Judaism 101
A Glossary of Basic Jewish Terms and
Concepts
Dan
(ca. 1566 B.C.E.-ca. 1441 B.C.E.)
Click on Sons of Yaakov for a
general introduction to the lives of these individuals who constituted the
original Jewish People.
According to Midrash “Yalkut Shimoni,” Dan was born on the 9th of Elul, and
he lived 125 years.
Dan is the first son of
Yaakov and
Bilhah, the handmaiden of
Rachel,
and the fifth son of Yaakov overall.
He was the first son born under the auspices, so to speak, of Rachel, after
she said in desperation to Yaakov, “…Give me children, for if not, I am
dead.” (Bereshit 30:1) And Yaakov responded, “…Am I in the place of G-d, Who
has withheld from you the fruit of the womb? Then Rachel said ‘Here is my
handmaiden, Bilhah, consort with her, that she may have children upon my
knees and I too may be built up through her.” (Bereshit 30:2-3)
Bilhah gave birth to a son, and “Then Rachel said, ‘G-d has judged me and He
has also heard my voice and given me a son.’ She therefore called him’Dan.’
” (Bereshit 30:6) (“Dan” is from the same “shoresh,” or linguistic root, as
the Hebrew word “Din,” meaning Judgment)
When the Torah lists the “seventy souls” who came down to Egypt with Yaakov
(Bereshit 46:8-27), Dan is described as having one son, “Chushim.” “Targum
Yonatan” on verse Bereshit 46:23 writes that is also a description of Dan’s
descendants; “quick and sharp and very prolific,” in order to account for
their tremendous population, second only to the Tribe of Yehudah.
In Birchot Yaakov, the Blessings of Yaakov (Bereshit 49:1-28), Dan’s father
prophesies concerning Shimshon, one of the “Shophtim,” or Judges, who would
almost single-handedly lead Israel against their enemy throughout the “Tanach,”
the Bible, the “P’lishtim,” or Philistines. Yaakov compares Shimshon to a
snake who bites the heels of a horse, causing the rider to fall, referring
to Shimshon’s final victory when, blind and in chains, he asks HaShem to
restore his super-human strength one last time, and he pushes apart the
columns of the Philistine Temple, killing more than three thousand people,
including himself, as he shouts, “Let me die together with the P’lishtim.” (Shophtim,
Chapter 16)
The Tribe of Dan, under the leadership in the Wilderness of Achiezer ben
Amishaddai, was the central tribe of the fourth and final group or
“encampment” of tribes, that acted as the “rear guard” of the Twelve Tribes
of Israel.” They would collect individuals who had become detached from
their tribes and fight off enemy attacks that would tend to attack from the
rear.
In “Birchot Moshe,” the “Blessings of Moshe,” Moshe
Rabbeinu prophetically compared the Tribe of Dan as a border guard in
the “Eretz Yisrael,” the Land of Israel, to a “lion cub.” (Devarim 33:22)
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