Fixing the Site of the Tabernacle at Shiloh

In a recent BAR article (January/February 1986), Israel Finkelstein, the director of the important new excavations at Shiloh, reported to BAR readers the exciting results of his efforts. The title of the article, “Shiloh Yields Some, But Not All, of Its Secrets,” BAR 12:01, accurately describes the contents. The added blurb, “Location of Tabernacle Still Uncertain,” indicates that the last word has not yet been said regarding this intriguing question.

As BAR readers will recall, it was at Shiloh that the Israelites set up the desert Tabernacle after crossing the Jordan River, arriving in the Land of Promise and taking possession of the land. In Joshua 18:1 we are told: “And the whole community of the children of Israel assembled at Shiloh, and set up the Tent of Meeting there. And the land was under their control.”