Dan (Easton)

DIC dictionary-entry · status:draft · license:PD

A judge. The fifth son of Jacob. His mother was Bilhah, Rachel's maid (Genesis 30:6 , 'God hath judged me', Heb. dananni). The blessing pronounced on him by his father was, 'Dan shall judge his people' (49:16), probably in allusion to the judgeship of Samson, who was of the tribe of Dan. The tribe"> StudyL ı ght .org Plug in, Turn on and Be En light ened! Not Yet a Member? Click to Sign Up Now! --> --> Bible Study Tools Lang uage Tools Study Lib rary Hist orical Writings Pas toral Resources Per sonal Resources Site Resources Lectionary Calendar Saturday, June 6th, 2026 the Week of Proper 4 / Ordinary 9 video advertismenet advertisement advertisement advertisement Attention! Take your personal ministry to the Next Level by helping StudyLight build churches and supporting pastors in Uganda. Click here to join the effort! Home » Bible Dictionaries » Easton's Bible Dictionary » Letter D Bible Dictionaries Dan Easton's Bible Dictionary Search for… Enter query below: or A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z Prev Entry Damnation Next Entry Dan-Jaan Resource Toolbox Print Article Additional Links Concordances Nave Topical Bible Mahaneh-Dan Dan-Jaan Dan Thompson Chain Reference Dan Treasury of Biblical Knowledge Dan (2) Dan Torrey Topical Textbook Dan, the Tribe of Dictionaries American Tract Society Dan Bridgeway Bible Dictionary Dan Chabad Knowledge Base Dan Easton's Bible Dictionary Mahaneh-Dan Dan-Jaan Dan Fausset Bible Dictionary Mahaneh Dan Dan-Jaan Dan (2) (only first 3 shown) Holman Bible Dictionary Mahaneh-Dan Dan-Jaan Dan Hitchcock Bible Names Dan Hastings' BibleDictionary Mahaneh-Dan Dan-Jaan Dan King James Dictionary Dan Morrish Bible Dictionary Dan, City of Dan 1910 New Catholic Dictionary Dan Title Dan Name Hawker's Poor Man's Dictionary Dan People's Bible Dictionary Dan Smith Bible Dictionary Mahaneh-dan Dan Webster Dictionary Dan Watson's Theological Dictionary Dan Encyclopedias 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica Dan (Tribe) Dan Leno Dan Michel of Northgate (only first 3 shown) International Standard Bible Encyclopedia Dan (1) Dan (2) Dan (3) (only first 3 shown) Kitto Biblical Cyclopedia Dan McClintock and Strong's Bible Encyclopedia Dan Dan, Thomas Dan-Jain (only first 3 shown) The Nuttall Encyclopedia Dan`dolo The Catholic Encyclopedia Dan The Jewish Encyclopedia Dan Dan Ashkenazi Dan-Jaan Lexicons דָּן , דָּן דָּנִי דָּן יַעַן (only first 3 shown) A judge. The fifth son of Jacob. His mother was Bilhah, Rachel's maid ( Genesis 30:6 , "God hath judged me", Heb. dananni). The blessing pronounced on him by his father was, "Dan shall judge his people" (49:16), probably in allusion to the judgeship of Samson, who was of the tribe of Dan. The tribe of Dan had their place in the march through the wilderness on the north side of the tabernacle ( Numbers 2:25,31 ; 10:25 ). It was the last of the tribes to receive a portion in the Land of Promise. Its position and extent are described in Joshua 19:40-48 . The territory of Dan extended from the west of that of Ephraim and Benjamin to the sea. It was a small territory, but was very fertile. It included in it, among others, the cities of Lydda, Ekron, and Joppa, which formed its northern boundary. But this district was too limited. "Squeezed into the narrow strip between the mountains and the sea, its energies were great beyond its numbers." Being pressed by the Amorites and the Philistines, whom they were unable to conquer, they longed for a wider space. They accordingly sent out five spies from two of their towns, who went north to the sources of the Jordan, and brought back a favourable report regarding that region. "Arise," they said, "be not slothful to go, and to possess the land," for it is "a place where there is no want of any thing that is in the earth" ( Judges 18:10 ). On receiving this report, 600 Danites girded on their weapons of war, and taking with them their wives and their children, marched to the foot of Hermon, and fought against Leshem, and took it from the Sidonians, and dwelt therein, and changed the name of the conquered town to Dan ( Joshua 19:47 ). This new city of Dan became to them a new home, and was wont to be spoken of as the northern limit of Palestine, the length of which came to be denoted by the expression "from Dan to Beersheba", i.e., about 144 miles. "But like Lot under a similar temptation, they seem to have succumbed to the evil influences around them, and to have sunk down into a condition of semi-heathenism from which they never emerged. The mounds of ruins which mark the site of the city show that it covered a considerable extent of ground. But there remains no record of any noble deed wrought by the degenerate tribe. Their name disappears from the roll-book of the natural and the spiritual Israel.", Manning's Those Holy Fields. This old border city was originally called Laish. Its modern name is Tell el-Kady, "Hill of the Judge." It stands about four miles below Caesarea Philippi, in the midst of a region of surpassing richness and beauty. This name occurs in Ezekiel 27:19 , Authorize Version; but the words there, "Dan also," should be simply, as in the Revised Version, "Vedan," an Arabian city, from which various kinds of merchandise were brought to Tyre. Some suppose it to have been the city of Aden in Arabia. (See MAHANEH-DAN.)

Source

• part_of source-manifest/easton — Easton's Bible Dictionary (PD)