Deuteronomy 33:22
in Deuteronomy 33Concerning Dan he said: “Dan is a lion’s cub, leaping out of Bashan.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And of Dan he said, Dan is a lion’s whelp, That leapeth forth from Bashan.
KJV
And of Dan he said, Dan is a lion’s whelp: he shall leap from Bashan.
⋯
This verse in Deuteronomy 33
Commentary
8 notes on this verseMoses blessed this tribe, saying: Dan is a lion's cub that shall leap forth from Bashan (Deut. XXXII, 22), that is, from confusion. Hence, according to the Greek translation, we should understand that Dan himself became a serpent sitting on the way. Dan means judgement. And therefore, this tribe underwent a grave risk of judgement, as the serpent, Antichrist, slipped in and wounded it with his venoms.
This site's exposition
Dan is a lion’s cub, leaping out of Bashan
on Deuteronomy 33:22-23
Genesis 49:17 called Dan a serpent and this calls him “a lion’s cub”, and the two pictures stand together. Judges 18:27-29 has the tribe leave its allotment and take Laish in the far north, near the Bashan this verse names.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
To the particular victories obtained by Samson (who was of this tribe) over the Philistines. The Spirit of the Lord began to move him in the camp of Dan when he was very young, as a lion's whelp, so that in his attacks upon the Philistines he surprised them, and overpowered them by main strength, as a lion does his prey; and one of his first exploits was the rending of a lion.
Or this may refer either to the particular victories obtained by Samson, who was of the tribe of Daniel, or to a more general achievement of that tribe, when a party of them surprised Laish, which lay in the farthest part of the land of Canaan from them.
And of Dan he said,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
Dan is a lion’s whelp: he shall leap from Bashan - The Jewish interpreters observe that Bashan was a place much frequented by lions, who issued thence into all parts to look for prey. By this probably Moses intended to point out the strength and prowess of this tribe, that it should extend its territories, and live a sort of predatory life.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Dan is a lion's whelp--His proper settlement in the south of Canaan being too small, he by a sudden and successful irruption, established a colony in the northern extremity of the land.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Dan shall be like a lion which leaps forth from his covert in Bashan. Compare Son 4:8.
The words behind it
8 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וּלְדָ֣ן | uledan | and of Dan | H1835 → | 70 times |
| אָמַ֔ר | ʾamar | he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| דָּ֖ן | dan | Dan | H1835 → | 70 times |
| גּ֣וּר | gur | [is] a cub of | H1482 → | |
| אַרְיֵ֑ה | ʾaryeh | a lion | H738 → | |
| יְזַנֵּ֖ק | yezanek | he leaps forth | H2187 → | |
| מִן־ | min- | from | H4480 → | 1188 times |
| הַבָּשָֽׁן׃ | habashan | <the> Bashan | H1316 → | 60 times |
וּלְדָ֣ןand of Dan
uledanH1835 →70 times
אָמַ֔רhe said
ʾamarH559 →5305 times
דָּ֖ןDan
danH1835 →70 times
גּ֣וּר[is] a cub of
gurH1482 →
אַרְיֵ֑הa lion
ʾaryehH738 →
יְזַנֵּ֖קhe leaps forth
yezanekH2187 →
מִן־from
min-H4480 →1188 times
הַבָּשָֽׁן׃<the> Bashan
habashanH1316 →60 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Judges 15:15He found the fresh jawbone of a donkey, reached out his hand and took it, and struck down a thousand men.
it leads to
- Leviticus 26:8
Five of you will pursue a hundred, and a hundred of you will pursue ten thousand, and your enemies will fall by the sword before you.
- Joshua 23:10
One of you can put a thousand to flight, because the LORD your God fights for you, just as He promised.
- Judges 3:31
After Ehud came Shamgar son of Anath. And he too saved Israel, striking down six hundred Philistines with an oxgoad.
- 1 Samuel 17:49–50
Then David reached into his bag, took out a stone, and slung it, striking the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell facedown on the ground.
- 1 Corinthians 1:27–28
But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.
- Leviticus 26:8
Through
Judges 18:27After they had taken Micah’s idols and his priest, they went to Laish, to a tranquil and unsuspecting people, and they struck them with their swords and burned down the city.
it leads to
- Joshua 19:47
(Later, when the territory of the Danites was lost to them, they went up and fought against Leshem, captured it, and put it to the sword. So they took possession of Leshem, settled there,…
- Judges 18:7
So the five men departed and came to Laish, where they saw that the people were living securely, like the Sidonians, tranquil and unsuspecting. There was nothing lacking in the land and no oppressive…
- Joshua 19:47
Through
Judges 15:8And he struck them ruthlessly with a great slaughter, and then went down and stayed in the cave at the rock of Etam.
it leads to
- Isaiah 25:10
For the hand of the LORD will rest on this mountain. But Moab will be trampled in his place as straw is trodden into the dung pile.
- Isaiah 25:10
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Deuteronomy
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PlaceNorthern border, at the foot of HermonDanThe northern limit of the land, where the tribe of Dan settled after taking Laish and where Jeroboam set up one of his two golden…
- PlaceEast of the Sea of Galilee, north of GileadBashanThe fertile tableland east of the Sea of Galilee, the kingdom of Og and the giant clans, taken by Israel before the Jordan crossin…
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Ambrose of Milan, On the Blessings of the Patriarchs, Chapter VII; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.