What's in a Name
by Tina M. Barber
In 1962 I started my kennel under the name of "Konigin."
During those years I was obsessed with producing the "perfect" dog, for my needs!
I HAD A DREAM ! I knew in my heart what I wanted to produce.....SUPER
INTELLIGENCE...HUGE SIZE…GREAT HIPS!!! Those where my 3 "biggies" but I
also wanted a specific "TYPE"-- a "look" that would stop traffic!!! I
worked very hard during those first 12 years, but I just couldn’t get the
"package" I dreamt of! I would get HUGE size, but the hips would fall apart! I
would get super intelligence, with good hips, but they would be small "bitchy
headed" ugly (foxy looking) dogs! I would get looks, with no brains! a few nice ones
would raise my hopes, but then they would produce absolute nightmares!! I was actually
about to give up the whole "dream" as a totally unattainable fantasy!
The money, time and energy I expended, didn’t reap any kind of reward, only
heartbreak! There was no such thing as a "perfect" Shepherd type!!! After 12
YEARS of disappointments, I realized that without a "miracle" my dream was
about to die!
During those last few years (early ‘70’s), I had a lot of
people "witnessing" to me...my full testimony has been published in many of my
old newsletters, and I plan to put it into my "kennel archives" section (on the
web) soon, so I will not bore you with it here. Nevertheless, I finally gave up my pride
& invited Jesus as my personal saviour on 2/26/74. Being a rebellious child, the first
thing I did was to start "fleecing" my Saviour! Then one day while I was reading
the story of Hannah, how she desperately wanted a child (she was barren) and how she went
to SHILOH, to the house of the Lord to petition him for a son...promising that if he
granted her desire, she would dedicate her son back to the Lord, etc... I realized
that this was what I had to do too! So I went out to my kennel, and sat among my dogs, and
grabbed a hold of the throne room, petitioning the Lord to grant MY DREAM!!
Promising him that I would ALWAYS acknowledge him as my partner in life, as
well as in the creation of these magnificent animals, and that FOREVER they would
carry his name, and the symbol of his provision (the Fish) as a testimony to him! It was
on that day that I changed my Kennel name to
Shiloh Shepherds™.
The word "Shiloh" appears in the Bible 33
times. Thirty-three is the number of PROMISE!!
Webster’s World dictionary defines Shiloh as, an ancient
town in Israel, and refers you to read Joshua 18:1, which says: "And the whole
congregation of the children of Israel assembled together at Shiloh, and set up the
tabernacle of the congregation there. And the land was subdued before them." (The
place of the first assembly, in Shiloh was a place of tranquility and security.)
As I said, the word Shiloh appears in the Bible 33 times. The
following are references as to where it appears, and a short sentence as to how it is
meant. The first time this word Shiloh, appears in the Bible, it refers to Jesus
himself.
Genesis 49:10
"The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from
between his feet, until Shiloh come, (Shiloh refers to Jesus) and
unto him shall the gathering of the people be."
Joshua 18:8 "before the Lord in Shiloh"(a holy place)
Joshua 18:9 "and came again to Joshua to the host at Shiloh"
Joshua 18:10
"in Shiloh before the LORD"
Joshua 19:51
"divided for an inheritance by lot in Shiloh before the
LORD"
Joshua 21:2
"And they spake unto him at Shiloh"
Joshua 22:9
"children of Israel out of Shiloh"
Joshua 22:12
"gathered themselves together at Shiloh"
Judges 18:31 "the house of God was in Shiloh"
Judges 21:12 "unto the camp to Shiloh"
Judges 21:19 "there is a feast of the LORD in Shiloh yearly"
Judges 21:21
"daughters of Shiloh"
1 Samuel 1:3
"And this man went up out of his city yearly to worship and to
sacrifice unto the LORD of hosts in Shiloh"
1 Samuel 1:9 "So Hannah rose up after they had eaten in Shiloh"(Hannah
went to Shiloh to petition the LORD for a son. She promised to "give him back"
to God’s service if he would only grant her prayer and give her a child—God
honored that prayer at Shiloh, and she gave birth to Samuel, one of the greatest priests
that ever lived.)
1 Samuel 1:24
"And when she had weaned him, she took him up
with her, with three bullocks, and one ephah of flour, and a bottle of wine, and brought
him unto the house of the LORD in Shiloh"
1 Samuel 2:14 "So they did in Shiloh , unto all the
Israelites that came thither"
1 Samuel 3:21
"And the LORD appeared again in Shiloh: for
the LORD revealed himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the LORD"
1 Samuel 4:3 "Let us fetch the covenant of the LORD out of Shiloh
unto us"
1 Samuel 4:4
"So the people sent to Shiloh"
1 Samuel 4:12 "came to Shiloh"
1 Samuel 14:3 "the LORD’S priest in Shiloh"
1 Kings 2:27
"house of Eli in Shiloh"
1 Kings 14:2
"and get thee to Shiloh"
1 Kings 14:4
"went to Shiloh"
Psalms 78:60
"So that he forsook the tabernacle of Shiloh,
the tent which he placed among men"
Jeremiah 7:12
" But go ye now unto my place which was
in Shiloh, where I set my name at the first, and see what I did to it for the
wickedness of my people Israel." (God said this is where he "set"
(placed) HIS name. When his people rejected him—— he destroyed them!
Jeremiah 7:14
"Therefore will I do unto this house,
which is called by my name, wherein ye trust, and unto the place which I gave to you and
to your fathers, as I have done to Shiloh."
Jeremiah 26:6
"Then will I make this house like Shiloh"
Jeremiah 26:9 "This house shall be like Shiloh"
Jeremiah 41:5 "there came certain from Shiloh--to
bring them to the house of the LORD
The last item in my dictionary referring to Shiloh said "HE WHOSE IT
IS" A MESSIANIC TITLE —Shiloh
Upon talking to a Hebrew friend many years ago, I was told that in
Hebrew Shiloh means REST IN THE LORD! He had been attending Rabbinical classes in Israel,
and didn’t know that the name Shiloh was chosen from the Bible, so he
proceeded to provide me with the REAL MEANING of my dog's name! I feel that since
most of you own one, or more, of these dogs you should know what their name means, and
where it comes from!
For 23 years (since 1974) these dogs have been called
"Shilohs" and carried the "fish" symbol! I can go back to
advertisements in Dog World, and other publications that included the "fish"
symbol. It has unequivocally been associated with the Shiloh name for over 2 decades!
There is a very good reason why I chose the Fish!
1) It has always been a sign to other Christians that said ...I
am a servant of the Lord!
2) If not for the Grace of God, I would not be able to produce these
dogs, they are HIS, not mine!
3) The Fish is historically a symbol of "miracles"
"promises" "safety" etc..
In the days after the resurrection, Christians were pursued
unmercifully by the Romans! When a person was literally "running for his/her
life", they would look for the FISH symbol on a tent door, this would tell
them that it was a "safe" place to rest! If you were a "believer" in
Jesus, you would put a fish symbol on your door, so that other "believers" would
know that you are a brother/sister "in the Lord." The fish had nothing to
do with trying to proselytize/convert others, it was only a source of IDENTIFICATION!
During the Holocaust, when millions of Jews were taken to camps to be slaughtered, the
German "Christians" painted the fish symbol on their doors to let the Jewish
people know that, here is a safe house that will help you! Corrie Ten Boom (The
Hiding Place) has written a fascinating book telling of the MANY Jewish people
that were saved (from death) because they chose to hide under the shelter of the FISH
symbol!
The small fish symbol in our breed logo DOES NOT state
that the PERSON owning a Shiloh is a "Christian." It only
states that THIS BREED belongs to the Lord! Although I am given credit for being "the
founder" I would like to again clear up this misconception...I was only the servant
of the REAL "founder/creator." As time goes by I plan to list (write about) some
of the MANY miracles I have experienced during these past 23 years working with my
Savior! One of the most dramatic ones concerns Kari ...everybody’s
"favorite" Shiloh ;-)!
The nine stars?? Many people do not know what the nine stars in the
Logo stand for. To begin with, our breed was recognized on 9/90 (coincidence?). If you add
the 9 and the 90 together you get 99. 9+9=18, 1+8=9.In the Bible 9 is the number of
"fruitfulness". Abraham was 99 years old when God made a covenant with him. No
one can deny his fruitfulness. He sired the entire Jewish (and Arab) nations. There are 9
"fruits of the spirit" in Galations 5:22-23. There were 9 gifts of the spirit in
1 Corrinthians12, etc. It all starts in Genesis 9:9 when God tells us "I established
my covenant with you, and with your seed after you" (coincidence?) It takes a woman 9
months to produce a child (it takes a dog 9 weeks!)
There is plenty more information on the number 9, but let’s look
at another interesting numerical concept (Coincidence?) involved with this number. It is
the only number that no matter how you multiply it, it will always add up to 9. 9x1=9,
9x2=18 1+8=9, 9x3=27 2+7=9, 9x4=36 3+6=9, 9x5=45 4+5=9, 9x6=54 5+4=9, 9x7=63 6+3=9, 9x8=72
7+2=9, 9x9=81 8+1=9, 9x38=342 3+4+2=9.
It took 27 years to "perfect" the
Shiloh Shepherd™ (2+7=9)
before they were accepted as a Rare Breed.
If you search the scriptures you will find that #2 stands for unity and #7 for
perfection or completion, and always refers to God. It took God 6 days to create, and He
rested on the seventh (it was completed). There are 7 days in a week, and it is over. It
took unity (2) and perfection (7) to complete the job, so that (9) fruitfulness could
begin.
Publication History:
Article written by Tina M. Barber in 1997 and
mailed to club members.
Reprinted with the author's permission and published to the Shiloh Shepherd
Learning Center in February 1998.
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