The Tribe of Dan: Origins, Challenges, and Prophecy
DAN [dan] was the fifth son of Jacob and the first born to Rachel’s handmaid Bilhah.
- Gen. 30:1-6
- And when Rachel saw that she bare Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister; and said unto Jacob, Give me children, or else I die.
- And Jacob’s anger was kindled against Rachel: and he said, Am I in God’s stead, who hath withheld from thee the fruit of the womb?
- And she said, Behold my maid Bilhah, go in unto her; and she shall bear upon my knees, that I may also have children by her.
- And she gave him Bilhah her handmaid to wife: and Jacob went in unto her.
- And Bilhah conceived, and bare Jacob a son.
- And Rachel said, God hath judged me, and hath also heard my voice, and hath given me a son: therefore, called she his name Dan.
The meaning of the name Dan:
Dan had one son called Hushim or Shuham.
- Gen. 46:23
- And the sons of Dan; Hushim.
- Num. 26:42
- These are the sons of Dan after their families:
- of Shuham, the family of the Shuhamites.
- These are the families of Dan after their families.
- These are the sons of Dan after their families:
Jacob’s blessing of Dan predicted:(Gen. 49:16-18).
- Dan shall judge his people as one of the tribes of Israel.
- Dan shall be a serpent by the way,
- A viper by the path,
- That bites the horse’s heels,
- So that its rider shall fall backward
- I have waited for thy salvation, O Lord.
Genesis 49:17 Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder in the path, that biteth the horse heels, so that his rider shall fall backward.
HEB: יְהִי־ דָן֙ נָחָ֣שׁ עֲלֵי־ דֶ֔רֶךְ
KJV: Dan shall be a serpent by the way,
- The tribe of Dan was the first to significantly engage in idolatry and witchcraft, influencing the other tribes to follow suit. It is conceivable that the term ‘snake’ was employed to foretell their future actions of leading others into idolatry and witchcraft.
Moses prophesied about Dan.
- Deuteronomy 33:22 And of Dan he said, Dan is a lion’s whelp: he shall leap from Bashan.
Appointed to Build
- Exodus 31:5-11
- And I, behold, I have given with him Aholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan: and in the hearts of all that are wise hearted I have put wisdom, that they may make all that I have commanded thee;
- The tabernacle of the congregation, and the ark of the testimony, and the mercy seat that is thereupon, and all the furniture of the tabernacle,
- And the table and his furniture, and the pure candlestick with all his furniture, and the altar of incense,
- And the altar of burnt offering with all his furniture, and the laver and his foot,
- And the cloths of service, and the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sons, to minister in the priest’s office,
- And the anointing oil, and sweet incense for the holy place: according to all that I have commanded thee shall they do.
- And I, behold, I have given with him Aholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan: and in the hearts of all that are wise hearted I have put wisdom, that they may make all that I have commanded thee;
- Exodus 38:22-23
- And Bezaleel the son Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, made all that the Lord commanded Moses.
- And with him was Aholiab, son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, an engraver, and a cunning workman, and an embroiderer in blue, and in purple, and in scarlet, and fine linen.
The tribe of Dan descended from Dan, the son of Jacob. This tribe is known as the Danites. The tribe has yet to live up to its promise. The area allotted to Dan included the towns of Aijalon, Ekron, Eltekeh, and Zorah in the west central part of Canaan and stretched to Joppa on the Mediterranean Sea.
- Joshua 19:40-46
- And the seventh lot came out for the tribe of the children of Dan according to their families.
- And the coast of their inheritance was Zorah, and Eshtaol, and Irshemesh,
- And Shaalabbin, and Ajalon, and Jethlah,
- And Elon, and Thimnathah, and Ekron,
- And Eltekeh, and Gibbethon, and Baalath,
- And Jehud, and Beneberak, and Gathrimmon,
- And Mejarkon, and Rakkon, with the border before Japho.
- And the seventh lot came out for the tribe of the children of Dan according to their families.
The Danites, however were unable to conquer much of the territory assigned to them. The original inhabitants, the Amorites, kept the Danites confined to the hill country of Ephraim and Benjamin. Unable the conquer their allotted territory, some members of the tribe of Dan migrated far to the northernmost area of the Promised Land and conquered the isolated city of LAISH, which they named Dan.
An important moment from the Tribe of Dan occurred when the mighty Danite SAMSON judged Israel. This is told about in Judges chapters 13-16.
Apparently, Dan was among the tribes that were the least supportive of the Israelite tribes. The Song of Deborah, which celebrates the Israelite victory over the Canaanite king Jabin and his mighty general Sisera, reproves the tribes of Gilead, Dan, and Asher. (Judg. 5:17) Of Dan, Deborah asked: “And why did Dan remain on ships?”
Dan’s apparent lack of interest in assisting the other tribes suggests that Dan, situated on Israel’s northernmost border, had
more in common with its foreign neighbors to the north than with Israel’s other tribes.
The exclusion of the tribe of Dan from the sealing of the twelve tribes should not be overlooked. It appears that Dan had been cut off from the other tribes of Israel.
- Rev. 7:5-8
- Of the tribe of Juda were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Reuben were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Gad were sealed twelve thousand.
- Of the tribe of Aser were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Nephthalim were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Manasses were sealed twelve thousand.
- Of the tribe of Simeon were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Levi were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Issachar were sealed twelve thousand.
- Of the tribe of Zabulon were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Joseph were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Benjamin were sealed twelve thousand.
Many people draw various conclusions from this. However, I feel many of the conclusions could be wrong if what Ezekiel prophesied is not factored into the equation. Ezekiel prophesied a “portion for Dan”. That means that God has not completely counted the tribe of Dan out. Ezekiel chapter 48 is a prophecy where God is given the layout for a city that will be renamed. The New Name of Jerusalem will be “The Lord is There”.
- Ezekiel 48:1
- Now these are the names of the tribes. From the north end to the coast of the way of Hethlon, as one goeth to Hamath, Hazarenan, the border of Damascus northward, to the coast of Hamath; for these are his sides east and west; a portion for Dan.
- Ezekiel 48:31-35
- And the gates of the city shall be after the names of the tribes of Israel: three gates northward; one gate of Reuben, one gate of Judah, one gate of Levi.
- And at the east side four thousand and five hundred: and three gates; and one gate of Joseph, one gate of Benjamin, one gate of Dan.
- And at the south side four thousand and five hundred measures: and three gates; one gate of Simeon, one gate of Issachar, one gate of Zebulun.
- At the west side four thousand and five hundred, with their three gates; one gate of Gad, one gate of Asher, one gate of Naphtali.
- It was round about eighteen thousand measures: and the name of the city from that day shall be, The Lord is there.
If you look back at Jacob’s prediction for Dan, only one of the predictions has somewhat come to pass. Samson was a judge that came from the tribe of Dan. However, there were judges from other tribes as well. I don’t believe that Samson was all that Jacob meant. There is still more to come from the tribe of Dan.
All of the tribes had flags (banners) when they were in the wilderness. Dan: His stone was Leshem, and his flag was like sapphire, with a depiction of a snake, referencing the verse: “Dan shall be a serpent …
Claims of descent from Dan
A 15th-century Latin chronicle, “Chronicon Holsatiae vetus”, included in Gottfried Leibniz’s *Accessiones historicae* (1698), claims that the Danes were descended from the Tribe of Dan. In 1620, antiquarian Henry Spelman made a similar assertion, linking the Danes to the Israelite Tribe of Dan based on the similarity in their names. Supporters of Nordic and British Israelism have echoed this idea, arguing for descent from the tribe of Dan. British Israelite writers like John Cox Gawler and J. H. Allen equated the Tribe of Dan with Denmark, while another, Edward Hine, believed the tribe had settled in both Denmark and Ulster in Ireland.
Some Ethiopian Jews, known as Beta Israel, believe they descend from the Tribe of Dan, whose members, along with those from the tribes of Gad, Asher, and Naphtali, migrated south into the Kingdom of Kush—modern-day Ethiopia and Sudan—during the destruction of the First Temple. This view is supported by former Sephardic Chief Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, and they are said to have clashed with the local inhabitants.
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