” Journal of Biblical Literature 19, no. 1 (1900): 29–33. 
• Buhl, Marie-Louise, and Svend Holm-Nielson. Shiloh, The Pre-Hellenistic Remains: The Danish Excavations at Tell Sailun, Palestine, in 1926, 1929, 1932 and 1963. Copenhagen: National Museum of Denmark and Aarhus University Press, 1969.
• Clifford, Richard J. “Zion and David a New Beginning: An Interpretation of Psalm 78.” Pp. 121–41 in Traditions in Transformation: Turning-Points in Biblical Faith, ed. Baruch Halpern and J. D. Levenson. Winona Lake, 1981.
• Clifford, Richard J. “Tent of El and the Israelite Tent of Meeting.” The Catholic Biblical Quarterly 33, no. 2 (April 1971): 221–27.
• Cody, A. A History of Old Testament Priesthood. Analecta Biblica 35. Rome: Pontifical Bible Institute, 1969.
• Cohen, Martin A. “The Role of the Shilonite Priesthood in the United Monarchy of Ancient Israel.” Hebrew Union College Annual 36 (1965): 59–98.
• Cross, Frank M. “The Priestly Tabernacle in the Light of Recent Research.” Pp. 169–80 in Temples and High Places in Biblical Times, ed. A. Biran. Jerusalem, 1981.
• Cross, Frank M. “The Tabernacle: A Study from an Archaeological and Historical Approach.” The Biblical Archaeologist 10, no. 3 (1947): 45–68.
• Day, John. “The Destruction of the Shiloh Sanctuary and Jeremiah VII 12, 14.” Pages 87–94 in Studies in the Historical Books of the Old Testament. Edited by J.A. Emerton. Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1979.
• Elitzur, Yoel and Doron Nir-Zevi. “A Rock-Hewn Altar Near Shiloh.” Palestine Exploration Quarterly 135 (2003): 30–36.
• Finkelstein, Israel. “Shiloh, 1981.” Israel Exploration Journal 32, no. 2/3 (1982): 148–50. JSTOR
• Finkelstein, Israel. “Shiloh, 1982.” Israel Exploration Journal 33, no. 1/2 (1983): 123-26. JSTOR
• Finkelstein, Israel, Shlomo Bunimovitz, Zvi Lederman, Salo Hellwing, and Moshe Sadeh. “Excavations at Shiloh 1981–1984: Preliminary Report.” Tel Aviv 12, no. 2 (September 1, 1985): 123–80.
• Finkelstein, Israel. “The History and Archaeology of Shiloh from the Middle Bronze Age II to Iron Age II.” Pp. 371–93 in Shiloh: The Archaeology of a Biblical Site, edited by Israel Finkelstein, Shelomoh Bunimovits, Zvi Lederman, and Baruch Brandl, 371–93. Monograph Series of the Institute of Archaeology 10. Tel Aviv, Israel: Institute of Archaeology of Tel Aviv University, 1993
• Finkelstein, Israel. “Shiloh Yields Some, But Not All, of Its Secrets: Location of Tabernacle Still Uncertain.” Biblical Archaeology Review 12 no. 1 (1986): 22–41. LINK
• Finkelstein, Israel, Shelomoh Bunimovits, Zvi Lederman, and Baruch Brandl, eds. Shiloh: The Archaeology of a Biblical Site. Monograph Series of the Institute of Archaeology 10. Tel Aviv, Israel: Institute of Archaeology of Tel Aviv University, 1993. Chapter Index PDF.
• Fitzmyer, Joseph A. The One Who is to Come. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 2007.
• Glueck, Nelson. “Palestinian and Syrian Archaeology in 1932.” American Journal of Archaeology 37, no. 1 (1933): 160–72.  NOTE: On Shiloh (Seilûn) see pages 166-67.
• Glueck, Nelson. “Report of the Director of the School in Jerusalem.” Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research, no. 52 (1933): 28–37. NOTE: On Shiloh see pages 30-31.
• Glueck, Nelson. “Shiloh.” Quarterly of the Department of Antiquities in Palestine 3 (1934): 180.
• Halpern, Baruch. 1976. “Levitic Participation in the Reform Cult of Jeroboam I.” Journal of Biblical Literature 95 no. 1:31–42. LINK
• Haran, Menahem. Temples and Temple Service in Ancient Israel. Winona Lake 1985.
• Haran, Menahem. “Shiloh and Jerusalem: The Origin of the Priestly Tradition in the Pentateuch.” Journal of Biblical Literature 81 (1962): 14–24.
• Hess, Richard S. Pp. 221-22 in Israelite Religions: An Archaeological and Biblical Survey. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Academic, 2007.
• Hizmi, Hananya, and Reut Livyatan-ben-Arie. “The Excavations at the Northern Platform of Tel Shiloh the 2012-2013 Seasons [Translated from Hebrew].” Edited by D. Scott Stripling and David E. Graves. Translated by Hillel Richman. Near East Archaeological Society Bulletin 62 (2017): 35–52. PDF
• Kaufman, Asher S. “Fixing the Site of the Tabernacle at Shiloh.” Biblical Archaeology Review 14.6 (1988): 46–52.
•  Kjaer, Hans Andersen. “The Danish Excavation of Shiloh.” Palestine Exploration Quarterly 59 no. 4 (1927): 202–13.
• Kjaer, Hans Andersen. “The Excavation of Shiloh.” Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 10 (1930): 87–174.
• Kjaer, Hans Andersen. “Shiloh a Summary Report of the Second Danish Expedition, 1929.” Palestine Exploration Quarterly  63 no. 2 (1931): 71–88.
• Leuchter, Mark. “The Reference to Shiloh in Psalm 78.” Hebrew Union College Annual 77 (2006): 1–32.
• Lindblom, Johannes, “The Political Background of the Shiloh Oracle.” Novum Testamentum Supplements 1 (1953): 78–87.
• McCown, Chester C., “Seilun,” American Journal of Archaeology 34 (1930): 95-96
• Niehaus, Jeffrey. “The Central Sanctuary: Where and When?” Tyndale Bulletin 43, no. 1 (May 1992): 3–30.
• Noth, Martin. “Samuel und Silo.” Vetus Testamentum 13, no. 4 (1963): 390–400.
• Pearce, R. A. “Shiloh and Jer. VII 12, 14 & 15.” Vetus Testamentum 23, no. 1 (1973): 105–8. JSTOR
• Richardson, A. T. “The Site of Shiloh.” Palestine Exploration Quarterly 57 no. ? (1925): 162–63.
• Richardson, A. T. “The Site of Shiloh.” Palestine Exploration Quarterly 59 no. 2 (1927): 85–88.
• Schley, Donald G. Shiloh: A Biblical City in Tradition and History. Journal for the Study of the Old Testament Supplement Series 63. Sheffield, U.K.: Sheffield Academic Press, 2009. LINK
• Treves, Marco. “Shiloh (Genesis 49:10).” Journal of Biblical Literature 85, no. 3 (1966): 353–56.
• Wellhausen, Julius. Prolegomena to the History of Ancient Israel. Cleveland, Ohio: Meridian Books, 1957.
• Wood, Bryant G. “From Ramesses to Shiloh: Archaeological Discoveries Bearing on the Exodus–Judges Period.” In Giving the Sense: Understanding and Using Old Testament Historical Texts, edited by David M. Howard, Jr. and Michael A. Grisanti, 256–82. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Kregel Academic & Professional, 2004.
  

  Dictionaries and Encyclopedias:

  The list of abbreviations can be found here. LINK

• Diffey, D. S. “Shiloh.” In The Lexham Bible Dictionary, edited by J. D. Barry, op cit. Bellingham, Wash.: Lexham, 2015.
• Andersen, H. G., “Shiloh,” Pp. 480–83 in vol. 5 of Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible, Vols. 1–5. Revised, Full–Color ed. Tenney, Merrill C., and Moisés Silva, eds. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 2009. 
• Driver, Samuel R. “Shiloh.” Pp. 499–500 in vol. 4 of A Dictionary of the Bible: Dealing with Its Language, Literature and Contents Including the Biblical Theology, edited by James Hastings and John A. Selbie. New York, N.Y.: Scribner’s Sons, 1911. Online
• Ewing, W. “Shiloh.” Pp. 2768–69 in vol 4 of The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, edited by James Orr and Melvin Grove Kyle. Chicago, Ill.: Howard-Severance, 1915
• Finkelstein, Israel, and Aharon Kempinski. “Shiloh.” Pages 1364–70 in vol 4 of The New Encyclopedia of Archaeological Excavations in the Holy Land, edited by Ephraim Stern, Ayelet Levinson-Gilboa, and Joseph Aviram. Jerusalem, Israel: Israel Exploration Society, 1993.
• Gibson, Shimon, and Michael Avi-Yonah. “Shiloh.” Pages 478-79 in vol 18 of Encylopedia Judaica, edited by Michael Berenbaum and Fred Skolnik. New York, N.Y.: MacMillan, 2006.
• Halpern, Baurch, “Shiloh (Place),” Pp. 1213–15 in Vol. 5 of  The Anchor Bible Dictionary. 6 vols. Freedman, David Noel, Gary A. Herion, David F. Graf, and John David Pleins, eds. New York, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1992. You will find a lot of good factual material on Shiloh. Some of the conclusions are from a minimalist perspective but the facts are good.
• Lapp, Nancy L. “Shiloh.” In HarperCollins Bible Dictionary, edited by Paul J. Achtemeier, Rev Upd., 943–44. New York, N.Y.: HarperOne, 1996.
• McGraw, Larry. “Shiloh.” In Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary, edited by Trent C. Butler, Chad Brand, Charles Draper, and Archie England, 1487–88. Nashville, Tenn.: Broadman & Holman, 2003.
• Negev, Avraham, and Shimon Gibson, eds. “Shiloh,” page 463 in Archaeological Encyclopedia of the Holy Land. New rev., and updated. 1 vol. New York, N.Y.: Continuum International, 2001
• Pfeiffer, Charles F., ed. “Shiloh,” Pp. 522–23 in Wycliffe Dictionary of Biblical Archaeology. Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson, 2000.
• Taylor, John B., and J. Woodhead. “Shiloh.” In New Bible Dictionary, edited by I. Howard Marshall, Alan R. Millard, James I. Packer, and D. J. Wiseman, 3rd ed., 1094. Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity, 1996.
• Youngblood, Ronald. “Shiloh.” Pp. 1220-24 in vol. 4 of New International Dictionary of Old Testament Theology and Exegesis. Edited by Willem A. Van Gemeren. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 1986. 

 

Aerial Photo of Shiloh (Khirbet Seilûn).
Photo by Barry Kramer. Used by permission of ABR.

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Shiloh Excavation to reopen in 2017. See Blog Post

On the preservation process of the walls after excavation was completed in Season 1 at Shiloh  See Blog Post.

For research on Shiloh see my previous Blog post.

For Journal articles and papers see  Follow me on Academia.edu or Selected Works

For Books see Amazon or Amazon

For all books by Dr. David E. Graves

Updated October 18, 2021

Modified Sept 30, 2017. Copyright © 2016 Electronic Christian Media.  

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Dictionaries and Encyclopedias

Online Dictionaries and Encyclopedias

Several Dictionaries and Encyclopedias are available online however, be careful with older editons, as this reflects outdated research. It is NOT permissible to use Wikipedia as some of the information is unreliable and can be misleading. Here is a link to online resources that are recommended and made available through my BLOG.

Also, the Google Books and Amazon.com’s Look Inside feature, can be a big help, if you watch carefully the quality of the books (from a publisher with University in the name i.e., Oxford University Press, Harvard, etc.). You may need to set up a Google account to view the pages, but this is free. While only 10% of the book may be viewed due to copyright laws if you manage your search carefully you can find what you need including the page numbers.
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Modified Jan 18, 2016 Copyright © 2016 Electronic Christian Media

Smyrna

Arch in the Agora of Smyrna.
Image of Empress Faustina depicted on the Arch
Photo © David E. Graves

Smyrna (Mod. Izmir)

INDEX of Sites

Smyrna (modern name is Izmir) is an fascinating site so you may need to narrow your survey a bit. I’ve spent several days there and still did not see everything. Excavation of the Agora in recent days has produced some fascinating discoveries. Ramsay, Hemer and Graves have identified several local references in the text of Revelation worth exploring.  

The historical background of the site including the history of previous archaeological excavations, is always helpful. Besides my book on the Seven Churches and articles published there are older articled in encyclopedias, journal articles, and books that specialize in the subject. This will give you a cross section of material to do further study.

Online material: I highly recommend my books and articles. LINK 

• Graves, David E. Jesus Speaks to Seven of his Churches. LINK
  
• Graves, David E. "Smyrna. " Biblical Archaeology Vol. 1: An Introduction with Recent Discoveries That Support the Reliability of the Bible (Moncton, N.B.: Electronic Christian Media, 2014), 238–41. Google Look Inside
• Graves, David E. Key Themes of the New Testament: A Survey of Major Theological Themes. Moncton, N.B.: Electronic Christian Media, 2013. pages 83–86. LINK
• Graves, David E. "Appendix B – The Graeco–Roman Literary Context For The Seven Messages Of Revelation. " In Key Themes of the New Testament: A Survey of Major Theological Themes, 335–48. Moncton, N.B.: Electronic Christian Media, 2013. Smyrna is page 338–39. PDF or LINK
• Graves, David E. "Jesus Speaks to Seven of His Churches, Part 1. " Bible and Spade 23, no. 2 (Spring 2010): 46–56. Smyrna is pages 51–52. PDF
• Graves, David E. The Seven Messages of Revelation and Vassal Treaties: Literary Genre, Structure, and Function. Gorgias Dissertations Biblical Studies 41. Piscataway, N.J.: Gorgias, 2009. Amazon Look Inside
• Graves, David E. "Local References in the Letter to Smyrna (Rev 2: 8–11), Part 1: Archaeological Background. " Bible and Spade 18, no. 4 (2005): 114–23. PDF
• Graves, David E. "Local References in the Letter to Smyrna (Rev 2: 8–11), Part 2: Historical Background. " Bible and Spade 19, no. 1 (2006): 23–31. PDF
• Graves, David E. "Local References in the Letter to Smyrna (Rev 2: 8–11), Part 3: Jewish Background. " Bible and Spade 19, no. 2 (2006): 41–47. PDF
• Graves, David E. "Local References in the Letter to Smyrna (Rev 2: 8–11), Part 4: Religious Background. " Bible and Spade 19, no. 3 (2007): 88–96. PDF
• Ramsay, William M. St. Paul the Traveler and Roman Citizen. Grand Rapids: Kregel, 1896. LINK
• Ramsay, William M. The Letters to Seven Churches. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1904. LINK There is an newer edition with few differences but not online. Ramsay, William M. The Letters to Seven Churches: Updated Edition. Edited by Mark W. Wilson. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1994.

Available through Inter–Library Loan:

• Ramsay, William M. Cities and Bishoprics of Phrygia. 2 vols. Oxford, U.K.: Oxford University Press, 1895.
• Hemer, Colin J. The Letters to the Seven Churches of Asia in Their Local Setting. The Biblical Resource Series. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 2001.

Dictionaries and Encyclopedias:

The list of abbreviations can be found here. LINK

• Blaiklock, E. M. "Smyrna" in The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible, Vol. 4, ed. Merrill C. Tenney. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 2009. 
• Potter, D. S. "Smyrna (Place)." In D. N. Freedman (Ed.), The Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary. New York: Doubleday, 1992, 6:73–75.
•  
• Smyrna older than first thought. BlogPost.
  

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Modified Oct 31, 2023. Copyright © 2016 Electronic Christian Media.