“house of God”) to inquire of the Lord (probably through the high priest’s Urim and Thummim; cf. Lev. 8:8; Num. 27:21; Deut. 33:8) concerning which tribe should lead the attack against the Benjamites. The Lord’s answer was, Judah shall go first. Since the tabernacle (or similar central sanctuary where the high priest could be consulted) was located in Shiloh both before (cf. Josh. 18:1) and after (cf. 1 Sam. 1:9) this incident, some scholars refer “Bethel” here not to the city but to “the house of