“Dan shall be a serpent in the way, A horned viper in the path, That bites the horse’s heels, So that its rider falls backward.
Parallel translations
- WEB Dan will be a serpent on the trail, an adder in the path, That bites the horse’s heels, so that his rider falls backward.
- KJV Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder in the path, that biteth the horse heels, so that his rider shall fall backward.
- BSB He will be a snake by the road, a viper in the path that bites the horse’s heels so that its rider tumbles backward.
- NKJV Dan shall be a serpent by the way, A viper by the path, That bites the horse’s heels So that its rider shall fall backward.
- NLT Dan will be a snake beside the road, a poisonous viper along the path that bites the horse’s hooves so its rider is thrown off.
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 serpent that strikes a horse's heels, toppling its rider.
Overview
The image depicts Dan as cunning and dangerous to foes, winning through stealth rather than open strength. Some see foreshadowing of later troubles linked to Dan, including idolatry, but the verse plainly highlights tribal craft in battle. The mixed picture reminds us that gifts can serve either God's purposes or our own.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 4
- Judg 18:22–31When they were a good way from the house of Micah, the men who were in the houses near Micah’s house gathered together and overtook the children of Dan.
- 1 Chr 12:35Of the Danites who could set the battle in array, twenty-eight thousand six hundred.
- Judg 14:1–15Samson went down to Timnah, and saw a woman in Timnah of the daughters of the Philistines.
- Judg 16:22–30However the hair of his head began to grow again after he was shaved.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 49:17 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.