Chapter 18 The Further Seven Allotments - The Allotment to Benjamin.
In this chapter we have described the gathering at Shiloh where the Tent of Meeting (the Tabernacle) was set up, for the allotting by lot of the allotments to the remaining seven tribes. Men were to be sent out to divide up the remainder of the land, which up to now had been treated as one mainly unsurveyed section, into seven portions, and this was done. Movement through the country was easily possible, for travelling traders, and strangers passing through were a regular feature of life in Canaan. Then they returned and the remaining land was divided by lot. The lot of Benjamin is then described.
‘ And the whole congregation of the children of Israel assembled themselves together at Shiloh, and set up the Tent of Meeting there. And the land was subdued before them.'
The movement of the Tabernacle from Gilgal to Shiloh was an historic move. It was an indication that Israel were firmly settled in the land. It did not take place until after the victories of Joshua, even though Shechem, to the north of Shiloh, was early within the covenant (see on Joshua 8:30-35). It was first necessary that the hill country should come into their safe possession. Then the people gathered at Shiloh, probably to celebrate one of the great feasts. No movement had as yet been made to settle the remaining seven tribes and this moving of the Tabernacle to Shiloh was probably partly Joshua's method of hastening the process.
“The whole congregation of the children of Israel.” See Joshua 22:12. The phrase is found regularly in the Law of Moses, eight times in Exodus, twice in Leviticus, nine times in Numbers. It comprehensively sums up the whole people as gathered together in the covenant.
“Assembled themselves together at Shiloh, and set up the Tent of Meeting there.” From now on Shiloh (modern Seilun) would be the place where the Tabernacle remained permanently until Shiloh was probably destroyed by the Philistines in the days of Eli, when Samuel was a young prophet. Archaeologically speaking a destruction of Shiloh took place around 1050 BC. Shiloh, and its fate, was ever remembered as the site of the Tabernacle which finally came under the judgment of God because of Israel's failure and sin (Psalms 78:60; Jeremiah 7:12; Jeremiah 7:14; Jeremiah 26:6; Jeremiah 26:9). But that was yet in the future.
The tabernacle was variously stationed at Gilgal (Joshua 5:10; Joshua 10:15; Joshua 10:43), Shiloh (Joshua 18:1; Joshua 18:9-10), possibly temporarily at Bethel (Judges 20:18-28; Judges 21:1-4 - although only the Ark is mentioned and that sometimes left the Tabernacle at time of war), Shiloh (Judges 18:31; Judges 21:19 by implication; 1 Samuel 1:3 to 1 Samuel 4:4), possibly at Mizpah (1 Samuel 7:5; 1 Samuel 7:9-10) and Gilgal (1Sa 10:8; 1 Samuel 11:14; 1 Samuel 13:8-10), Nob (1 Samuel 21:1-9), and finally at Gibeon (1Ch 16:39-40; 1 Chronicles 21:29; 1 Kings 3:4; 2 Chronicles 1:3), There are hints that at Shiloh various permanent elements were added to the site of the Tabernacle but this is not certain (1 Samuel 1:9; 1 Samuel 3:15). Such language could be used elsewhere of tents, and ‘the house of YHWH' could equally refer to the Tabernacle. Thus it may well have been called a ‘temple' after being there so long.
“And the land was subdued before them.” The reference here is probably twofold, firstly to the widespread victories of Joshua which had crushed resistance temporarily throughout Canaan, and then to the further victories by which Judah, Ephraim and Manasseh had taken possession of the hill country and had established themselves there, together with certain parts of the lowlands, the Shephelah, and the Negeb.