And they called the name of the city Dan, after the name of Dan their father, who was born to Israel. However, the name of the city formerly was Laish.
Parallel translations
- WEB They called the name of the city Dan, after the name of Dan their father, who was born to Israel; however the name of the city used to be Laish.
- KJV And they called the name of the city Dan, after the name of Dan their father, who was born unto Israel: howbeit the name of the city was Laish at the first.
- BSB They named it Dan, after their forefather Dan, who was born to Israel—though the city was formerly named Laish.
- NASB And they named the city Dan, after the name of Dan their father who was born to Israel; however, the name of the city was previously Laish.
- NLT They renamed the town Dan after their ancestor, Israel’s son, but it had originally been called Laish.
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
The Danites rename the city Dan after their ancestor, replacing the old name Laish. The new name marks their settlement in the far north.
Overview
Naming the city Dan established the tribe's northern frontier, giving rise to the later phrase 'from Dan to Beersheba.' The renaming memorializes their conquest. Yet this northern Dan would become a center of idolatry, a stain on the tribe traceable to this very migration.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Josh 19:47The border of the children of Dan went out beyond them; for the children of Dan went up and fought against Leshem, and took it, and struck it with the edge of the sword, and possessed it, and lived therein, and called Leshem, Dan, after the name of Dan their forefather.
- Gen 14:14When Abram heard that his relative was taken captive, he led out his trained men, born in his house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued as far as Dan.
- 1 Kgs 15:20Ben Hadad listened to king Asa, and sent the captains of his armies against the cities of Israel, and struck Ijon, and Dan, and Abel Beth Maacah, and all Chinneroth, with all the land of Naphtali.
- 1 Kgs 12:29–30He set the one in Bethel, and the other put he in Dan.
- Judg 20:1Then all the children of Israel went out, and the congregation was assembled as one man, from Dan even to Beersheba, with the land of Gilead, to Yahweh at Mizpah.
- 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.
- Gen 32:28He said, “Your name will no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have fought with God and with men, and have prevailed.”
- 2 Sam 17:11But I counsel that all Israel be gathered together to you, from Dan even to Beersheba, as the sand that is by the sea for multitude; and that you go to battle in your own person.
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Christ at the center
Israel's cycle of sin and rescue through flawed deliverers cries out for a Savior who never fails — the true and final Judge and Deliverer who saves his people not for a season but forever.
How Judges 18:29 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.