Then they said, Behold, there is a feast of the Lord in Shiloh yearly in a place which is on the north side of Bethel, on the east side of the highway that goeth up from Bethel to Shechem, and on the south of Lebonah. (Judges 21:19)
Now called Lubban. It was 3 mi. (5 km.) west-northwest of Shiloh.
Which is on the north side.
The author of Judges gives an elaborate description of the location of Shiloh. The fact that the author felt it necessary to explain to his readers the location of Shiloh has led many to fix the date for the writing of Judges many years after the Philistines destroyed Shiloh at the end of the judgeship of Eli. It does seem that the author regarded the people of his day as unacquainted with the location of the city. Yet, on the other hand, it is a fact that Shiloh has been mentioned many times previously by the author of Judges without any attempt to explain its location.
A feast.
There were three feasts during the year which all male Israelites were required to attend (Ex. 23:17). Inasmuch as the tabernacle at this time was situated at Shiloh, these gatherings would be held there. It is questionable whether in those unsettled times, there was any large-scale attempt to follow the prescribed ritual. From 1 Sam. 1:3 it is evident that even pious families did not always attend all three of these feasts.