DAN. – 1. The fifth son of Jacob and the first of Bala, Rachel’s maidservant (Gen. 30, 6; 35, 25). At his birth Rachel, playing on the term dan, “he judged,” exclaimed: “The Lord has done me justice.” The Bible relates nothing further about him. His descendants (Gen. 46, 23) were the Husim. He was the eponym of the tribe.
2. A tribe which, at Sinai, numbered 62,700 men fit for military service (Num. 1, 38 ff.), surpassed only by Judah, which numbered 74,600. It grew little, however: on the plain of Moab the Danites fit for military service numbered 64,400 (Num. 26, 42 ff.). They encamped north of the tabernacle with Aser and Nephthali; during the journey through the desert they occupied the last position (Num. 2, 25; 10, 25). In the division of the Palestinian territory, it received a small territory between the tribes of Judah, Benjamin, and Ephraim. Since it was impossible to assign the boundaries, Jos. 19, 41-46 lists the cities that fell to D., such as Sara, Esthaol, Hirsemes (= Bethsa-mes), Aialon, Acron, Elthece (mentioned in an inscription of Sennacherib), Joppa (v.), and Lidda. The territory lay in the plain of Sèphèlàh, between Joppa, Lidda, and the Sèrón, above Joppa, and extended to the foothills of the mountains: it was a region renowned for its fertility, of which even the place names say something; the diversity of the soil is likewise indicated by the toponymy: Sèphèlàh = “lowlands”; glòbèthôn = “height.” Amorites (v.) drove the Danites from the plain into the mountains (Iude. 1, 34 ff.); possession of the coastal region, Philistines (v.) settled, was therefore precarious. The narrowness of their boundaries impelled the Danites to seek a dwelling elsewhere. Five emissaries were sent by them in search of new territories where they might more easily expand (Iude. 18). Having reached the far north of Palestine, they chose the region of Laish (today Tell el-Qàdi), near the sources of the Jordan, suitable for their purpose because of its wealth and isolation.
Six hundred armed men, together with their families, occupied the new territory. They removed from the sanctuary of Micah (v.) the ephédi and the teráphim, and persuaded the Bethlehemite Levite who served there to follow them. Having conquered Laish, which they called D., they established the sanctuary there; it was later condemned because it was separatist and idolatrous.
The history of the sanctuary of D. is important because it shows us what ideas the people, exposed to Canaanite influences, held concerning the ways of conducting worship. The ancient worship of Micah in Ephraim was not idolatrous, but its manner of proceeding is condemned (Iudc. 17, 6), because it was contrary to Mosaic legislation (Ex. 20, 4; Deut. 12, 14; Lev. 17, 8 ff.). The sanctuary of D. continued to be frequented by the Danites, while the national worship of Israel had its center in the ark of Israel at Shiloh. In the 10th century, at the division of Israel from the kingdom of Judah, Jeroboam I installed one of his golden calves at D., making it the second official sanctuary of Israel and thereby encouraging religious syncretism.
The formula “from D. to Beersheba” indicates the extreme limits of Palestine (Iudc. 20, 1; I Sam. 3, 20; II Sam. 3, 10; 17, 11; 24, 2.15; I Reg. 4, 25; I Par. 21, 2; II Par. 12, 35; 27, 37). The tribe is omitted from the genealogies of I Par. 2-12; it appears to have become extinct after most of its members emigrated to Laish. In Apoc. 7, 5-18, D. is missing from the number of the “sealed.” The Danites were distinguished by their boldness (Gen. 49, 16-18) and military power (Deut. 33, 22), which found expression in the deeds of Samson (v.).