Biblical Shiloh, located in the hill country of Samaria about 26 miles (42 km) north of Jerusalem, is one of the most significant sites in the Bible. Known as the place where the tabernacle at Shiloh stood for 369 years, Shiloh Israel served as the spiritual center of the nation during the time of Joshua, the Judges, and Samuel. For those asking where is Shiloh in Israel, it sits along Highway 60—the ancient Road of the Patriarchs connecting Shechem, Jerusalem, Hebron, and Beersheba.
In this Route 60 film, we bring the story of Biblical Shiloh to life—exploring the land, the Scriptures, and the people of Shiloh, Israel today. From the site of the Ark of the Covenant at Shiloh to the modern community built beside Tel Shiloh, this film traces a continuous story spanning more than 3,000 years.
Shiloh, Israel is one of the most important biblical sites in Judea and Samaria, and its history connects directly to some of the most foundational events in Scripture.
In this guide, we explore the biblical history, archaeological discoveries, and modern-day life of Shiloh, Israel—tracing its story from the tabernacle and the Ark to the thriving community that stands there today.
Biblical Shiloh is nestled in the hill country in the heart of Samaria, 26 miles (42 km) north of Jerusalem, right off the major biblical highway that connected the major biblical locations of Elon Moreh, Shechem, Jerusalem, Hebron, and Beer Sheva. This route through Israel’s heartland is still in use today as a main thoroughfare, known as Highway 60.
The modern-day town of Shiloh, Israel was established right next to Tel Shiloh, the ancient ruin of the city. (“Tel” is the Hebrew word for an ancient ruin of a city.) Directly north of Tel Shiloh is what is believed to be the site where the tabernacle at Shiloh stood for 369 years during the time of Joshua, Samuel, and the Judges of Israel.
There is still an easily discernible section of ground, with the precise dimensions of the biblical tabernacle as spelled out in the text, leaving little doubt among archaeologists that this is the exact spot where the glory of God rested for over three centuries. This makes Tel Shiloh a central location within the Shiloh archaeological site.
Shiloh is located in the northern part of the tribal allotment of Ephraim, not far from the border with Manasseh.
The first mention of Shiloh in the Bible is found in Joshua chapter 16, where we read about the borders that were established for the tribe of Ephraim.
“The border of the children of Ephraim, according to their families, was thus: The border of their inheritance on the east side was Ataroth Addar as far as Upper Beth Horon. And the border went out toward the sea on the north side of Michmethath; then the border went around eastward to Taanath Shiloh, and passed by it on the east of Janohah. Then it went down from Janohah to Ataroth and Naarah, reached to Jericho, and came out at the Jordan.”
— Joshua 16:5-7
Soon after this, in Joshua 18, we read the account of Joshua gathering the tribes at Shiloh, essentially establishing it as Israel’s first capital.
“Now the whole congregation of the children of Israel assembled together at Shiloh, and set up the tabernacle of meeting there. And the land was subdued before them.”
— Joshua 18:1
From this point on, Biblical Shiloh has held a massive amount of significance in the story of the people of Israel. Over the course of the next 369 years that the tabernacle was at Shiloh, many of Israel’s heroes would have made pilgrimage there for the festivals, including:
The hills surrounding Shiloh have one of the highest concentrations of ancient pottery shards. This was actually one of the ways that archaeologists were able to pinpoint the site of the tabernacle. They noticed that on hills that were out of sight of this location, the remains of ancient clay dishes would abruptly stop, but in the whole area that had line of sight to the location, there was pottery in abundance.
In Jewish custom, any item used in a sacrificial service remains holy and cannot be used for everyday functions after it is used in this holy rite. Due to this, in ancient times, they would often break the vessels after eating their portion of the sacrifice that had been held in the dish. In this way, they could avoid potentially defiling the holy thing by using the dish for a common purpose later on. And since the holy things were always supposed to be eaten in a holy place, they would use and break the dishes where the tabernacle was still in sight, as that was considered to be within the area of the holy place.
In the book of Judges, there is another story surrounding the internal tribal war that Israel experienced, in which a covenant was made by the other eleven tribes not to allow the remaining men of the tribe of Benjamin to marry any of their daughters.
In the end, they didn’t want to see the extinction of the entire tribe, and the elders of Israel came up with a plan to have their available young women dance in the vineyards of Shiloh at the upcoming festival of Tu B’Av, and the Benjamite men were instructed to kidnap the women they chose in order to see that the tribe would live on.
For this reason, Shiloh is also known as a place of love and finding a suitable lifelong partner, and many people pray there for their future spouses.
“Then they said, ‘In fact, there is a yearly feast of the Lord in Shiloh, which is north of Bethel, on the east side of the highway that goes up from Bethel to Shechem, and south of Lebonah.'”
— Judges 21:19
Another major aspect of the significance of Shiloh is in the biblical story of Hannah and her request for a child. The story of Hannah’s prayer and her encounter with Eli the High Priest at the tabernacle happened in Shiloh. This story is recorded in the first chapters of I Samuel.
Hannah was at the tabernacle pleading with God to give her a son, and she promises that if God hears her prayer, she will give the boy back to the LORD to serve Him all his days. God does give her a son, whom she names Samuel because God heard her prayer, and she brings him to Shiloh when he is weaned.
“Now when she had weaned him, she took him up with her, with three bulls, one ephah of flour, and a skin of wine, and brought him to the house of the Lord in Shiloh. And the child was young.”
— I Samuel 1:24
Samuel then stays with Eli the High Priest and grows up there serving the LORD, hearing God’s voice in the night, and eventually he becomes the judge over Israel and one of the nation’s greatest prophets. He later goes on to be the one to anoint King David as the ruler of God’s people.
Due to this answered prayer, Shiloh has become a well-known spot for couples to pray for children. At the tel site, they have even put up a sign with Hannah’s prayer from I Samuel chapter 2, thanking and praising God for the gift that He granted her.
Throughout history, Shiloh continued to be a spot that was remembered for its historical and biblical significance. Near the tel site, there was a dilapidated structure of a Mamluk mosque dating back to the 13th century. Beneath the floor of this mosque, they discovered remains from two different Byzantine-era churches, with remnants of beautiful mosaic floors still intact.
Built into one of these floors was a mosaic inscription of a prayer for blessing upon the inhabitants of the town of Shiloh, further proving to archaeologists that they did indeed have the right location for the site of the ancient biblical city.
Another find that shows the long history from the site that continues from ancient times is a stone found built into the wall of one of these Byzantine churches; it seems that it was a repurposed stone from an altar. The block still has a carved horn intact upon it, while the other three were broken off. Archaeologists believe it to be from an ancient altar, likely part of one of the “high places” commonly referred to in the Bible.
Archaeologists have still barely scratched the surface of the site, with tons of area that remains untouched and already scores of amazing finds from the site, including:
Tel Shiloh sees approximately 10,000 visitors each year from across Israel and around the world. The site is continually being improved, with new state-of-the-art presentations telling the vibrant stories of this ancient location that was such a vital part of Israel’s formative years as a new nation.
The HaRoeh observation tower has become an icon of the historical site. Built on the tel overlooking the site of the tabernacle, it stands over 29 feet (9 meters) tall. Its unique conical design is easily visible from Route 60. Inside the structure is an amphitheater with a 13-faceted wrap-around screen where a presentation of Shiloh’s biblical history is shown, overlaid onto the actual tabernacle site, which is visible through the glass panels of the tower.
The modern town of Shiloh, Israel is a vibrant religious Jewish community. It was reestablished as a Jewish village in 1978, just a few years after the Yom Kippur War. As of 2024, Shiloh is home to approximately 6,000 residents, while the area with its offshoot communities houses around 10,000 residents.
The area is booming with agriculture, especially vineyards, which cover much of the valley floor on the opposite side of Highway 60. The town boasts its own winery, yeshiva, elementary school for boys and one for girls, as well as a girls’ high school, restaurants, a metalwork factory, and a leather factory specifically for tefillin. The synagogue in Shiloh is an impressive structure patterned after the ancient tabernacle that stood there so long ago. It’s fitting that the modern place of worship in such a significant location for Jewish history should represent the start of Israel’s national story there, which began over 3,000 years ago.
Among the many thriving operations taking place in the community, one that stands out in its reach to the nation as a whole is the Shiloh Israel Children’s Fund. This organization specifically works to provide support for Israeli children who have been affected by terrorism. They offer many different types of therapy, and their facility is one of the finest, treating over 4,000 children weekly in their varied programs, including animal therapy, art therapy, music therapy, and drama therapy.
Another fascinating, albeit controversial, part of Shiloh is the red heifer project. Housed near ancient Shiloh are some of the red heifers that are seen as candidates for the service of purification that Jewish rabbis say will be needed in order for the Temple services to be resumed.
The ashes of a perfectly red heifer are part of the requirement for the cleansing of anyone who would want to enter the Holy Temple after being defiled by proximity to a corpse. Only recently did researchers find some red heifers that would actually qualify for the role. They are now breeding these pure Red Angus cows in order to hopefully maintain some available stock of red heifers for the day when the Temple can be rebuilt.
Shiloh has been a central point of Israel’s story since the start of the nation’s establishment in the Promised Land, and it stands to reason that it will again be hugely significant for the Jewish people in the near future. There is an ancient prophecy in Genesis chapter 49 that speaks of “Shiloh.” This is the first biblical use of the word “Shiloh.”
Although Jewish sages interpreted this passage to be in reference to the coming of the Messiah to reign on His throne in Jerusalem, there could certainly be relevance to these days in history. As we see the return of the people to Shiloh, it may herald the soon coming of the “Shiloh” referenced by Jacob on his deathbed.
“The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh comes; and to Him shall be the obedience of the people.”
— Genesis 49:10
Shiloh Israel is located in Samaria, about 26 miles north of Jerusalem along Highway 60.
Shiloh was the location of the tabernacle for 369 years and the setting for key events involving Hannah, Samuel, and the tribes of Israel.
Shiloh served as Israel’s first central place of worship and remains one of the most important biblical sites in Judea and Samaria.
The tabernacle stood at Shiloh for approximately 369 years.
Geographically, Shiloh is located in the area often referred to internationally as the West Bank, while biblically and historically it is part of Samaria.
Yes. Tel Shiloh is an active archaeological site and a major destination offering tours for those looking to visit Shiloh Israel and explore biblical history.
Enjoyed this video and article? Check out our film and story of another famous nearby location: Elon Moreh
