Concerning Dan he said: “Dan is a lion’s cub, leaping out of Bashan.”
Parallel translations
- WEB About Dan he said, “Dan is a lion’s cub that leaps out of Bashan.”
- KJV And of Dan he said, Dan is a lion’s whelp: he shall leap from Bashan.
- NKJV And of Dan he said: “Dan is a lion’s whelp; He shall leap from Bashan.”
- NASB Of Dan he said, “Dan is a lion’s cub; He leaps out from Bashan.”
- NLT Moses said this about the tribe of Dan: “Dan is a lion’s cub, leaping out from Bashan.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Dan is likened to a lion's cub leaping out of Bashan. The tribe is pictured as bold and energetic.
Overview
The lion-cub imagery portrays Dan as vigorous and aggressive, fitting its later northward migration and conquests (Judg. 18). Bashan was a region noted for strength, reinforcing the picture of power. Like the other tribal images, it shows the varied character God gives His people, here a youthful boldness meant to serve under His rule.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Judg 18:27After they had taken Micah’s idols and his priest, they went to Laish, to a tranquil and unsuspecting people, and they struck them with their swords and burned down the city.
- Josh 19:47(Later, when the territory of the Danites was lost to them, they went up and fought against Leshem, captured it, and put it to the sword. So they took possession of Leshem, settled there, and renamed it after their father Dan.)
- Judg 15:15He found the fresh jawbone of a donkey, reached out his hand and took it, and struck down a thousand men.
- Judg 13:2Now there was a man from Zorah named Manoah, from the clan of the Danites, whose wife was barren and had no children.
- Judg 16:30Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines.” Then he pushed with all his might, and the temple fell on the lords and all the people in it. So in his death he killed more than he had killed in his life.
- Judg 13:24–25So the woman gave birth to a son and named him Samson. The boy grew, and the LORD blessed him.
- Judg 14:19Then the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, and he went down to Ashkelon, killed thirty of their men, took their apparel, and gave their clothes to those who had solved the riddle. And burning with anger, Samson returned to his father’s house,
- 1 Chr 12:35From Dan: 28,600 prepared for battle.
- Judg 15:8And he struck them ruthlessly with a great slaughter, and then went down and stayed in the cave at the rock of Etam.
- Gen 49:16–17Dan shall provide justice for his people as one of the tribes of Israel.
- Judg 14:6and the Spirit of the LORD came powerfully upon him, and he tore the lion apart with his bare hands as one would tear a young goat. But he did not tell his father or mother what he had done.
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Christ at the center
Moses promised a Prophet like himself to whom Israel must listen (18:15); Jesus is that Prophet, the one who keeps the covenant we broke and becomes the curse for us by hanging on a tree (Gal 3:13).
How Deuteronomy 33:22 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.