🔼The name Taanath-shiloh: Summary
- Meaning
- Opportune Retreat
- Etymology
- From (1) the verb אנה ('ana), to encounter opportunely, and (2) the verb שלה (shala), to be quiet and prosper.
🔼The name Taanath-shiloh in the Bible
The name Taanath-shiloh occurs a mere one time in the Bible. It's listed as one of the border markers of the area allotted to the tribe of Ephraim, just north of Judah (Joshua 16:6).
🔼Etymology of the name Taanath-shiloh
The name Taanath-shiloh obviously consists of two parts. The first part appears to be a noun derived from אנה ('ana III), meaning to encounter opportunely:
אנה
Verb אנה ('ana I) appears to mean to mourn, or perhaps rather: to convey laments according to some situation and upon some receiving audience. Nouns אניה ('aniya) and תאניה (ta'aniya) both mean mourning.
Identical verb אנה ('ana II) appears to mean to convey goods between far away markets. Noun אניה ('oniya) means ship and noun אני ('oni) means fleet.
Identical verb אנה ('ana III) means to be opportune or to encounter opportunely. Nouns תאנה (ta'ana) and תאנה (to'ana) mean occasion or opportune moment.
The second part of our name is the same as the name Shiloh, which in turn appears to derive from the verb שלה (shala), to be quiet or at rest, with the distinct connotation of prospering:
שלל
The verb שלל (shalal) means to extract, mostly in the sense of to plunder. The noun שלל (shalal) means plunder. Adjective שולל (sholal) means barefoot.
Verb שלה (shala) too means to extract. Noun שליה (shilya) means afterbirth.
Perhaps a second verb שלה (shala) means to be at rest and prosper, although a peaceful existence occurs when one is extracted from the world of toil and turmoil. Nouns שלו (shalu) and שלוה (shalwa) mean prosperity. Adjectives שלי (sheli) and שלו (shalew) mean quiet, private or prosperous.
🔼Taanath-shiloh meaning
For a meaning of the name Taanath-shiloh, NOBSE Study Bible Name List reads Approach To Shiloh and Jones' Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names has Entrance To Shiloh. BDB Theological Dictionary does not offer an interpretation of this name and lists it ostensibly under the ת and not under the root-group אנה ('nh).
But it should be noted that an entrance or pass towards a town was commonly known by the compound לבוא (lebo'), as in the name Lebo-hamath. The noun תאנת (ta'anat) denotes a semi-chance but opportune encounter, and together with the verb שלה (shala), to be quiet or at rest, it expresses a serendipitous stumble on an opportunity to take a load off: Discovered Retreat.