Judges 18:29
in Judges 18They named it Dan, after their forefather Dan, who was born to Israel—though the city was formerly named Laish.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
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.
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.
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This verse in Judges 18
Commentary
5 notes on this verseCalled the name of the city Dan - This city was afterwards very remarkable as one of the extremities of the promised land. The extent of the Jewish territories was generally expressed by the phrase, From Dan to Beer-Sheba; that is, From the most northern to the southern extremity.
This site's exposition
called the name of the city Dan
Joshua 19:47 tells this same conquest in a single verse and calls the town Leshem rather than Laish, and both names stand in the canon without either account correcting the other. The new name fixes the northern end of the map, and from Dan even to Beersheba becomes the standard measure of the land, first at 20:1 and then through Samuel and Kings. Dan is the tribe missing from the twelve named at Revelation 7:5-8, where Manasseh is counted beside Joseph in its place, and Scripture gives no reason for the omission.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Of Daniel - That it might be manifest, that they belonged to the tribe of Daniel, though they were seated at a great distance from them, in the most northerly part of the land; whereas the lot of their tribe was in the southern part of Canaan.
And they called the name of the city Dan,....
God had graciously performed his promise, in putting them in possession of that which fell to their lot, obliging them thereby to be faithful to him who had been so to them. They inherited the labour of the people, that they might observe his statues, Ps. cv. But the first thing they do after they are settled is to break his statues.
The words behind it
15 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּקְרְא֤וּ | vaiyikreu | and they called | H7121 → | 733 times |
| שֵׁם־ | shem- | [the] name of | H8034 → | 864 times |
| הָעִיר֙ | hair | the city | H5892 → | 1090 times |
| דָּ֔ן | dan | Dan | H1835 → | 70 times |
| בְּשֵׁם֙ | beshem | by [the] name of | H8034 → | 864 times |
| דָּ֣ן | dan | Dan | H1835 → | 70 times |
| אֲבִיהֶ֔ם | ʾavihem | ancestor their | H1 → | 1212 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר | ʾasher | who | H834 → | 5497 times |
| יוּלַּ֖ד | yulad | he was born | H3205 → | 496 times |
| לְיִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל | leyisrael | to Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| וְאוּלָ֛ם | veulam | and but | H199 → | |
| לַ֥יִשׁ | layish | [was] Laish | H3919 → | 7 times |
| שֵׁם־ | shem- | [the] name of | H8034 → | 864 times |
| הָעִ֖יר | hair | the city | H5892 → | 1090 times |
| לָרִאשֹׁנָֽה׃ | larishonah | to the former [time] | H7223 → | 182 times |
וַיִּקְרְא֤וּand they called
vaiyikreuH7121 →733 times
שֵׁם־[the] name of
shem-H8034 →864 times
הָעִיר֙the city
hairH5892 →1090 times
דָּ֔ןDan
danH1835 →70 times
בְּשֵׁם֙by [the] name of
beshemH8034 →864 times
דָּ֣ןDan
danH1835 →70 times
אֲבִיהֶ֔םancestor their
ʾavihemH1 →1212 times
אֲשֶׁ֥רwho
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
יוּלַּ֖דhe was born
yuladH3205 →496 times
לְיִשְׂרָאֵ֑לto Israel
leyisraelH3478 →2507 times
וְאוּלָ֛םand but
veulamH199 →
לַ֥יִשׁ[was] Laish
layishH3919 →7 times
שֵׁם־[the] name of
shem-H8034 →864 times
הָעִ֖ירthe city
hairH5892 →1090 times
לָרִאשֹׁנָֽה׃to the former [time]
larishonahH7223 →182 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
1 Kings 15:20And Ben-hadad listened to King Asa and sent the commanders of his armies against the cities of Israel, conquering Ijon, Dan, Abel-beth-maacah, and the whole land of Naphtali, including the region of Chinnereth.
it leads to
- 2 Kings 15:29
In the days of Pekah king of Israel, Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria came and captured Ijon, Abel-beth-maacah, Janoah, Kedesh, Hazor, Gilead, and Galilee, including all the land of Naphtali, and he took the people…
- Joshua 11:2
to the kings of the north in the mountains, in the Arabah south of Chinnereth, in the foothills, and in Naphoth-dor to the west;
- 2 Kings 15:29
Through
Judges 20:1Then all the Israelites from Dan to Beersheba and from the land of Gilead came out, and the congregation assembled as one man before the LORD at Mizpah.
it leads to
- Judges 11:11
So Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him their leader and commander. And Jephthah repeated all his terms in the presence of the LORD at Mizpah.
- 2 Samuel 3:10
to transfer the kingdom from the house of Saul and to establish the throne of David over Israel and Judah, from Dan to Beersheba.”
- Joshua 22:12
And when they heard this, the whole congregation of Israel assembled at Shiloh to go to war against them.
- 1 Samuel 10:17
After this, Samuel summoned the people to the LORD at Mizpah
- Judges 11:11
Through
Genesis 14:14And when Abram heard that his relative had been captured, he mobilized the 318 trained men born in his household, and they set out in pursuit as far as Dan.
it leads to
- Genesis 15:3
Abram continued, “Behold, You have given me no offspring, so a servant in my household will be my heir.”
- Genesis 17:12
Generation after generation, every male must be circumcised when he is eight days old, including those born in your household and those purchased from a foreigner—even those who are not your offspring.
- Genesis 15:3
About Judges

Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the 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: Joshua, Judges, Ruth and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
