Shiloh
Genesis 49:10
“The scepter will not depart from Judah,
nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet,
until he comes to whom it belongs
and the obedience of the nations is his.”
Many believers have a favorite title for the Lord Jesus Christ, and Jacob, the ancient patriarch of Israel, was no exception. His favorite name was “Shiloh.” “Shiloh” does not appear in many modern Bibles (including the New International Version), which choose to render the Hebrew in some other way. But the Hebrew text says “Shiloh,” and a literal rendering of this verse is close to the King James translation: “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.”
This is a great passage, as most commentators on Genesis recognize—the last of three great prophecies of the Messiah found in Genesis. The first is Genesis 3:15, in which the prophecy of a deliverer was given to Adam and Eve in Eden. God is speaking to the serpent, pronouncing judgment: “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” Adam and Eve believed that promise and were saved by it.
The second prophecy is Genesis 22:18, the climax of God’s many revelations to Abraham. Early in the story God promised Abraham a land, a son, and posterity as numerous as the stars in heaven. But in the context of his testing of Abraham, recorded in Genesis 22, God surpassed these earlier revelations with the words “and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed” (Gen. 22:18). This prophecy could have referred merely to a blessing of others through the chosen nation of Israel. But it is actually a reference to the Messiah, as Paul points out in Galatians 3:16. It was to be a singular descendant of Abraham (Jesus) through whom Gentiles as well as Jews would be saved. Abraham believed this promise just as Adam and Eve had believed the promise given to them in Eden.
The third prophecy is Genesis 49:10.
In the first prophecy it is said that the Messiah would destroy the devil and his works. In the second it is said that he would redeem his people, thus bringing salvation to both Jew and Gentile. In the third prophecy it is said that all rule is his and that all peoples of earth will eventually bow before him.
A Puzzling Name
In spite of the importance of this prophecy, which nearly all commentators recognize, the name Shiloh itself is puzzling. It is a name for the Messiah. But it is not merely a name. It means something, and that meaning is elusive. Here are the possibilities:
1. “Shiloh” might mean “sent,” like that similar word that occurs in the New Testament in the story of the healing of the blind man: “ ‘Go,’ he told him, ‘wash in the pool of Siloam’ (this word means Sent)” (John 9:7). I remember puzzling over this interpretation of Genesis 49:10 during graduate study in Switzerland, before I had made the connection with the New Testament passage. I pondered whether “Shiloh” might not be derived from the common Hebrew verb shalach, which means “send.” In this case “Shiloh” would mean “the sent one” or “the one whom God will send.”
This is a good meaning. It fits the text, which is a prophecy of the sending of the Messiah. Moreover, it fits with many other statements in Scripture, such as Isaiah 61:1–2, which Jesus quoted in Nazareth at the start of his public ministry: “The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” Jerome was attracted to this interpretation of Genesis 49:10, because the Latin Vulgate, which he produced, contains the words qui mittendus est (“who must be sent”).
The problem is that this involves a textual emendation. The Hebrew word for “send” contains the consonants sheen, lahmed, and chait. But the word “Shiloh” contains the consonants sheen, lahmed and hay. To be sure, the difference is slight. In print chait looks something like the scientific symbol pi. Hay is similar, except that one of the two legs does not quite reach the top bar. Nevertheless, hay is not chait, and there is no textual justification for the change.
2. An old interpretation of “Shiloh,” going back to Jewish commentators, is that the word means “son.” This is based on the resemblance of the name to the Hebrew root shiljah, which is taken to mean “son.” This would be a wonderful meaning, since Jesus is certainly the son in all important senses. He is the Son of God, the Son of Man, the Son of Judah, the Son of David. Isaiah 9:6 would fit in well here: “To us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” So would Matthew 3:17: “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”
Unfortunately, although this was the preferred interpretation of “Shiloh” by both Martin Luther and John Calvin, it is based on a mistranslation of shiljah. Shiljah means not “son,” but “afterbirth.” So to derive Jacob’s name for Jesus from this word seems mistaken.
3. During the last centuries the most popular interpretation of “Shiloh” has been to derive it from the same root word as Salem or shalom, which means “peace.” In this view “Shiloh” would mean “peace-giver” or “the one who brings peace.” I said earlier that “Shiloh” probably does not mean “the sent one,” because the final consonant is hay rather than chait. However, if hay is retained, then the word is the verb “to be quiet” or “to be at ease,” which is what peace involves.
Jesus is the Peace-giver. He is the one who made reconciliation between man and God by his death for sin on the cross. Robert Candlish liked this interpretation of the name. So did George Lawson. He wrote, “The peaceful one, or he that is the giver of tranquility, appears to be the true meaning.”2
Charles Haddon Spurgeon applied this meaning of the name eloquently: “Have you ever said to yourself, ‘There is nothing I desire—nothing that I wish for; I am satisfied—perfectly content; I am without a fear, without a dread’? ‘No,’ say you, ‘I never reached that elysium.’ You may be worth millions of money without ever coming to that pass. All the gold in the world will never fill a man’s heart; and you may have broad acres across which a swift horse could hardly rush in a day, but you will not have enough. All the land in the world cannot fill a heart. You may have all the beauty, rank, honor and fame that ever can come to a human being, and yet say, ‘Ah me! I am wretched still.’ But full many who have found Jesus have been able to say, ‘It is enough: I need no more.’ Believing in Jesus, and learning to yield up everything to his will, living to his glory, and loving him supremely, we do enjoy peace with God—a ‘peace that passeth all understanding,’ which ‘keeps our heart and mind’ by Jesus Christ.”
We could do worse than adopt the translation of “Shiloh” that sees it as “he who gives rest.” We do badly indeed if we do not find true rest in him, regardless of the meaning of the word.
4. There is still a fourth possibility, and in the judgment of most modern translators it is to be preferred over the others. It derives “Shiloh” from the Hebrew particle of relationship, sher (or ʾasher), here rendered “whose” or “whom,” and l, which means “to.” The meaning would be “he to whom,” and the verse would read like the New International Version: “until he comes to whom it belongs.” This is the way the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament, reads, using a phrase that literally means “until the things laid up in store come into his possession.” It would have an exact parallel in Ezekiel 21:27, which says, “It will not be restored until he comes to whom it rightfully belongs; to him I will give it.”
This is probably the right translation, in which case “Shiloh” refers to Jesus’ rightful rule and authority. It looks forward to the day when these will be his and the nations properly will bow before him (cf. Phil. 2:9–11).
Only One Shiloh
Thus far I have been assuming that “Shiloh,” whatever its meaning, refers to Jesus, who fulfills that meaning. But this is worth spelling out in detail. The point of this prophecy is that an eternal ruler should come in Judah’s line, that Jesus came in that line and fulfills the prophecy, and that if he has not fulfilled it, there will at least never be another person who can do so. The proof lies in Jesus’ genealogies.
In the previous study, as I spoke of the rulers who had descended from Judah in the line of David, I mentioned Abiud, Eliakim, Azor, Zadok, Eliud, Eleazar, Matthan, and Jacob, who were the links between Zerubbabel and Joseph, the adoptive father of Jesus Christ. Jacob was Joseph’s father, and Abiud was the son of Zerubbabel (cf. Matt. 1:13–16). This puts Jesus in the line of David, through David’s son Solomon.
There is a problem here, however, because one king in this line, Jehoiakim, received a curse from God saying that no descendant of his would ever sit upon the throne of David. “Record this man as if childless, a man who will not prosper in his lifetime, for none of his offspring will prosper, none will sit on the throne of David or rule anymore in Judah” (Jer. 22:30). If Jesus had been a natural descendant of Jehoiakim (also called Jeconiah and Jechonias), the curse would have applied to him and he would not have been eligible to fulfill Jacob’s prophecy.
But there is another line through which Jesus’ descent from David is also reckoned: the line of Mary, Jesus’ mother. Mary was a descendant of King David through Nathan, Solomon’s older brother. In the chart called “The Adam and Eve Family Tree,” which I have mentioned before, Mary’s ancestors are printed alongside the ancestors of Joseph leading back to Solomon. Mary’s line contains forty-one names, counting Joseph, who is listed as a son-in-law of Heli, Mary’s father (cf. Luke 3:23). Joseph’s line contains twenty-nine names, omitting Joseph.
But notice this problem. Before the birth of Christ to Mary and his adoption by Joseph, there were two lines of descent, each of which had a claim to the Davidic throne but each of which would have been challenged by the other. Joseph’s ancestors had ruled, but they were under a curse. No children of Jehoiakim ever did rule in Jerusalem, nor did any of their sons rule. Jehoiakim died in Babylon. Mary’s line had no curse, but no one in that line had ruled. Any ancestor of Mary would have been challenged by those who had descended from Solomon.
How could this be resolved? In one line there is a lack of reigning royalty. In the other there is a curse. Humanly speaking, the problem is unsolvable. But when God the Father caused the Lord Jesus Christ to be born of the Virgin Mary without benefit of a human father, the child that was born became the seed of David according to the flesh. And when Joseph married Mary at God’s command and thus took the unborn child under his adoptive and protective care, the Holy One to be born became his heir also and thus took to himself the title that had come down to Joseph through his illustrious ancestor Solomon.
In this way Jesus exhausted both lines; he was the oldest son of both Joseph and Mary and he himself had no children. By this divinely simple means Jesus became the true Messiah, the royal Messiah, the uncursed Messiah, the only possible Messiah. So I repeat, if Jesus is not the fulfillment of Jacob’s prophecy, there will at least never be another to fulfill it. Anyone who should ever come into the world purporting to be the Messiah will actually be a false Messiah, a liar, and the Antichrist.
Lord of Lords
Yet we have not considered the central content of this prophecy. We have examined the possible meanings of the word Shiloh. We have seen that Jesus is that Shiloh, indeed the only Shiloh there can ever be. But the heart of the prophecy is that the nations of the world will be gathered to this one, will obey him, and will be prospered in so doing.
It is a wonderful thing that this prophecy of Jacob to his son Judah about the Messiah included the gentile nations, for most Christians today are Gentiles and are therefore included in this blessing. Thus far in Genesis the work of God seems to have moved in the opposite direction. We began with one world, indeed one race spreading out to take possession of that world. But the race became increasingly corrupt. So instead of a universal salvation, we have seen God stooping to call and bless one unique people. God called Abraham, then Isaac, then Jacob, then Jacob’s twelve sons. It is a narrowing thing, and the book is to close with a focus on this small group of chosen people.
How wonderful is this last prophecy, for it opens our eyes to the other nations again! It tells us that although God is going to work through this one people for a time, the day will come when he will open the door of salvation to all people. Those from all nations will bow before Jesus.
And it is happening! Look at China, where the gospel of Shiloh has been ruthlessly suppressed for decades. When missionaries left China in the face of the Communist onslaught, there were less than one million professing Christians in that vast land. Today by some estimates there are more than fifty million who have professed obedience to Christ. The gathering of the people of China is to him.
I correspond with a woman who attended Tenth Presbyterian Church while in the United States to prepare for a ministry in her own country, the Philippines. I last saw her in India. She was on her way home to present Jesus to her family and village. She has written since that her father has become a Christian and has joined in her work. She has several weekly Bible studies and is active in a local church. Scores are now bowing the knee to Christ through her witness. The gathering of the people of the Philippines is to him.
On the same trip on which I saw this woman I visited Nepal. For years Nepal was closed to the gospel, and the best that Christians could do for that country was to camp on the border, pray for, and witness to those few Nepalese who crossed it in search of jobs or trade. In my lifetime Nepal has opened to the gospel, and missionaries have entered that land. It is illegal for a person to convert from one faith to another in Nepal. So even when Christians were allowed into the country, they were not to convert anybody, and Nepalese who left their faith for Christianity were imprisoned. Scores of native believers have suffered that punishment. They were imprisoned for bowing the knee to Christ. Yet they did bow before him. The rulers of Nepal set their faces against the Lord’s anointed. But still he rules, and to him shall the obedience of the Nepalese be.
There is a member of Tenth Presbyterian Church who has worked in Nepal for years. She is fluent in Nepalese. But suddenly another formerly closed country opened: Bhutan. So she went there to be a vehicle by which the people of that nation will learn the gospel and obey Christ’s call.
This is the flow of history. According to the prophecies of the coming of the Messiah in Genesis, Jesus was to defeat Satan, redeem his people, and gather the nations. The first two of these have been done. Jesus defeated Satan on the cross; he also made full and perfect atonement for his people’s sins. Today it is the last of these alone that is unfolding. This is the day of Christ’s gathering. It is the reaping time. It will continue until all Christ’s saints are gathered together around his throne, singing:
“Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain,
to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength
and honor and glory and praise.”
Revelation 5:12
Do not miss that gathering. Do not shun that call. Fall before him. Praise him as your Shiloh.[1]
10 The crux in vv. 8–12 is v. 10, particularly the third line of the verse. The first two lines suggest that Judah will continue to enjoy eminence, the tribe will never lose its place of primus inter pares, until he possesses that which belongs to him.
Without emending the Hebrew text in any way, one may read this line as “until Shiloh comes.” But this reading is strange for several reasons. First, it combines a feminine subject (“Shiloh”) with a masculine verb (“comes”). More importantly, what would such an expression mean? As a person, whom would Shiloh represent? Elsewhere in the OT Shiloh is only a place. Why represent an individual by a city, and why represent someone in a message to Judah by a city that falls within the territory of Ephraim?
It is also possible to read the Hebrew phrase as “until he [i.e., Judah] comes to Shiloh.” Taking Shiloh as a representative term for northern Israel, the verse would point to the extension of the Davidic kingdom in Judah to include the northern tribes. In other words, the phrase foretells a great future for David and his kingdom. A modification of this interpretation suggests that the verse originally foretold the expansion of Judean tribes over Israel as well. When Solomon’s empire broke up and this expansion became less and less of a possibility, however, some annotator inserted the sarcastic remark, “until a man of Shiloh comes” (ʿaḏ kî-yāḇōʾ ʾîš šîlōh, i.e., inserting ʾîš, which had dropped out through haplography). The problem with the first interpretation is that the people of Israel never did become monotribal although they were for a while a united kingdom. The problem with the modification is that it is arbitrary, since it has no textual support. Even if it be granted that the placement of these blessings in the mouth of the patriarch Jacob is entirely fictive, what would be accomplished by this blatant anachronism, by having the patriarch speak of Shiloh, a city that, unlike others nearby such as Bethel and Shechem, had no apparent significance before the conquest?
The early versions were as baffled by the phrase as are modern commentators. For example, the LXX could easily have read “until Shiloh comes.” Instead, it read “until there come the things stored up for him” (héōs án élthē tá apokeímena autṓ). This reading presupposes Heb. šellōh for MT šîlōh, that is, “that which belongs to him” (the relative particle še plus the preposition le plus the pronominal suffix, and the “him” would be a coming scion of Judah). How did the LXX come up with this reading? Did the Alexandrian translators, familiar with the targumic and rabbinic traditions on Gen. 49:10, create a redaction of the Hebrew text so as to produce a messianic sense? Or is this an instance where a biblical word was explained according to its meaning in Aramaic or postbiblical Hebrew? That is, at the time of the tranlators, šel was used in places where Biblical Hebrew employed ʾašer le.
There is no doubt about how the Qumran community understood Gen. 49:10. In 4Q Patriarchal Blessings (4QPBless) the interpretation of Gen. 49:10 reads as follows“A ruler shall not depart from the tribe of Judah while Israel has dominion. There will not be cut off a king [lit., ‘enthroned one,’ ywšb] in it belonging to (the line of) David. For the staff [hmḥqq] is the covenant of the kingship; the thousands of Israel are the feet, until the coming of [ʿd bwʾ] the Messiah of Righteousness, the branch of David, for to him and to his seed has been given the covenant of the kingship over his people for everlasting generations.”
Both LXX and 4QPBless would agree then that the phrase be understood as “until he comes to whom it [the scepter, the kingship] belongs.” The Hebrew would have to be read as “until that which is his comes.” If that is what Gen. 49:10 is saying, then we are faced with a Hebrew grammatical anomaly for which the Hebrew Bible offers no parallel.
Other scholars have attempted to isolate in šîlōh some word meaning “prince” or “ruler.” This sense is accomplished by appeal to the Akkadian word šēlu, “ruler, counselor,” or by emending to mōšelōh, “his (or its) ruler” (cf. mōšelô in Isa. 52:5 [Ketib], and in Jer. 30:21). This second suggestion assumes that the text is corrupt (a mem has dropped out). So, the colon reads, “until its ruler comes.”
Yet another viable option is faithful to the consonantal pattern of 49:10: š(y)lh. The cluster may be divided into šy and lh. Reading šy as šay and lh as lōh, the result is “tribute to him.” If yāḇōʾ is revocalized as a Hophal (yûḇāʾ), then the phrase would read, “until tribute is brought to him.” Thus the phrase forecasts the tribute and the subjection of the world to Judah, or to one of Judah’s own. šay indicating a gift offered as homage is present in Isa. 18:7; Ps. 68:30 (Eng. 29); 76:12 (Eng. 11).
There are, then, four major approaches to Gen. 49:10c: (1) attempt to make sense of MT by retaining “Shiloh”; (2) follow the reading of the ancient versions (“that which is his”); (3) emend šîlōh to šay lōh (“tribute to him”); (4) discover in “Shiloh” some Semitic word meaning “ruler” or “prince.” Of course, many other interpretations have been suggested, including those who see Judah’s son Shelah in Shiloh, and those who resort to yet other redivisioning of the consonants.[2]
9–10. This is the third promise of grace in the Bible. The first is, Gen. 3:15. The second is, Gen. 22:18. And this the third. The first gives assurance of the promised seed, the Lord Jesus. The second tells of the blessings folded up in him. And this, when the mercies shall be. The sceptre did not depart until Jesus came. For in the family of David it was continued, even when Judæa became a province under the Roman government. In proof read that scripture: John 19:7. And in proof that then Jesus, the Shiloh, was come, read that scripture: John 19:15. And for the gathering of the people, read Haggai 2:7. John 12:32. 11:32.[3]
[1] Boice, J. M. (1998). Genesis: an expositional commentary (pp. 1196–1201). Baker Books.
[2] Hamilton, V. P. (1995). The Book of Genesis, Chapters 18–50 (pp. 658–661). Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.
[3] Hawker, R. (2013). Poor Man’s Old Testament Commentary: Genesis–Numbers (Vol. 1, pp. 217–218). Logos Bible Software.
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