We all know when Israel blessed his 12 children before his death (Genesis 49) that he stated the scepter shall not pass from Judah until Shiloh come, which in many other translations is not “Shiloh” but indicates a specific person to come and rule.
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I agree that “Shiloh” represents the Messiah, and this is easily proven because when Messiah came, the scepter- i.e., the rulership- had been taken from the descendants of the tribe of Judah. Rome was the government and legal authority, and it appointed Herod as king.
As far as we know, Herod was not even born a Jew, or a descendant of Judah; according to one source, Herod’s father was by descent an Edomite with a Jewish mother whose ancestors had converted to Judaism. However, Herod was raised as a Jew.
I was thinking there might be a different interpretation of this prophesy. Not one that denies its meaning as being to indicate the coming of Messiah, but one that might have a dual meaning: one for the immediate future and one for the distant future.
The distant future meaning is the one where Messiah will come when Judah is no longer the leader of the Jewish people. The more immediate meaning is that “when Shiloh come” means when the Ark of the Covenant is located at Shiloh.
I know, I know- that seems to be too literal, but stay with me here.
During the time of the Judges in the 12th to 11th century B.C. the Tabernacle, where the Ark was located, was in the town of Shiloh, and it remained there for around three and a half centuries until it was captured by the Philistines in 1050 B.C. (1 Samuel 4).
Here is why I am thinking this may have been part of the warning about the scepter being removed from Judah- in the book of Judges, we read (no less than three times) that during that time, everyone did as they wanted to because there was no king.
Joshua was alive when the Ark was placed in Shiloh (Joshua 19:51) so there was a rulership of Israel, but it wasn’t Judah at that time. Joshua was the son of Nun, an Ephraimite. Caleb, the only other original spy who did not die in the desert, was from Judah, but he was not the one in charge.
And before this, Moses was the BMOC and he was a Levite. So, wait a minute! Until David took over, the scepter was not in the hand of Judah, at all!
I am writing this off the top of my head, and now I am beginning to see that maybe the prophesy was only about when the Messiah comes, and not really about the town of Shiloh, at all.
So why am I still posting this? I mean, look- I started out with a message and ended up denying my own message! Why would I want all of you to see me prove myself wrong?
It’s because there is now a different message, one that arose from verifying what ended up being an incorrect message, and going through this process of learning is what a true Berean of the Bible should be willing to do.
I had an idea, I thought about it, I started to share it with you all, but as I researched it, I realized that what I was thinking really can’t be substantiated by the Bible, so that means what I thought something meant is not what it means.
So, nu? What started out in my mind as a unique interpretation of a well-known passage, has ended up as a lesson in honest interpretation and proper biblical exegesis. I couldn’t be happier that I found out I was wrong, especially before sharing that wrong idea with others.
That is why I have not just deleted this entire mishigas because I hope sharing this example of the importance of verifying everything you hear or think something in the Bible means with what is actually in the Bible will be of use to you in the future.
That’s it for today, so l’hitraot and Baruch HaShem!
