Who Is Shiloh In Genesis 49:10?
Categories: Church of Christ Bulletin ArticlesA querist asks, “Regarding Genesis 49:10, is Shiloh a prophecy of Jesus coming, and is the phrase about “the sceptre departing” a reference to the Jews no longer being God’s chosen people after they rejected Jesus as Messiah?
The text of Genesis 49:10 KJV reads:
“The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.“
Genesis 49:10 is definitely a prophecy of the coming of the Messiah. The word “Shiloh” means “place of rest” or “rest-giver” which Christ is (cf. Matthew 11:28). The phrase, “the sceptre shall not depart” refers to the fact that Judah would not produce the scepter of lawgiving and authority “until Shiloh (Christ) come.”
The gist of Genesis 49:10 is the fact that the son of Jacob called Judah would produce a tribe (Genesis 49:1-2; Genesis 49:8-12). But that tribe would not produce the law of government for God’s people until Christ (who was of the tribe of Judah – Matthew 1:3; Hebrews 7:14; Genesis 49:9; Revelation 5:5) came (see also Numbers 24:17; Isaiah 11:1; Micah 4:2). Until that time, the tribe of Levi would have the responsibility of producing the law of government for God’s people and would be administered through the law of Moses (Exodus 24:1-18; Numbers 3:1-10; Deuteronomy 33:1-5; John 1:17).
When Shiloh (Christ) came, the people would gather to him (Mark 12:37; John 12:32; cf. Romans 5:18; Hebrews 2:9). Genesis 49:10 is a beautiful prediction of the coming of Christ to become our king, priest, and lawgiver replacing the law of Moses (Hebrews 7:11-17). We are presently (Christian age) under the “perfect law of liberty” – the law of Christ (Romans 8:2; 1 Corinthians 9:21; Gal. 6:2; James 1:25; James 2:12).
When we use the American Standard Version of 1901, the latter portion of the text in Genesis 49:10 ASV reads:
“And unto him shall the obedience of the peoples be.“
The term “peoples” is significant in that it is plural. It foresees the universal reign of Christ over his spiritual kingdom (John 18:36), the church (cf. Genesis 12:3; Genesis 18:18; Genesis 22:18; Genesis 26:4; Genesis 28:14; Psalm 2:8; Daniel 2:44; Micah 4:1-7; Luke 1:31-33; Gal. 3:16; 1 Peter 2:5; Revelation 1:5-6; Revelation 5:9-10). His subjects being made up of both Jews and Gentiles (Acts 2:1-47; Acts 10:1-48; Acts 13:44-48; cf. Isaiah 42:6; Isaiah 49:6; Isaiah 60:1-3; Luke 2:25-32).
One last observation regarding this text. It’s interesting to note that in Christ’s kingdom, His subjects render “willing” obedience (cf. Romans 6:17) – not “forced” obedience as those subject under worldly kings and kingdoms.
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