Dan

Fausset's Bible Dictionary

("judge".) Jacob's fourth son, Bilhah's (maid of Rachel) first ( Genesis 30:6), own brother to Naphtali. The female corresponding name is Dinah ("judgment".) Rachel's exclamation originated the name, "God hath judged me," i.e. vindicated my cause by giving me a son. Jacob on his deathbed said, "Dan shall judge his people as one of the tribes of Israel" ( Genesis 49:16), i.e., having the full tribal standing as much as Leah's descendants. (See CONCUBINE.) The judgeship of Samson may also be a fulfillment of Jacob's words ( Judges 15:20). Hushim (the plural implying a family) or Shuham alone is mentioned as Dan's son ( Genesis 46:23); but at the Exodus the tribe stood second of Israel in numbers ( Numbers 1:39), Numbers 1:62,700; 64,400 at the close of the wilderness sojourn ( Numbers 26:43).

It occupied the N. side of the tabernacle, the hindmost in the march ( Numbers 2:25; Numbers 2:31; Numbers 10:25), with Asher and Naphtali. Of Dan was Aholiab, associated with Bezaleel, in the construction of the tabernacle ( Exodus 31:6, etc.). Its allotment was on the coast W. of Judah and Benjamin, S. of Ephraim, N. of Simeon; small, but most choice, extending from Joppa on the N. to Ekron on the S., 14 miles long, part of the shephelah (or vale sweeping along the whole coast, the N. part of which is Sharon). The powerful Philistines near them drove them partly toward the mountainous region bordering on Judah, so as to encroach on Judah's towns, Zorah and Eshtaol and Ir-shemesh or Beth-shemesh; compare Joshua 15:33 with Joshua 19:41. The Amorites previously "would not suffer them to come down into the valley" ( Judges 1:34).

Hence, Samson resides at Mahaneh-Dan (the camp of Dan) in the hills, between Zorah and Eshtaol, behind Kirjath Jearim, and thence "comes down" to the vineyards of Timnath and the valley of Sorek. There too was his final resting place ( Judges 13:25; Judges 14:1; Judges 14:5; Judges 14:19; Judges 16:4; Judges 16:31; Judges 18:12). The Phoenician king Esmunazar made this rich plain his prize long after, as an inscription records if rightly deciphered. In Joshua 19:47," the coast of Dan went out (too little)' for them," rather "went out from them" (Hebrew meehem ), i.e. to a distance from their original allotment, namely, to Leshem or Laish, (which 600 of their warriors armed went forth from Zorah and Eshtaol to seize on, in the far N.) and named Dan after their father, at the W. source of the Jordan River, four miles W. of Paneas.

Thrice stress is laid on the 600 being "appointed with weapons of war" ( Judges 18:11; Judges 18:16-17), for the Philistines deprived all Israelites they could of arms, so that we find Samson using a donkey's jawbone as his only weapon ( 1 Samuel 13:19-21). Hence, as being so occupied with the Philistine warfare, Danites were not among Barak's and Deborah's helpers against Sisera (Judges 4; Judges 5:17, where allusion occurs to Dan's possession of the only Israelite port, "Why did Dan remain in ships?".) The N. Danites of Laish (named by them Dan) carried with them Micah the Ephraimite's Levitical family priest (Judges 17; 18) and graven image, which they worshipped" until the day of the captivity of the land" ( Judges 18:30-31), i.e. until the Israelite reverse whereby the Philistines carried away the ark; what aggravated their idolatry was it was at the very time "that the house of God was in Shiloh," within their reach.

This probably suggested the city Dan to Jeroboam as one of the two seats of the golden calf worship ( 1 Kings 12:29). Dan's genealogy is not given in 1 Chronicles 2-12. Its unsettled state audits connection with the far N. Dan, the headquarters of idolatry, may have caused the loss of the genealogy. Dan is omitted among the sealed in Revelation 7 as having been the first to lapse into idolatry, for which cause Ephraim also is omitted (Judges 17; Hosea 4:17) and Joseph substituted. Arethas of the 10th century suggests that Dan's omission is because Antichrist is to be from him, or else to be his tool (compare Genesis 49:17; Jeremiah 8:16; Amos 8:14), as there was a Judas among the twelve.

Jacob's prophecy, "Dan shall be a serpent in the way, ... that biteth the horse heels, so that his rider shall fall backward," alludes primarily to Dan's local position in front of the royal Judah; so ready to meet the horse, forbidden in Israelite warfare, with the watchword "I have waited for Thy salvation," and to fall unawares on the advancing enemy by the way Dan's mode of warfare is illustrated in its attack on the men of Laish," careless, quiet, and secure," as also in their great judge Samson's mode of attack, watching for an opportunity and striking an unlooked for, stealthy, sudden blow. Mainly perhaps, by the Spirit, he has in view the old serpent which was to "bruise the heel" of the promised Savior ( Genesis 3:15), but ultimately to have its head bruised by Him; therefore he adds the desire of all believers, "I have waited for Thy salvation," which abrupt exclamation is thus clearly accounted for.

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

( דּן , dān , "judge"; Δάν , Dán ).

1. Name

The fifth of Jacob's sons, the first borne to him by Bilhah, the maid of Rachel, to whom, as the child of her slave, he legally belonged. At his birth Rachel, whose barrenness had been a sore trial to her, exclaimed "God hath judged me ... and hath given me a son," so she called his name Dan, i.e. "judge" ( Genesis 30:6 ). He was full brother of Naphtali. In Jacob's Blessing there is an echo of Rachel's words, "Dan shall judge his people" ( Genesis 49:16 ). Of the patriarch Dan almost nothing is recorded. Of his sons at the settlement in Egypt only one, Hushim, is mentioned ( Genesis 46:23 ). The name in Numbers 26:42 is Shuham.

2. The Tribe

The tribe however stands second in point of numbers on leaving Egypt, furnishing 62,700 men of war ( Numbers 1:39 ); and at the second census they were 64,400 strong ( Numbers 26:43 ). The standard of the camp of Dan in the desert march, with which were Asher and Naphtali, was on the north side of the tabernacle ( Numbers 2:25; Numbers 10:25; compare Joshua 6:9 the King James Version margin, "gathering host"). The prince of the tribe was Ahiezer ( Numbers 1:12 ). Among the spies Dan was represented by Ammiel the son of Gemalli ( Numbers 13:12 ). Of the tribe of Dan was Oholiab (the King James Version "Aholiab") one of the wise-hearted artificers engaged in the construction of the tabernacle ( Exodus 31:6 ). One who was stoned for blasphemy was the son of a Danite woman ( Leviticus 24:10 f). At the ceremony of blessing and cursing, Dan and Naphtali stood on Mount Ebal, while the other Rachel tribes were on Gerizim ( Deuteronomy 27:13 ). The prince of Dan at the division of the land was Bukki the son of Jogli ( Numbers 34:22 ).

3. Territory

The portion assigned to Dan adjoined those of Ephraim, Benjamin and Judah, and lay on the western slopes of the mountain. The reference in Judges 5:17 : "And Dan, why did he remain in ships?" seems to mean that on the West, Dan had reached the sea. But the passage is one of difficulty. We are told that the Amorites forced the children of Dan into the mountain ( Judges 1:34 ), so they did not enjoy the richest part of their ideal portion, the fertile plain between the mountain and the sea. The strong hand of the house of Joseph kept the Amorites tributary, but did not drive them out. Later we find Dan oppressed by the Philistines, against whom the heroic exploits of Samson were performed (Jdg 14ff). The expedition of the Danites recorded in Jdg 18 is referred to in Joshua 19:47 .

4. The Danite Raid

The story affords a priceless glimpse of the conditions prevailing in those days. Desiring an extension of territory, the Danites sent out spies, who recommended an attack upon Laish, a city at the north end of the Jordan valley. The people, possibly a colony from Sidon, were careless in their fancied security. The land was large, and there was "no want of anything that was in the earth." The expedition of the 600, their dealings with Micah and his priest, their capture of Laish, and their founding of an idol shrine with priestly attendant, illustrate the strange mingling of lawlessness and superstition which was characteristic of the time. The town rebuilt on the site of Laish they called Dan - see following article. Perhaps 2 Chronicles 2:14 may be taken to indicate that the Danites intermarried with the Phoenicians. Divided between its ancient seat in the South and the new territory in the North the tribe retained its place in Israel for a time ( 1 Chronicles 12:35; 1 Chronicles 27:22 ), but it played no part of importance in the subsequent history. The name disappears from the genealogical lists of Chronicles; and it is not mentioned among the tribes in Revelation 7:5 .

Samson was the one great man produced by Dan, and he seems to have embodied the leading characteristics of the tribe: unsteady, unscrupulous, violent, possessed of a certain grim humor; stealthy in tactics - "a serpent in the way, an adder in the path" ( Genesis 49:17 ) - but swift and strong in striking - "a lion's whelp, that leapeth forth from Bashan" ( Deuteronomy 33:22 ). Along with Abel, Dan ranked as a city in which the true customs of old Israel were preserved ( 2 Samuel 20:18 Septuagint).