Taanath-shiloh
Taanath-shiloh is an ancient city mentioned in the Old Testament, located in the region of Samaria in modern-day Israel. Known today as Khirbet Tana el Fauqa. It appears across 1 verse in Scripture.
Biblical History
Taanath-shiloh appears only once in the biblical text, in Joshua 16:6, as a point on the boundary line of the territory allotted to the tribe of Ephraim. The border description moves eastward from Michmethath to Taanath-shiloh and then to Janoah, tracing the northern boundary of Ephraim through the hill country of Samaria. As a boundary marker, the site carries no narrative incident of its own in Scripture, but its careful inclusion in the tribal allotment lists of Joshua reflects the detailed administrative geography that accompanied Israel's settlement of Canaan. The name itself is compound — combining Taanath (perhaps meaning "approach" or "the fig tree approach") with Shiloh — suggesting a possible orientation toward or connection with Shiloh, the important early Israelite sanctuary city some miles to the south where the tabernacle was set up (Joshua 18:1) and which served as Israel's central worship site during the period of the judges. The tribal boundaries of Joshua 13–21 preserve ancient geographical traditions of the land division under Joshua, and sites like Taanath-shiloh help reconstruct the territorial organization of the Israelite tribal league in the early settlement period.
Archaeological & Historical Notes
Taanath-shiloh is most commonly identified with Khirbet Tana el Fauqa (Upper Khirbet Tana), located in the eastern Samarian hill country northeast of Nablus. The site sits approximately nine kilometers northeast of ancient Shechem. Surface surveys have documented Iron Age pottery sherds consistent with Israelite period occupation, supporting the identification with an Ephraimite boundary site. A lower site, Khirbet Tana et Tahta, nearby, also preserves ancient remains. Neither site has been subject to systematic excavation. The area around Khirbet Tana el Fauqa remains largely rural, and the identification, while widely accepted, rests primarily on geographical correspondence with the border description in Joshua 16 and phonological similarity of the name.
Verse Appearances (1)
Josh
Sources: ISBE Encyclopedia · OpenBible Geocoding (CC BY) · Pleiades Gazetteer View all →