Abstract
The present paper deals with the development of cult in Shiloh during the Middle Ages. After the Byzantine period, when Shiloh was an important Christian cult place, it disappeared from the written sources and started to be identified with Nebi Samwil. In the 12th century Shiloh reappeared in the travelogues of Muslims, and shortly thereafter, in ones by Jews. Although most of the traditions had to do with the Tabernacle, some traditions started to identify Shiloh with the tomb of Eli and his family. The present study looks at the relationship between the practice of ziyara (“visit” in Arabic), which was characterized by the veneration of tombs, and the cult in Shiloh. The paper also surveys archeological finds in Shiloh that attest to a medieval cult and compares them with the written sources. In addition, it presents testimonies by Christians about Jewish cultic practices, along with testimonies about the cult place shared by Muslims and Jews in Shiloh. Examination of the medieval cult in Shiloh provides a broader perspective on an uninstitutionalized regional cult.
Highlights
Maintaining the continuous sanctity of a site over historical periods, and even between different faiths, is a well-known phenomenon: It is a well-known phenomenon that places of pilgrimage maintain their sacred status even after shifts in the owners’ faith (Limor 1998, p. 9)
At times this process of “sanctity preservation” does not go smoothly and some of the original traditions disappear, at least from written sources. This void continues in some cases for a short period and in others for centuries, until the sites reappear, apparently attesting to a local oral tradition passed between the generations. This is what happened in the case of Shiloh [Khirbet Seilun, àñÊJ éK
Believe firmly that to be the place where the Tabernacle of the Alliance stood for a long in Shiloh and rightly is said of it: “We found it in the fields of the forest” and this is referred to God, found in the Tabernacle, in the Holy of Holies, at Shiloh
Summary
Maintaining the continuous sanctity of a site over historical periods, and even between different faiths, is a well-known phenomenon: It is a well-known phenomenon that places of pilgrimage maintain their sacred status even after shifts in the owners’ faith (Limor 1998, p. 9). At times this process of “sanctity preservation” does not go smoothly and some of the original traditions disappear, at least from written sources. This void continues in some cases for a short period and in others for centuries, until the sites reappear, apparently attesting to a local oral tradition passed between the generations. This is what happened in the case of Shiloh [Khirbet Seilun, àñÊJ éK. The Danish delegation that carried out digs in Shiloh in the 1920s and 1930s published several articles during the excavations (Kjaer 1927, 1930, 1931)
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