Tribe of Dan
Encyclopedia
The Tribe of Dan, also sometimes spelled as "Dann", was one of the Tribes of Israel. Though known mostly from biblical sources, they were possibly descendants of the Denyen
Sea Peoples
who joined with Hebrews
. Eventually they were excluded from list of sealed tribes for pagan practices.
, 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
, Rachel's handmaid and one of Jacob's wives, 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 (hence descendants of handmaids rather than of full wives). 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 (wars with Aram and Assyria did not begin until over 500 years after the entry to Canaan- I Kings 11:25, II Kings 15:19).
The tribe was the last to be receive its territorial inheritance. According to the biblical narrative, the tribe had originally tried to settle in the central coastal area of Canaan, but due to enmity with the Philistines who had already settled there, were only able to camp in the hill country overlooking the Sorek Valley, the camp location becoming known as Mahaneh Dan ("Camps of Dan"). The region they were trying to settle included the area as far north as Joppa
, and extending south into the Shephelah
in the area of Timnah
; as a result, the modern state of Israel
refers to the region as Gush Dan
(the Dan area). 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 the country, and after conquering Laish, refounded it as their capital (renaming it Dan).
, 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 allocated the most northerly region, to the north of the Galilee
, and west of the Jordan, stretching north as far as Laish, Dan's main city (which became known as Dan).
In the Biblical census
of the Book of Numbers
, the tribe of Dan is portrayed as the second largest Israelite tribe (after Judah). 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
, Dan is seemingly prophesied to leap from Bashan; scholars are uncertain why this should be since the tribe are not recorded as having ever been resident in the Bashan
plain, which lies to the 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
. (see the Book of Judges
) 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.
The most celebrated Danite was Samson
, whom some suggest is derived from Denyen
tribal legends.
; 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. Religious writers have tried to attach the serpent voodoo God Danbhala
to this group, as the practice they suggest was a heterodox form of Ethiopian Judaism.
According to the Book of Revelation
(7:4-8), 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 could be because of their pagan practices. This made Hippolytus of Rome and a few Millennialists
apparently claim that the Antichrist will come from the tribe of Dan.
The tribes of Joseph
and of Levi
are mentioned in Revelation 7:5-8, while they were not commonly counted as tribes elsewhere. In most listings of the twelve tribes Levi is omitted, since the inheritance of Levi are the sacrifices of Israel and not an allotment of territory. Ordinarily Ephraim and the Tribe of Manasseh
take the place of Joseph to keep the number of tribes at twelve once Levi is excluded. If Dan were excluded from Revelation 7:5-8 due to its being a seat of idolatry in the Northern Kingdom, perhaps the same reasoning might account for the exclusion of Ephraim since the other seat of idolatry in the Northern Kingdom was Bethel
, situated in the territory of Ephraim. However, in Numbers 1:32, the tribe of Ephraim is clearly referenced as representing the "children of Joseph," thus, Ephraim appears to be a euphemism for Joseph, explaining Ephraim's apparent omission in Revelation chapter 7.
Denyen
The Denyen are one of the groups constituting the Sea Peoples, who were of Indo-European origin.-Origin:Archeologists have described them as being of Indo-European origin....
Sea Peoples
Sea Peoples
The Sea Peoples were a confederacy of seafaring raiders of the second millennium BC who sailed into the eastern Mediterranean, caused political unrest, and attempted to enter or control Egyptian territory during the late 19th dynasty and especially during year 8 of Ramesses III of the 20th Dynasty...
who joined with Hebrews
Hebrews
Hebrews is an ethnonym used in the Hebrew Bible...
. Eventually they were excluded from list of sealed tribes for pagan practices.
Origin
According to the TorahTorah
Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five books of the bible—Genesis , Exodus , Leviticus , Numbers and Deuteronomy Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five...
, the tribe consisted of descendants of Dan, a son of Jacob
Jacob
Jacob "heel" or "leg-puller"), also later known as Israel , as described in the Hebrew Bible, the Talmud, the New Testament and the Qur'an was the third patriarch of the Hebrew people with whom God made a covenant, and ancestor of the tribes of Israel, which were named after his descendants.In the...
and Bilhah
Bilhah
In the Book of Genesis, Bilhah is Rachel's handmaid who becomes a wife of Jacob and bears him two sons, Dan and Naphtali....
, Rachel's
Rachel
Rachel , as described in the Hebrew Bible, is a prophet and the favorite wife of Jacob, one of the three Biblical Patriarchs, and mother of Joseph and Benjamin. She was the daughter of Laban and the younger sister of Leah, Jacob's first wife...
maidservant . In the Biblical account, Dan is one of the two children of Bilhah
Bilhah
In the Book of Genesis, Bilhah is Rachel's handmaid who becomes a wife of Jacob and bears him two sons, Dan and Naphtali....
, Rachel's handmaid and one of Jacob's wives, the other child of Bilhah being Naphtali
Naphtali
According to the Book of Genesis, Naphtali was the second son of Jacob with Bilhah. He was the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Naphtali. However, some Biblical scholars view this as postdiction, an eponymous metaphor providing an aetiology of the connectedness of the tribe to others in the...
. Scholars see this as indicating that the authors saw Dan and Naphtali as being not of entirely Israelite origin (hence descendants of handmaids rather than of full wives). 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
Assyria
Assyria was a Semitic Akkadian kingdom, extant as a nation state from the mid–23rd century BC to 608 BC centred on the Upper Tigris river, in northern Mesopotamia , that came to rule regional empires a number of times through history. It was named for its original capital, the ancient city of Assur...
and Aram
Aram (Biblical region)
Aram is the name of a region mentioned in the Bible located in central Syria, including where the city of Aleppo now stands.-Etymology:The etymology is uncertain. One standard explanation is an original meaning of "highlands"...
. 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 (wars with Aram and Assyria did not begin until over 500 years after the entry to Canaan- I Kings 11:25, II Kings 15:19).
The tribe was the last to be receive its territorial inheritance. According to the biblical narrative, the tribe had originally tried to settle in the central coastal area of Canaan, but due to enmity with the Philistines who had already settled there, were only able to camp in the hill country overlooking the Sorek Valley, the camp location becoming known as Mahaneh Dan ("Camps of Dan"). The region they were trying to settle included the area as far north as Joppa
Jaffa
Jaffa is an ancient port city believed to be one of the oldest in the world. Jaffa was incorporated with Tel Aviv creating the city of Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel. Jaffa is famous for its association with the biblical story of the prophet Jonah.-Etymology:...
, and extending south into the Shephelah
Shephelah
The Shephelah is a designation usually applied to the region in south-central Israel of 10-15 km of low hills between the central Mount Hebron and the coastal plains of Philistia within the area of the Judea, at an altitude of 120-450 metres above sea level. The area is fertile, and a temperate...
in the area of Timnah
Timnah
Timnath or Timnah was a Philistine city in Canaan that is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible in . It has been identified with Tel Batash , a tel located in the Sorek Valley, near moshav Tal Shahar, Israel....
; as a result, the modern state of Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
refers to the region as Gush Dan
Gush Dan
The Tel Aviv Metropolitan Area , or Gush Dan , is a metropolitan area including areas from both the Tel Aviv and the Central Districts of Israel. The area is closely linked to the city of Tel Aviv through social, economic, and cultural ties. It is located along the Israeli Mediterranean coastline...
(the Dan area). 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 the country, and after conquering Laish, refounded it as their capital (renaming it Dan).
History
According to the Hebrew BibleHebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible is a term used by biblical scholars outside of Judaism to refer to the Tanakh , a canonical collection of Jewish texts, and the common textual antecedent of the several canonical editions of the Christian Old Testament...
, following the completion of the conquest of Canaan
Canaan
Canaan is a historical region roughly corresponding to modern-day Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, and the western parts of Jordan...
by the Israelite
Israelite
According to the Bible the Israelites were a Hebrew-speaking people of the Ancient Near East who inhabited the Land of Canaan during the monarchic period .The word "Israelite" derives from the Biblical Hebrew ישראל...
tribes after about 1200 BCE, Joshua
Joshua
Joshua , is a minor figure in the Torah, being one of the spies for Israel and in few passages as Moses's assistant. He turns to be the central character in the Hebrew Bible's Book of Joshua...
allocated the land among the twelve tribes. Dan was allocated the most northerly region, to the north of the Galilee
Galilee
Galilee , is a large region in northern Israel which overlaps with much of the administrative North District of the country. Traditionally divided into Upper Galilee , Lower Galilee , and Western Galilee , extending from Dan to the north, at the base of Mount Hermon, along Mount Lebanon to the...
, and west of the Jordan, stretching north as far as Laish, Dan's main city (which became known as Dan).
In the Biblical census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of the Book of Numbers
Book of Numbers
The Book of Numbers is the fourth book of the Hebrew Bible, and the fourth of five books of the Jewish Torah/Pentateuch....
, the tribe of Dan is portrayed as the second largest Israelite tribe (after Judah). Some textual scholars
Textual criticism
Textual criticism is a branch of literary criticism that is concerned with the identification and removal of transcription errors in the texts of manuscripts...
regard the census as being from the Priestly Source
Priestly source
The Priestly Source is one of the sources of the Torah/Pentateuch in the bible. Primarily a product of the post-Exilic period when Judah was a province of the Persian empire , P was written to show that even when all seemed lost, God remained present with Israel...
, dating it to around the 7th century BC
7th century BC
The 7th century BC started the first day of 700 BC and ended the last day of 601 BC.The Assyrian Empire continued to dominate the Near East during this century, exercising formidable power over neighbors like Babylon and Egypt. In the last two decades of the century, however, the empire began to...
, 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
Blessing of Moses
The Blessing of Moses is the name sometimes given to a poem that appears in Deuteronomy . The poem presents an opinion of the merits and attributes of each of the Tribes of Israel, and so can be compared with the Blessing of Jacob, which has the same theme...
, which some textual scholars regard as dating from only slightly earlier than the deuteronomist
Deuteronomist
The Deuteronomist, or simply D, is one of the sources underlying the Hebrew bible . It is found in the book of Deuteronomy, in the books of Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings and also in the book of Jeremiah...
, Dan is seemingly prophesied to leap from Bashan; scholars are uncertain why this should be since the tribe are not recorded as having ever been resident in the Bashan
Bashan
Bashan or Basan is a biblical place first mentioned in , where it is said that Chedorlaomer and his confederates "smote the Rephaim in Ashteroth", where Og the king of Bashan had his residence. At the time of Israel's entrance into the Promised Land, Og came out against them, but was utterly routed...
plain, which lies to the 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
Biblical judges
A biblical judge is "a ruler or a military leader, as well as someone who presided over legal hearings."...
. (see the Book of Judges
Book of Judges
The Book of Judges is the seventh book of the Hebrew bible and the Christian Old Testament. Its title describes its contents: it contains the history of Biblical judges, divinely inspired prophets whose direct knowledge of Yahweh allows them to act as decision-makers for the Israelites, as...
) 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
Saul
-People:Saul is a given/first name in English, the Anglicized form of the Hebrew name Shaul from the Hebrew Bible:* Saul , including people with this given namein the Bible:* Saul , a king of Edom...
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
Ish-bosheth
According to the Hebrew Bible, Ish-bosheth also called Eshbaal , Ashbaal or Ishbaal, was one of the four sons of King Saul, born c. 1047 BC...
, Saul's son and successor to the throne of Israel, the Tribe of Dan joined the other northern Israelite tribes in making David
David
David was the second king of the united Kingdom of Israel according to the Hebrew Bible and, according to the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, an ancestor of Jesus Christ through both Saint Joseph and Mary...
, who was then the king of Judah, king of a re-united Kingdom of Israel. However, on the accession of Rehoboam
Rehoboam
Rehoboam was initially king of the United Monarchy of Israel but after the ten northern tribes of Israel rebelled in 932/931 BC to form the independent Kingdom of Israel he was king of the Kingdom of Judah, or southern kingdom. He was a son of Solomon and a grandson of David...
, David's grandson, in c. 930 BC the northern tribes split from the House of David
Davidic line
The Davidic line refers to the tracing of lineage to the King David referred to in the Hebrew Bible, as well as the New Testament...
to reform a Kingdom of Israel as the Northern Kingdom.
The most celebrated Danite was Samson
Samson
Samson, Shimshon ; Shamshoun or Sampson is the third to last of the Judges of the ancient Israelites mentioned in the Tanakh ....
, whom some suggest is derived from Denyen
Denyen
The Denyen are one of the groups constituting the Sea Peoples, who were of Indo-European origin.-Origin:Archeologists have described them as being of Indo-European origin....
tribal legends.
Symbology
Modern artists use the "scales of justice" to represent the Tribe of Dan due to referencing Dan judging his people. However, more traditional artists use a snake to represent Dan, based on .Characteristics
Their primary trade characteristic was seafaring, unusual for the Israeli 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 exiledAssyrian captivity of Israel
The Northern Kingdom of Israel was conquered by the Neo-Assyrian monarchs, Tiglath-Pileser III and Shalmaneser V. The later Assyrian rulers Sargon II and his son and successor, Sennacherib, were responsible for finishing the twenty year demise of Israel's northern ten tribe kingdom. Sennacherib...
; the manner of their exile led to their further history being lost.
Ethiopian Jews, also known as Beta Israel
Beta Israel
Beta Israel Israel, Ge'ez: ቤተ እስራኤል - Bēta 'Isrā'ēl, modern Bēte 'Isrā'ēl, EAE: "Betä Ǝsraʾel", "Community of Israel" also known as Ethiopian Jews , are the names of Jewish communities which lived in the area of Aksumite and Ethiopian Empires , nowadays divided between Amhara and Tigray...
, 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
Kingdom of Kush
The native name of the Kingdom was likely kaš, recorded in Egyptian as .The name Kash is probably connected to Cush in the Hebrew Bible , son of Ham ....
, now Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
and Sudan
Sudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
, during the destruction of the First Temple. This position is supported by former Sephardic Chief Rabbi Ovadia Yosef
Ovadia Yosef
Ovadia Yosef is the former Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Israel, a recognised Talmudic scholar and foremost halakhic authority.He currently serves as the spiritual leader of the Shas political party in the Israeli parliament...
. They are said to have fought with the natives. Religious writers have tried to attach the serpent voodoo God Danbhala
Damballa
In Vodou, Damballah is one of the most important of all the loa . Damballah is the Sky God and considered the primordial creator of all life. The veve of Damballah comprises two serpents prominent among other emblems.-Family:...
to this group, as the practice they suggest was a heterodox form of Ethiopian Judaism.
According to the Book of Revelation
Book of Revelation
The Book of Revelation is the final book of the New Testament. The title came into usage from the first word of the book in Koine Greek: apokalupsis, meaning "unveiling" or "revelation"...
(7:4-8), 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 could be because of their pagan practices. This made Hippolytus of Rome and a few Millennialists
Millennialism
Millennialism , or chiliasm in Greek, is a belief held by some Christian denominations that there will be a Golden Age or Paradise on Earth in which "Christ will reign" for 1000 years prior to the final judgment and future eternal state...
apparently claim that the Antichrist will come from the tribe of Dan.
The tribes of Joseph
Tribe of Joseph
The Tribe of Joseph was one of the Tribes of Israel, though since Ephraim and Manasseh together traditionally constituted the tribe of Joseph, it was often not listed as one of the tribes, in favour of Ephraim and Manasseh being listed in its place; consequently it was often termed the House of...
and of Levi
Levite
In Jewish tradition, a Levite is a member of the Hebrew tribe of Levi. When Joshua led the Israelites into the land of Canaan, the Levites were the only Israelite tribe that received cities but were not allowed to be landowners "because the Lord the God of Israel himself is their inheritance"...
are mentioned in Revelation 7:5-8, while they were not commonly counted as tribes elsewhere. In most listings of the twelve tribes Levi is omitted, since the inheritance of Levi are the sacrifices of Israel and not an allotment of territory. Ordinarily Ephraim and the Tribe of Manasseh
Tribe of Manasseh
According to the Hebrew Bible, the Tribe of Manasseh was one of the Tribes of Israel. Together with the Tribe of Ephraim, Manasseh also formed the House of Joseph....
take the place of Joseph to keep the number of tribes at twelve once Levi is excluded. If Dan were excluded from Revelation 7:5-8 due to its being a seat of idolatry in the Northern Kingdom, perhaps the same reasoning might account for the exclusion of Ephraim since the other seat of idolatry in the Northern Kingdom was Bethel
Bethel
Bethel was a border city described in the Hebrew Bible as being located between Benjamin and Ephraim...
, situated in the territory of Ephraim. However, in Numbers 1:32, the tribe of Ephraim is clearly referenced as representing the "children of Joseph," thus, Ephraim appears to be a euphemism for Joseph, explaining Ephraim's apparent omission in Revelation chapter 7.
See also
- Dan (biblical figure)Dan (Biblical figure)According to the Book of Genesis, Dan was the fifth son of Jacob with Bilhah. He was Bilhah's first son. He was the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Dan. In the biblical account, Dan's mother is described as Rachel's handmaid, who becomes one of Jacob's wives...
- Ten Lost TribesTen Lost TribesThe Ten Lost Tribes of Israel refers to those tribes of ancient Israel that formed the Kingdom of Israel and which disappeared from Biblical and all other historical accounts after the kingdom was destroyed in about 720 BC by ancient Assyria...
- Eldad Ha-DaniEldad ha-DaniEldad ha-Dani or Eldad HaDani or Eldad ben Mahli ha-Dani was a Jewish, Hebrew-writing merchant and traveler of the ninth century. He professed to have been a citizen of an "independent Jewish state" in eastern Africa, probably in the Gihon region, inhabited by people claiming descent from the...
- Dan (Liberian Tribe, West Africa)
- Beta IsraelBeta IsraelBeta Israel Israel, Ge'ez: ቤተ እስራኤል - Bēta 'Isrā'ēl, modern Bēte 'Isrā'ēl, EAE: "Betä Ǝsraʾel", "Community of Israel" also known as Ethiopian Jews , are the names of Jewish communities which lived in the area of Aksumite and Ethiopian Empires , nowadays divided between Amhara and Tigray...
- DanausDanausIn Greek mythology Danaus, or Danaos , was the twin brother of Aegyptus and son of Achiroe and Belus, a mythical king of Egypt. The myth of Danaus is a foundation legend of Argos, one of the foremost Mycenaean cities of the Peloponnesus...
- DenyenDenyenThe Denyen are one of the groups constituting the Sea Peoples, who were of Indo-European origin.-Origin:Archeologists have described them as being of Indo-European origin....