Judges 20:18

20:18 The Israelites went up to Bethel ¹  and asked God, ²  “Who should lead the charge against the Benjaminites?” ³  The Lord said, “Judah should lead.”

Judges 20:23

20:23 The Israelites went up and wept before the Lord until evening. They asked the Lord, “Should we ⁴  again march out to fight ⁵  the Benjaminites, our brothers?” ⁶  The Lord said, “Attack them!” ⁷ 

Joshua 18:1

The Tribes Meet at Shiloh

18:1 The entire Israelite community assembled at Shiloh and there they set up the tent of meeting. ⁸  Though they had subdued the land, ⁹ 

Psalms 78:60

78:60 He abandoned ¹⁰  the sanctuary at Shiloh,

the tent where he lived among men.

Jeremiah 7:12

7:12 So, go to the place in Shiloh where I allowed myself to be worshiped ¹¹  in the early days. See what I did to it ¹²  because of the wicked things my people Israel did.

¹ map For location see Map4-G4; Map5-C1; Map6-E3; Map7-D1; Map8-G3.

² tn Heb “They arose and went up to Bethel and asked God, and the Israelites said.”

³ tn Heb “Who should go up for us first for battle against the sons of Benjamin?”

⁴ tn Heb “I” (collective singular).

⁵ tn Heb “approach for battle.”

⁶ tn Heb “my brother” (collective singular).

⁷ tn Heb “Go up against him” (collective singular).

⁸ tn Heb “the tent of assembly.”

⁹ tn Heb “and the land was subdued before them.”

¹⁰ tn Or “rejected.”

¹¹ tn Heb “where I caused my name to dwell.” The translation does not adequately represent the theology of the Lord’s deliberate identification with a place where he chose to manifest his presence and desired to be worshiped (cf. Exod 20:25; Deut 16:2, 6, 11).

¹² sn The place in Shiloh…see what I did to it. This refers to the destruction of Shiloh by the Philistines circa 1050 b.c. (cf. Ps 78:60). The destruction of Shiloh is pertinent to the argument. The presence of the tabernacle and ark of the covenant did not prevent Shiloh from being destroyed when Israel sinned. The people of Israel used the ark as a magic charm but it did not prevent them from being defeated or the ark being captured (1 Sam 4:3, 11, 21-22).