Dan דן
Bilhah's elder son; the tribe of the judge and of Samson
The first son of Bilhah, Rachel's handmaid. Rachel gave the name: "God has judged me and heard my voice." Jacob blessed him: "Dan shall judge his people as one of the tribes of Israel"—and Rashi reads it of one man: of Samson, who judged Israel twenty years alone.
In the wilderness the camp of Dan marched last, "gathering all the camps": the rear guard picks up the stragglers and what is lost. From Dan came Oholiav ben Achisamach—the second craftsman of the Tabernacle beside Bezalel; so the tribe lowest in standing stood beside the highest in the work of God.
The book of Judges tells another thing: part of the tribe went north, took the city of Laish and set up the idol of Micah—the first open idolatry of a tribe in the Land of Israel.
On the timeline
Places
Sources
Tanakh
- Genesis 30:6 — his birth and the meaning of the name
- Genesis 49:16–17 — «Dan shall judge his people»
- Exodus 31:6 — Oholiav ben Achisamach of the tribe of Dan
- Numbers 10:25 — the camp of Dan marched last
- Judges 18 — the migration north and the idol of Micah
Rishonim
- Rashi on Genesis 49:16 — the blessing read of Samson
Basis: stated in the Tanakh.