Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Joshua 19:40
[And] the seventh lot came out for the tribe of the children of Dan according to their families.
40 48. The Inheritance of the Tribe of Dan
40. the seventh lot ] came out to the smallest of all the tribes, that of Dan, descended from the fifth son of Jacob. The position of the tribe during the march through the wilderness had been on the north side of the Tabernacle, the hindmost of the long procession between Naphtali and Asher. At the census in the desert it was the most numerous of all the tribes with the exception of Judah, containing 62,700 men able to bear arms.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
40-46. the seventh lot came out forthe tribe . . . DanIt lay on the west of Benjamin andconsisted of portions surrendered by Judah and Ephraim. Itsboundaries are not stated, as they were easily distinguishable fromthe relative position of Dan to the three adjoining tribes.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
[And] the seventh lot came out for the tribe of the children of Dan,…. Which was the last lot drawn, and which appointed an inheritance to this tribe:
according to their families; the number of them.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
The Inheritance of the Tribe of Dan. – This fell to the west of Benjamin, between Judah and Ephraim, and was formed by Judah giving up some of its northern towns, and Ephraim some of its southern towns, to the Danites, so as to furnish them with a territory proportionate to their number. It was situated for the most part in the lowland ( shephelah), including, however, the hill country between the Mediterranean and the mountains, and extended over a portion of the plain of Sharon, so that it belonged to one of the most fruitful portions of Palestine. The boundaries are not given, because they could be traced from those of the adjoining territories.
Jos 19:41-42 From Judah the families of Dan received Zorea and Eshtaol (see at Jos 15:33), and Ir-shemesh, also called Beth-shemesh ( 1Ki 4:9), on the border of Judah (see Jos 15:10); but of these the Danites did not take possession, as they were given up by Judah to the Levites ( Jos 21:16: see at Jos 15:10). Saalabbin, or Saalbim, which remained in the hands of the Canaanites (Jdg 1:35), is frequently mentioned in the history of David and Solomon (2Sa 23:32; 1Ch 11:33; 1Ki 4:9). It may possibly be the present Selbt ( Rob. iii. App.; Bibl. Res. p. 144), some distance to the north of the three places mentioned ( Knobel). Ajalon, which was also not taken from the Canaanites (Jdg 1:35), was assigned to the Levites (Jos 21:24; 1Ch 6:54). It is mentioned in the wars with the Philistines (1Sa 14:31; 1Ch 8:13), was fortified by Rehoboam ( 2Ch 11:10), and was taken by the Philistines from King Ahaz ( 2Ch 28:18). It has been preserved in the village of Yalo (see at Jos 10:12). Jethlah is only mentioned here, and has not yet been discovered. So far as the name is concerned, it may possibly be preserved in the Wady Atallah, on the west of Yalo (Bibl. Res. pp. 143-4).
Jos 19:43 Elon, which is mentioned again in 1Ki 4:9, with the addition of Beth-hanan, has not yet been traced; according to Knobel, it “may possibly be Ellin, near Timnath and Beth-shemesh, mentioned by Robinson in his Pal. vol. iii. App.” Thimna ( Thimnathah) and Ekron, on the boundary of Judah (see at Jos 15:10-11).
Jos 19:44 Eltekeh and Gibbethon, which were allotted to the Levites (Jos 21:23), have not yet been discovered. Under the earliest kings of Israel, Gibbethon was in the hands of the Philistines (1Ki 15:27; 1Ki 16:15, 1Ki 16:17). Baalath was fortified by Solomon (1Ki 9:18). According to Josephus (Ant. 8:6, 1), it was “Baleth in the neighbourhood of Geser;” probably the same place as Baalah, on the border of Judah (Jos 15:11).
Jos 19:45 Jehud has probably been preserved in the village of Jehudieh ( Hudieh), two hours to the north of Ludd (Diospolis), in a splendidly cultivated plain ( Berggren, R. iii. p. 162; Rob. iii. p. 45, and App.). Bene-berak, the present Ibn Abrak, an hour from Jehud ( Scholz, R. p. 256). Gath-rimmon, which was given to the Levites (Jos 21:24; 1Ch 6:54), is described in the Onom. ( s. v.) as villa praegrandis in duodecimo milliario Diospoleos pergentibus Eleutheropolin , – a statement which points to the neighbourhood of Thimnah, though it has not yet been discovered.
Jos 19:46 Me-jarkon, i.e., aquae flavedinis , and Rakkon, are unknown; but from the clause which follows, “with the territory before Japho,” it must have been in the neighbourhood of Joppa (Jaffa). “The territory before Japho” includes the places in the environs of Joppa. Consequently Joppa itself does not appear to have belonged to the territory of Dan, although, according to Jdg 5:17, the Danites must have had possession of this town. Japho, the well-known port of Palestine (2Ch 2:15; Ezr 3:7; Jon 1:3), which the Greeks called (Joppa), the present Jaffa (see v. Raumer, Pal. pp. 204-5, and Ritter, Erdk. xvi. pp. 574ff.).
Jos 19:47-48 Besides this inheritance, the Danites of Zorea and Eshtaol went, after Joshua’s death, and conquered the town of Leshem or Laish, on the northern boundary of Canaan, and gave it the name of Dan, as the territory which was allotted to them under Joshua was too small for them, on account of their inability to drive out the Amorites from several of their towns (Jdg 1:34-35; Jdg 18:2). For further particulars concerning this conquest, see Judg 18. Leshem or Laish (Jdg 18:7, Jdg 18:27), i.e., Dan, which the Onom. describes as viculus quarto a Paneade milliario euntibus Tyrum , was the present Tell el Kadi, or el Leddan, the central source of the Jordan, to the west of Banjas, a place with ancient ruins (see Rob. iii. p. 351; Bibl. Res. pp. 390, 393). It was there that Jeroboam set up the golden calves (1Ki 12:29-30, etc.); and it is frequently mentioned as the northernmost city of the Israelites, in contrast with Beersheba, which was in the extreme south of the land (Jdg 20:1; 1Sa 3:20; 2Sa 3:10: see also Ritter, Erdk. xvi. pp. 207ff.).
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
| The Lot of Dan. | B. C. 1444. |
40 And the seventh lot came out for the tribe of the children of Dan according to their families. 41 And the coast of their inheritance was Zorah, and Eshtaol, and Ir-shemesh, 42 And Shaalabbin, and Ajalon, and Jethlah, 43 And Elon, and Thimnathah, and Ekron, 44 And Eltekeh, and Gibbethon, and Baalath, 45 And Jehud, and Bene-berak, and Gath-rimmon, 46 And Me-jarkon, and Rakkon, with the border before Japho. 47 And 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. 48 This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Dan according to their families, these cities with their villages.
Dan, though commander of one of the four squadrons of the camp of Israel, in the wilderness, that which brought up the rear, yet was last provided for in Canaan, and his lot fell in the southern part of Canaan, between Judah on the east and the land of the Philistines on the west, Ephraim on the north and Simeon on the south. Providence ordered this numerous and powerful tribe into a post of danger, as best able to deal with those vexatious neighbours the Philistines, and so it was found in Samson. Here is an account, 1. Of what fell to this tribe by lot, Zorah, and Eshtaol, and the camp of Dan thereabouts, of which we read in the story of Samson. And near there was the valley of Eshcol, whence the spies brought the famous bunch of grapes. Japho, or Joppa was in this lot. 2. Of what they got by their own industry and valour, which is mentioned here (v. 47), but related at large, Judg. xviii. 7, &c.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
Dan’s Lot, vs.. 40-48
Dan was the last of the tribes to get his inheritance. All the land of the northern conquest had been assigned, so Dan was given an unassigned area west of Benjamin, between Ephraim and Judah.
His allotment seems to have been a kind of afterthought, crowded in, with a large part of it lying among the cities and area claimed by the Philistines. It was not an afterthought, of course, and was sufficient for them had they exercised the faith needed to drive out the Philistines, cf. Mat 21:21.
Zorah and Eshtaol are prominent as the homeland of Samson, one of the later judges of Israel. Timnath is where Samson got his wife, while Ekron was one of the Philistine cities.
Read about his adventures in Judges, chapters 13-16. Ajalon was in the valley over which the moon hung when Joshua commanded it to standstill (Jos 10:12).
The reason Dan’s coast (borders) “went out too little for them,” is because they were unwilling to fight the Philistines to possess all that was assigned to them.
The account of how six hundred of the Danites emigrated to Leshem (or Laish) far to the north, near mount Hermon, between the upper borders of Naphtali and eastern Manasseh, is recorded in Judges, chapter 18. Here they fell on a small, unsuspecting, undefended city of the Phoenicians, put it to the sword and established their own city of Dan.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
The Inheritance of Dan Jos. 19:40-48
40 And the seventh lot came out for the tribe of the children of Dan according to their families.
41 And the coast of their inheritance was Zorah, and Eshtaol, and Ir-shemesh,
42 And Shaalabbin, and Ajalon, and Jethlah,
43 And Elon, and Thimnathah, and Ekron,
44 And Eltekeh, and Gibbethon, and Baalath,
45 And Jehud, and Bene-berak, and Gath-rimmon,
46 And Me-jarkon, and Rakkon, with the border before Japho.
47 And 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.
48 This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Dan according to their families, these cities with their villages.
16.
Who was Dan? Jos. 19:40
Dan was also the son of Bilhah and Jacob (Gen. 30:6). His name means to judge. Jacob gave him a rich blessing (Gen. 49:16-18); and when the tribes of Israel were counted at Sinai, there were 62,700 men, twenty years of age and older, in this tribe (Numbers 1). At the later census he had grown until there were 64,400 men of this age (Numbers 26).
17.
Where was the territory of Dan? Jos. 19:40-46
The major part of Dans territory lay along the Mediterranean seacoast, immediately west of the land given to the tribe of Benjamin. Benjamin was thus on his eastern border. On the northern border was the territory of Ephraim, and on the southern border was the territory of Judah.
18.
What additional territory was given to Dan? Jos. 19:47-48
Joshua mentions a conquest which was recorded more fully as an appendix to the book of Judges (Judges 17, 18). These Israelites went up to the north part of the land given to Israel and conquered an area around Leshem, which was near the headwaters of the Jordan River. This point was the northernmost spot of the land of Israel; and after the name of the place was changed from Leshem to Dan, it was common to speak of the territory of Israel as extending from Dan to Beer-sheba, the northernmost and southernmost important towns, respectively.
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(40) The seventh lot . . . of the children of Dan.Dan was the most numerous tribe, next to Judah, in each census taken during the exodus. (See Numbers 1, 26) This tribe had also had a post of honour in being commander of the rear-guard during the march. A similar post is here assigned to Dan in Palestine, viz., next to Judah, on the side of the Philistine territory. The Philistines were the most powerful and warlike of the unconquered nations of Palestine. The wisdom of guarding Israel on their frontier by the two strongest of the tribes is manifest. It was Samson, a Danite, who began to deliver Israel from them, and David completed the work. Though there were Philistine wars in the time of the later kings, they never had dominion over Israel after Davids time.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
DAN’S LOT, Jos 19:40-48.
[The territory assigned to Dan was the smallest of all the tribe divisions. But it was not without advantages. Its border on the northeast and south joined respectively on Ephraim, Benjamin, and Judah, the three most powerful tribes of Israel. Its western border was the Mediterranean. The territory thus enclosed embraced the beautiful plain south of Joppa, the cornfield and garden of Southern Palestine. Dr. Robinson thus describes this district, as seen from the tower of Ramleh: “Towards the north and south, as far as the eye could reach, the beautiful plain was spread out like a carpet at our feet, variegated with tracts of brown, from which the crops had just been taken, and with fields still rich with the yellow of ripe corn, or green with the springing millet. Immediately below us the eye rested on the immense olive groves of Ramleh and Lydda, and the picturesque towers, and minarets, and domes, of these large villages. In the plain itself there were not many villages; but the tract of hills, and the mountain side beyond, especially in the northeast, appeared as if studded with them, and, as now seen in the setting sun, they seemed like white villas and hamlets among the dark hills, presenting an appearance of thriftiness and beauty which certainly would not stand a closer examination.”
But the children of Dan were unable to hold this beautiful plain, for “the Amorites forced them into the mountain, for they would not suffer them to come down to the valley,” (Jdg 1:34,) and they were obliged to receive help from “the hand of the house of Joseph.” Jos 19:35.
Some time after the allotment this tribe enlarged its possessions by the conquest of Laish in the north. Judges 18. In this covert but daring movement Dan fulfilled the prophecies of Jacob and of Moses. Gen 49:17; Deuteronomy 13:32. Of this tribe was the famous hero Samson, who judged Israel twenty years. By taking Micah’s images, and with them establishing a tribe sanctuary at Dan, (Jdg 18:20; Jdg 18:30,) they seem to have been the first to adopt and establish an illegal worship in Israel, and as the tribe of Dan is not mentioned in Rev 7:5-7, among those that were sealed, some of the fathers inclined to believe that from this tribe Antichrist should spring.]
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘ The seventh lot came out for the tribe of the children of Dan, according to their families.’
The other six lots having been taken, the seventh remained. This was the allotment to the children of Dan. No strict borders are given but a list of towns. This may be because Dan’s borders were not closely defined, or simply because of the surveyor’s methods. Or the writer may have been satisfied that the borders were made clear by the borders of Benjamin on the east, Ephraim on the north and Judah on the south. They were the only ones whose towns were not numbered, possibly because of disapproval over the removal of a large part of the tribe to Laish.
The land allotted to them was good and fertile land, but it was hotly contested. Thus the Danites found the opposition of the Amorites severe and were driven back into the hills (Jdg 1:34). We must not therefore think of all these places as having been actually occupied by Dan. They revealed the area in which Dan was to operate. Some they took. Others they infiltrated. Even others they could do nothing about. Once the Philistines arrived their position became even more precarious, as is depicted in the days of Samson. Thus a large part of the tribe decided to leave the place allotted to them by God and find the cosier and easier spot at Laish. But it led to gross sin and the setting up of a rival sanctuary (Judges 17-18).
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
In this department, Joppa, the residence of the apostle Peter lay. Act 9:43 . Sampson sprung from this tribe. Jdg 13:24Jdg 13:24 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Jos 19:40 [And] the seventh lot came out for the tribe of the children of Dan according to their families.
Ver. 40. For the tribe of the children of Dan. ] Who also, as well as Simeon, had various cities taken out of the first lot of the tribe of Judah. See on Jos 19:1 .
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
NASB (UPDATED TEXT): Jos 19:40-48
40The seventh lot fell to the tribe of the sons of Dan according to their families. 41The territory of their inheritance was Zorah and Eshtaol and Ir-shemesh, 42and Shaalabbin and Aijalon and Ithlah, 43and Elon and Timnah and Ekron, 44and Eltekeh and Gibbethon and Baalath, 45and Jehud and Bene-berak and Gath-rimmon, 46and Me-jarkon and Rakkon, with the territory over against Joppa. 47The territory of the sons of Dan proceeded beyond them; for the sons of Dan went up and fought with Leshem and captured it. Then they struck it with the edge of the sword and possessed it and settled in it; and they called Leshem Dan after the name of Dan their father. 48This was the inheritance of the tribe of the sons of Dan according to their families, these cities with their villages.
Jos 19:47 This refers to the movement of Dan to the north (cf. Judges 17-18). Joshua told Ephraim earlier that if they wanted more land they should conquer what was already allocated to them. Some commentators see this as explaining Dan’s relocation, but to me it was an act of unbelief. This is why it is listed in the conclusion of Judges (cf. chapters 17-21) which documents the Israelites acts of faithlessness. Dan’s original allocation was in the Philistine area. They chose to move instead of trusting YHWH to help them take their land.
Leshem This city (BDB 546) is also called Laish (lion, BDB 539, cf. Jdg 18:7; Jdg 18:14; Jdg 18:27; Jdg 18:29).
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
Reciprocal: Num 26:55 – by lot Num 34:17 – are the names Jos 10:40 – all the country Jdg 18:1 – the tribe Jdg 18:30 – set up Eze 48:1 – Dan
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
The inheritance of Dan 19:40-48
Dan received territory primarily in the Shephelah and Coastal Plain west of Benjamin, between Judah and Ephraim. Its land was extremely fruitful.
"The Amorites, who settled portions of the Philistine plain (Jdg 1:34), drove the Danites out of the plains and into the hills. This led to a migration of part of the tribe of Dan northward to Leshem near the northern part of Naphtali (cf. Judges 17-18)." [Note: Davis and Whitcomb, p. 83.]
Dan possessed 19 towns (Jos 19:41-47). The record of the conquest of Leshem (Jos 19:47, also called Laish and later Dan) is in Judges 18. [Note: See John C. H. Laughlin, "Dan," Biblical Illustrator 9:4 (Summer 1983):40-46.]