Limitless Word
“Dan will govern his people, like any other tribe in Israel.
Genesis 49:16 · New Living Translation
Parallel translations
  • WEB “Dan will judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel.
  • KJV Dan shall judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel.
  • BSB Dan shall provide justice for his people as one of the tribes of Israel.
  • NKJV “Dan shall judge his people As one of the tribes of Israel.
  • NASB ¶“Dan shall judge his people, As one of the tribes of Israel.

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 will provide justice for his people as a true tribe of Israel.

Overview

With a play on his name ('Dan means judge'), Jacob affirms that this son of a maidservant holds a full and rightful place among the tribes. Even the less prominent sons share in the covenant inheritance and its responsibilities. God's grace includes and dignifies those of humble origin within His people.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 8

  • Deut 33:22About Dan he said, “Dan is a lion’s cub that leaps out of Bashan.”
  • Gen 30:6Rachel said, “God has judged me, and has also heard my voice, and has given me a son.” Therefore called she his name Dan.
  • Judg 13:2There was a certain man of Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was barren, and childless.
  • Judg 13:24–25The woman bore a son, and named him Samson. The child grew, and Yahweh blessed him.
  • Num 10:25The standard of the camp of the children of Dan, which was the rear guard of all the camps, set forward according to their armies. Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai was over his army.
  • Judg 18:26–27The children of Dan went their way; and when Micah saw that they were too strong for him, he turned and went back to his house.
  • Judg 15:20He judged Israel twenty years in the days of the Philistines.
  • Judg 18:1–2In those days there was no king in Israel. In those days the tribe of the Danites sought an inheritance to dwell in; for to that day, their inheritance had not fallen to them among the tribes of Israel.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (4)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Genesis videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Genesis 49:16YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on GenesisMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

From the first promise that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent (3:15), through Abraham's blessing to all nations and Judah's coming ruler, Genesis sows every seed that flowers in Christ — the true offspring, the better Adam, the ram caught for Isaac.

How Genesis 49:16 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.