Allotments at Shiloh: 18:1–10 A narrative summary shifts the scene from Gilgal (Josh. 14:6) to a tribal assembly at Shiloh (Josh. 18:1), ten miles northeast of Bethel. The narrative mentions that the assembly set up the Tent of Meeting at that place. The Tent of Meeting at this time is more important than a permanent structure, for it is the symbol of the presence of God. Only later did the tribes house the ark of the covenant in a more permanent structure at Shiloh (1 Sam. 1–4). The Bible reports that Eli and his sons later ministered in a permanent shrine until the Philistines conquered Shiloh and captured the ark (1 Sam. 4:1–22).

By stating that the tribes assembled at Shiloh, the narrator ties the passage to Deuteronomy. The word gathered (“assembled,” Hb. kahal) first appears here (Jos…