The Tribe of Dan, also sometimes spelled as "Dann", was one of the Tribes of
Israel. They were allocated a coastal portion of land when the people of
Israel entered the Promised Land, later moving northwards.
Origin According to the Torah, the tribe
consisted of descendants of Dan, a son of Jacob and Bilhah, Rachel's
maidservant. In the biblical account, Dan is one of the two children of
Bilhah, the handmaid of Jacob's wife Rachel, the other child of Bilhah being
Naphtali. Scholars see this as indicating that the authors saw Dan and
Naphtali as being not of entirely Israelite origin. Some have noted that
the territory of the handmaid tribes happens to be the territory closest to
the north and eastern borders of Canaan, thus exposing them to Assyria and Aram.
However, other tribes born to wives, including the firstborn Reuben, were
also included on the eastern outskirts, and immediately adjacent to Israel's
more traditional enemies at the time of their entry to Canaan, the Moabites and
Ammonites. Territory
According to the Hebrew Bible, following the completion of the conquest of Canaan
by the Israelite tribes after about 1200 BCE, Joshua allocated the land among the
twelve tribes. Dan was the last tribe to receive its territorial inheritance.
According to the biblical narrative, the land originally allocated to Dan was a
small enclave in the central coastal area of Canaan, between Judah, Benjamin,
Ephraim and the Philistines. On the north the territory of Dan ended
opposite Joppa, the modern Jaffa. This territory, not very extensive
originally, was soon diminished by its dangerous neighbors, the Philistines.
The tribe was only able to camp in the hill country overlooking the Sorek
Valley, the camp location becoming known as Mahaneh Dan. The region they were
trying to settle extended south into the Shephelah in the area of Timnah; as a
result, the modern state of Israel refers to the region as Gush Dan.
However, as a consequence of the pressure from the Philistines, the tribe
abandoned hopes of settling near the central coast, instead migrating to the
north of Philistine territory, and after conquering Laish, refounded it as their
capital. History
In the Biblical census of the Book of Numbers, the tribe of Dan is portrayed
as the second largest Israelite tribe. Some textual scholars regard the census
as being from the Priestly Source, dating it to around the 7th century BC,
and more likely to reflect the biases of its authors, though this still implies
that Dan was one of the largest tribes at a point fresh to the memories of the
7th century BC. In the Blessing of Moses, which some textual scholars
regard as dating from only slightly earlier than the deuteronomist, In
Moses' blessing Dan is prophesied to "leap from Bashan"; scholars are
uncertain why this should be since the tribe did not live in the Bashan plain,
east of the Jordan. From after the conquest of the land by
Joshua until the formation of the first Kingdom of Israel in c. 1050 BC, the
Tribe of Dan was a part of a loose confederation of Israelite tribes. No
central government existed, and in times of crisis the people were led by ad hoc
leaders known as Judges. The most celebrated Danite was Samson. Pnina
Galpaz-Feller sees similarities between the story of Samson and Denyen tribal
legends. With the growth of the threat from
Philistine incursions, the Israelite tribes decided to form a strong
centralised monarchy to meet the challenge, and the Tribe of Dan joined
the new kingdom with Saul as the first king. After the death of Saul, all the
tribes other than Judah remained loyal to the House of Saul, but after the
death of Ish-bosheth, Saul's son and successor to the throne of Israel, the
Tribe of Dan joined the other northern Israelite tribes in making David, who
was then the king of Judah, king of a re-united Kingdom of Israel. However, on
the accession of Rehoboam, David's grandson, in c. 930 BC the northern
tribes split from the House of David to reform a Kingdom of Israel as the
Northern Kingdom. = Iconography=
Modern artists use the "scales of justice" to represent the Tribe of Dan
due to Genesis 49:16 referencing Dan "shall achieve justice for his kindred".
However, more traditional artists use a snake to represent Dan, based on Genesis
49:17, "Let Dan be a serpent by the roadside, a horned viper by the path,
That bites the horse's heel, so that the rider tumbles backward."
= Characteristics= Their primary trade characteristic was
seafaring, unusual for the Israelite tribes. In the Song of Deborah the tribe
is said to have stayed on their ships with their belongings.
Fate As part of the Kingdom of Israel, the
territory of Dan was conquered by the Assyrians, and exiled; the manner of
their exile led to their further history being lost.
Ethiopian Jews, also known as Beta Israel, claim descent from the Tribe of
Dan, whose members migrated south along with members of the tribes of Gad,
Asher, and Naphtali, into the Kingdom of Kush, now Ethiopia and Sudan, during the
destruction of the First Temple. This position is supported by former
Sephardic Chief Rabbi Ovadia Yosef. They are said to have fought with the
natives. Charles Upton relates the serpent voodoo God Danbhala as derived
in part from a heterodox form of Ethiopian Judaism.
According to the Book of Revelation, the tribe of Dan is the only original tribe
of Israel which is not included in the list of tribes which are sealed. No
mention is made of why they are excluded. It has been suggested that
this could be because of their pagan practices. This made Hippolytus of Rome
and a few Millennialists propose that the Antichrist will come from the tribe
of Dan. See also
Dan Book of Judges
Ten Lost Tribes Eldad Ha-Dani
Beta Israel Denyen
References