Dan (Bible)

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Twelve tribes of Israel

The 12 tribes of Israel

In the Old Testament, Dan is the fifth eldest son of the progenitor Jacob and Bilhas , Rachel's servant . His descendants are called the tribe of Dan. The city where this tribe lived was also called Dan.

etymology

The Hebrew personal name דָּן dān , German 'Dan' is the short form of a verb sentence name, consisting of subject and predicate. The subject and at the same time theophoric element have failed, so that only the predicate remains. This is derived from the verb root דין dîn "create justice / help sb. To his right". The name therefore means "(God) has made right". Long forms of the name are Daniel (דָּנִיֵּאל dānîje'l “God has made right”) and Abidan (אֲבִידָן 'ǎvîdān “Father has made right”).

Gen 30.6  EU provides an explanation of the name. Since Rachel initially remains childless, she gives her husband Jacob her maid Bilhah to wife so that she will give him children. At the birth of Dan she says: “God has made me right; he also heard my voice and gave me a son. ” Gen 49.16  EU , in Jacob’s blessings about his sons, there is a play on words:“ Dan creates justice for his people ”(דָּן יָדִין עַמֹּו dān jādîn 'ammô ).

The Septuagint gives the name as Δαν dan , the Vulgate as Dan . A translation of the name as "Richter" is wrong. It is God who procures justice, not the bearer of the name. The Hebrew word for judge is דַּיָן dajān .

Biblical narration

Dan is the fifth eldest son of Jacob and the eldest son of Bilhah ( Gen 30.6  EU ). He is the progenitor of the Dan tribe. His only son named in Gen 46.23  EU is Huschim .

In Gen 49  EU , Jacob blesses his sons. Dan is characterized in Gen 49,16  EU as follows: “Dan creates justice for his people like only one of Israel's tribes. Dan becomes a snake on the path and a hissing adder on the path. She bites the horse in the fetters, the rider falls backwards. ”In Deut. 33  EU Moses blesses the Twelve Tribes of Israel , namely Dan in Deut. 32.22  EU as follows:“ Dan is a young lion jumping out of the Bashan . ”Dan is thus identified as a judge and a warrior.

Manoah , the father of Samson of the tribe, is one of Dan ( Ri 13,2  EU ).

Originally the tribe of Dan was native to the west of Jerusalem . He was later pushed to the far north of Israel, where he captured the city of Leschem ( Laish ). He renamed it Dan. The city of Dan is believed to be identical to the Tel Dan site (also known as Tell al-Kadi ). The phrase “from Dan to Beersheba ” (e.g. Ri 20.1  EU ), which occurs in the biblical texts, means “all of Israel” due to the northern location of Dan and the southern location of Beersheba.

The tribe of Dan perished in the Assyrian exile after the conquest of the northern kingdom of Israel and is therefore counted among the lost tribes of Israel .

Extra-biblical

  • The Ethiopian Jews consider themselves to be members of the Dan tribe.
  • The Danites , a bloodthirsty secret society from early Mormon history , also named themselves after Dan.
  • The central region of today's State of Israel in the greater Tel Aviv area is named after the historical settlement area of ​​the Dan Gush Dan .

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