Prophet Jacob, the grandson of Prophet Abraham, is lying sick in bed;
he is in his one hundred and forty-seventh year, and the end
is approaching rapidly. He summons his twelve sons and
their families to his bedroom; and he blesses each son and
foretells the future of his tribe. It is generally known as the
"Testament of Jacob," and is written in an elegant Hebrew
style with a poetic touch. It contains a few words which
are unique and never occur again in the Bible. The Testament recalls the varied events in the life of a man who has
had many ups and downs. He is reported to have taken
advantage of his brother's hunger and bought his right of
birth for a dish of pottage, and deceived his blind old father
and obtained the blessing which by birthright belonged to
Esau. He served seven years to marry Rachel, but was deceived by her father, being married to her elder sister Liah;
so he had to serve another term of seven years for the former.
The massacre of all the male population by his (Jacob's) two
sons Simon and Livi for the pollution of his (Jacob's)
daughter Dina by Schechim, the prince of that town, had
greatly grieved him. The shameful conduct of his first-born,
Reubin, in defiling his father's bed by lying with his concubine
was never forgotten nor forgiven by him. But the greatest
grief that befell him after the loss of his beloved wife Rachel
was the disappearance for many years of his favorite son
Joseph. His descent into Egypt and his meeting with Joseph
caused him great joy and the recovery of his lost sight. Jacob
was a Prophet, and surnamed by God "Israel," the name
which was adopted by the twelve tribes that descended from
him.
The policy of usurpation of the birthright runs through
the records of the Book of Genesis, and Jacob is represented
as a hero of this violation of the rights of other persons. He
is reported to give the birthright of his grandson Manashi to
his younger brother Ephraim, in spite of the remonstrances
of their father Joseph (chap. xlviii.). He deprives his firstborn son of his birthright and accords the blessing to Judah,
his fourth son, because the former had lain with Bilha,
Jacobs's "concubine," who is the mother of his two sons Dan
and Nephthali; and deprives the latter because he was no
better than the other, inasmuch as he committed adultery
with his own daughter-in-law Thamar, who bore a son who
became an ancestor of David and of Jesus Christ (chap.
xxv. 22, chap. xxxviii.)!
It is indeed incredible that the author, or at least the
final editor, of this book was "inspired by the Holy Spirit,"
as the Jews and Christians allege. Jacob is reported to have
married two sisters simultaneously, an action condemned by
God's law (Lev. xviii. 18). In fact, with the exception of
Joseph and Benjamin, his other sons are described as rough
shepherds, liars (to their father and to Joseph), murderers,
adulterers, which means it was a family not becoming a
Prophet at all. Of course, the Muslims cannot accept any
calumny against a Prophet or a righteous man unless it be
expressly recorded or mentioned in the Qur'an. We do not
believe the sin attributed to Judah to be true (cf. chap.
xxxviii), otherwise the blessing accorded to him by Jacob
would be a contradiction; and it is this very blessing that
we propose to study and discuss in this article.
Jacob could not have blessed his son Judah if the latter
was really the father of his own daughter-in-law's son, Peres,
for both adulterers would be condemned to death by the Law
of God, Who had given him the gift of prophecy (Lev. xx 12).
However, the story of Jacob and that of his not very exemplary family is to be found in the Book of Genesis (chaps.
xxv. - 1).
The famous prophecy, which may be considered as the
nucleus of this testament, is contained in the tenth verse of
the forty-ninth chapter of Genesis as follows: -
"The Sceptre shall not depart from Judah,
And the Lawgiver from between his feet,
Until the coming of Shiloh,
And to him belongeth the obedience of peoples."
This is the literal translation of the Hebrew text as much
as I can understand it. There are two words in the text
which are unique and occur nowhere else in the Old Testament. The first of these words is "Shiloh," and the other
"yiqha" or "yiqhath (by construction or contraction).
Shiloh is formed of four letters, shin, yod, lamed and hi.
There is a "Shiloh," the proper name of a town in Ephraim,
(1 Sam. i. etc.), but there is no yod in it. This name cannot
be identical with, or refer to, the town where the Ark of the
Covenant or the Tabernacle was; for until then no sceptre
or lawgiver had appeared in the tribe of Judah. The word
certainly refers to a person, and not to a place.
As far as I can remember, all the versions of the Old
Testament have preserved this original Shiloh without giving
it a rendering. It is only the Syriac Pshitta (in Arabic called
al-Bessita) that has translated it into "He to whom it
belongs." It is easy to see how the translator has understood the word as composed of "sh" abridged form of
asher= "he, that," and loh (the Arabic lehu) = "is his. '
Consequently, according to the Pshitta, the clause will be
read in the following manner: "Until he to whom it belongeth come, And," etc. The personal pronoun "it" may
refer to the sceptre and the lawgiver separately or collectively, or perhaps to the "obedience" in the fourth clause of
the verse, the language being poetic. According to this
important version the sense of the prediction would appear
to be plainly this:-
"The royal and prophetic character shall not pass
away from Judah until he to whom it belongs come, for
his is the homage of people."
But apparently this word is derived from the verb
shalah and therefore meaning "peaceful, tranquil, quiet and
trust-worthy."
It is most likely that some old transcriber or copyist
currente calamo and with a slip of pen has detached the left
side of the final letter het, and then it has been transformed
into hi, for the two letters are exceedingly alike being onlvery slightly different on the left side. If such an error has
been transmitted in the Hebrew manuscript - either intentionally or not - then the word is derived from shalah, ' to
send, delegate," the past participle of which would be
shaluh - that is, "one who is sent, messenger."
But there appears no reasonable cause for a deliberate
change of het for hi, since the yod is preserved in the present
shape of Shiloh, which has no vaw that would be necessary
for the past participle Shaluh. Besides, I think the Septuagint has retained the Shiloh as it is. The only possible
change, therefore, would be of the final letter het into hi.
If such be the case, then the word would take the form of
Shiluah and correspond exactly to the "Messenger of Yah," the
very title given to Muhammad alone "Rasul Allah," i.e. "the
Messenger of God." I know that the term "shiluah" is also
the technical word for the "letter of divorce," and this because the divorced wife is "sent" away.
I can guess of no other interpretation of this singular
name besides the three versions I have mentioned.
Of course, it goes without saying that both the Jews and
Christians believe this blessing to be one of the foremost
Messianic prophecies. That Jesus, the Prophet of Nazareth,
is the Christ or Messiah no Muslim can deny, for the Qur'an
does acknowledge that title. That every Israelite King and
High Priest was anointed with the holy oil composed of olive
oil and various spices we know from the Hebrew Scriptures
(Lev. xxx. 23-33 ) . Even the Zardushti Koresh King of
Persia is called God's Christ: "Thus says the Lord to His
Christ Cyrus," etc. (Isa. xlv. 1-7).
It would be superfluous here to mention that although
neither Cyrus nor Jesus were anointed by the sacred anointment, yet they are called Messiahs.
As to Jesus, even if his prophetic mission were recognized by the Jews, his Messianic office could never be
accepted by them. For none of the marks or characteristics
of the Messiah they expect are to be found in the man whom
they attempted to crucify. The Jews expect a Messiah with
the sword and temporal power, a conqueror who would
restore and extend the kingdom of David, and a Messiah who
would gather together the dispersed Israel unto the land of
Canaan, and subdue many nations under his yoke; but they
could never acclaim as such a preacher upon the Mount of
Olives, or one born in a manger.
To show that this very ancient prophecy has been practically
and literally fulfilled in Prophet Muhammad the following arguments can be advanced. By the allegorical expressions "the
Sceptre" and "Law-giver" it is unanimously admitted by the
commentators to mean the royal authority and the prophecy
respectively. Without stopping long to examine the root and
derivation of the second singular word "yiqha," we may adopt
either of its two significations, "obedience" or "expectation."
Let us follow the first interpretation of Shiloh as given
in the Pshitta version: "he to whom it belongs." This practically means "the owner of the sceptre and the law," or "he
who possesses the sovereign and legislative authority, and
his is the obedience of nations." Who, then, can this mighty
Prince and great Legislator be? Certainly not Moses, for
he was the first organizer of the Twelve Tribes of Israel, and
before him there never appeared a king or prophet in the
tribe of Judah. Decidedly not David, because he was the
first king and prophet descended from Judah. And evidently
not Jesus Christ, because he himself repudiated the idea that
the Messiah whom Israel was expecting was a son of David
(Matt. xxii. 44, 45; Mark xii. 35-37; Luke xx. 41-44). He
has left no written law, and never dreamt of assuming the
royal sceptre; in fact, he advised the Jews to be loyal to
Caesar and pay him tribute, and on one occasion the crowds
attempted to make him a king, but he escaped and hid himself. His Gospel was written on the tablet of his heart, and
he delivered his message of "good news," not in scripto, but
orally. In this prophecy there is no question of the salvation
from original sin by the blood of a crucified person, nor of
a reign of a god-man over human hearts. Besides, Jesus
did not abrogate the Law of Moses, but he distinctly declared
that he had come to fulfill it; nor was he the last Prophet; for
after him St. Paul speaks of many "prophets" in the Church.
Prophet Muhammad came with military power and the Qur'an
to replace the old Jewish worn-out sceptre and the impracticable and old-fashioned law of sacrifices and of a corrupt
priesthood. He proclaimed the purest religion of the one
true God, and laid down the best practical precepts and rules
for morals and conduct of men. He established the religion
of Islam which has united into one real brotherhood many
nations and peoples who associate no being with the
Almighty. All Muslim peoples obey the Prophet of Allah, love
and reverence him as the establisher of their religion, but never
worship him or give him divine honor and attributes. He
crushed and put an end to the last vestiges of the Jewish
principality of Qureihda and Khaibar, having destroyed all
their castles and fortifications.
The second interpretation of the tetragram "Shilh," pronounced Shiloh, is equally important and in favor of
Prophet Muhammad. As it was shown above, the word signifies
"tranquil, peaceful, trustworthy, quiet" and so forth. The
Aramaic form of the word is Shilya, from the same root Shala
or shla. This verb is not used in Arabic.
It is a well-known fact in the history of the Prophet of
Arabia that, previous to his call to the Messengership, he was
extremely quiet, peaceful, trustworthy, and of a contemplative and attractive character; that he was surnamed by the
people of Mecca "Muhammad al-Emm." When the Meccans
gave this title "Emm" or "Amm" to Muhammad they had
not the remotest idea of "Shiloh," yet the ignorance of the
idolatrous Arabs was made use of by God to confound the
unbelieving Jews, who had scriptures and knew their contents.
The Arabic verb amana, like the Hebrew aman, to be "firm,
constant, secure," and therefore "to be tranquil, faithful and
trustworthy," shows that "amin" is precisely the equivalent
of Shiloh, and conveys all the significations contained in it.
Prophet Muhammad, before he was called by God to preach the
religion of Islam and to abolish the idolatry which he successfully accomplished, was the most quiet and truthful man in
Mecca; he was neither a warrior nor a legislator; but it was
after he assumed the prophetical mission that he became the
most eloquent speaker and the best valiant Arab. He fought
with the infidels sword in hand, not for his own personal
interest, but for the glory of Allah and for the cause of His
religion - Al-Islam. He was shown by God the keys of
the treasures of the earth, but he did not accept them, and
when he died he was practically a poor man. No other
worshiper of God, whether a king or a prophet, has rendered
such an admirably great and precious service to God and to
man as Prophet Muhammad has done: to God in eradicating the
idolatry from a large part of the globe, and to man by having
given the most perfect religion and the best laws for his
guidance and security. He seized the sceptre and the law
from the Jews; fortified the former and perfected the latter.
If Prophet Muhammad were permitted to reappear to-day in Mecca
or Medina, he would be met by the Muslims with the same
affection and "obedience" as he saw there during his earthly
life. And he would see with a deep sense of pleasure that
the Holy Book he had delivered is the same without the least alteration in it, and that it is chanted and recited exactly as he and
his companions did. He would be glad to congratulate them
on their fidelity to the religion and to the Oneness of Allah; and
to the fact that they have not made of him a god or son of
a god.
As to the third interpretation of the name "Shiloh" I
remarked that it might possibly be a corruption of "Shaluah,"
and in that case it would indisputably correspond to the
Arabic title of the Prophet so often repeated in the Qur'an,
namely, "Rasul" which means exactly the same as Shaluah
does, i.e. "a Messenger." "Shaluah Elohim"
of the Hebrews is precisely the "Rasul Allah" which phrase
is chanted five times a day by the Crier to the Prayers from
the minaret of all mosques in the world.
In the Qur'an several prophets, particularly those to
whom a sacred scripture has been delivered, are mentioned
as Rasul; but nowhere in the Old Testament do we come
across Shiloh or Shaluah except in the Testament of Jacob.
Now from whatever point of view we try to study and examine
this prophecy of Jacob, we are forced, by the reason of its
actual fulfillment in Prophet Muhammad, to admit that the Jews
are vainly expecting the coming of another Shiloh, and that
the Christians are obstinately persisting in their error in
believing that it was Jesus who was intended by Shiloh.
Then there are other observations which deserve our
serious consideration. In the first place it is very plain that
the sceptre and the legislator would remain in the tribe of
Judah so long as the Shiloh does not appear on the scene.
According to the Jewish claim, Shiloh has not come yet. It
would follow, therefore, that both the Royal Sceptre and the
Prophetical Succession were still in existence and belonged
to that tribe. But both these institutions have been extinct
for over thirteen centuries.
In the second place it is to be observed that the tribe
of Judah also has disappeared together with its royal authority
and its sister - the prophetical succession. It is an indispensable condition for the maintenance of a tribal existence
and identity to show that the tribe as a whole lives either in
its own fatherland or elsewhere collectively and speaks its
own language. But with the Jews the case is just the reverse.
To prove yourself to be an Israelite, you need hardly trouble
yourself about it; for anybody will recognize you, but you
can never prove yourself to belong to one of the twelve tribes.
You are dispersed and have lost your very language.
The Jews are forced to accept one or the other of the
two alternatives, namely, either to admit that Shiloh has come
already, but that their forefathers did not recognize him, or
to accept the fact that there exists no longer a tribe of Judah
from which Shiloh will have to descend.
As a third observation it is to be remarked that the text
clearly implies, and much against the Judeo-Christian belief,
that Shiloh is to be a total stranger to the tribe of Judah,
and even to all the other tribes. This is so evident that a
few minutes of reflection are sufficient to convince one. The
prediction clearly indicates that when Shiloh comes the sceptre
and the lawgiver will pass away from Judah; this can only be
realized if Shiloh be a stranger to Judah. If Shiloh is a
descendant of Judah, how could those two elements cease to
exist in that tribe? It could not be a descendant of any of
the other tribes either, for the sceptre and the lawgiver were
for all Israel, and not for one tribe only. This observation
explodes the Christian claim as well. For Jesus is a descendant of Judah through Mary.
I very often wonder at these itinerant and erring Jews.
For over twenty-five centuries they have been learning a
hundred languages of the peoples whom they have been
serving. Since both the Ishmaelites and the Israelites are
the offspring of Abraham, what does it matter to them
whether Shiloh comes from Judah or Zebulun, from Esau
or Isachar, from Ishmael or Isaac, as long as he is a descendant of their father Abraham? Obey the Law of Prophet
Muhammad, becomes Muslims, and then it will be that you can go
and live in your old fatherland in peace and security.
No Copyright:
Any
organisation or individual wishing to reprint or copy the contents of
this website
may do so as long as the information is kept in its original form,
names of
all authors and sources are kept intact and is used for non-malicious
purposes.
An acknowledgement would be HIGHLY appreciated.
