Genesis 49
MixedJacob says Dan will judge his people and uses serpent imagery that is vivid but not a curse.
Blessings
What the text gives
Deuteronomy 33
BlessingMoses compares Dan to a lion cub leaping from Bashan.
Territory
Joshua allotment
Dan receives a compact western allotment with towns such as Zorah, Eshtaol, Ir Shemesh, Shaalabbin, Aijalon, Eltekeh, Gibbethon, and Ekron.
Joshua says the border of Dan went out beyond them, and the tribe took Leshem, also called Laish in Judges, and renamed it Dan.
The allotment begins as a small coastal and lowland inheritance but the narrative remembers Dan's pressure and northward move.
Where It Matters
Dan's land is the setting for Samson's birth, and Dan later became one of Jeroboam's golden calf sites.
Levitical Cities
Dan gave Eltekeh, Gibbethon, Aijalon, and Gath Rimmon to the Levites.
EltekehGibbethonAijalonGath Rimmon
Notable Members