And of Dan he said, Dan is a lion’s whelp: he shall leap from Bashan.
Parallel translations
- WEB About Dan he said, “Dan is a lion’s cub that leaps out of Bashan.”
- BSB Concerning Dan he said: “Dan is a lion’s cub, leaping out of 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 18:27And they took the things which Micah had made, and the priest which he had, and came unto Laish, unto a people that were at quiet and secure: and they smote them with the edge of the sword, and burnt the city with fire.
- Josh 19:47And the coast of the children of Dan went out too little for them: therefore the children of Dan went up to fight against Leshem, and took it, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and possessed it, and dwelt therein, and called Leshem, Dan, after the name of Dan their father.
- Judg 15:15And he found a new jawbone of an ass, and put forth his hand, and took it, and slew a thousand men therewith.
- Judg 13:2And there was a certain man of Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was barren, and bare not.
- Judg 16:30And Samson said, Let me die with the Philistines. And he bowed himself with all his might; and the house fell upon the lords, and upon all the people that were therein. So the dead which he slew at his death were more than they which he slew in his life.
- Judg 13:24–25And the woman bare a son, and called his name Samson: and the child grew, and the LORD blessed him.
- Judg 14:19And the Spirit of the LORD came upon him, and he went down to Ashkelon, and slew thirty men of them, and took their spoil, and gave change of garments unto them which expounded the riddle. And his anger was kindled, and he went up to his father’s house.
- 1 Chr 12:35And of the Danites expert in war twenty and eight thousand and six hundred.
- Judg 15:8And he smote them hip and thigh with a great slaughter: and he went down and dwelt in the top of the rock Etam.
- Gen 49:16–17Dan shall judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel.
- Judg 14:6And the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, and he rent him as he would have rent a kid, and he had nothing in his hand: but he told not his father or his mother what he had done.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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.