Deuteronomy 33:22

22 Then he told Dan: "Dan is a lion cub. He jumps up from Bashan."

Deuteronomy 33:22 Meaning and Commentary

Deuteronomy 33:22

And of Dan he said
Of the tribe of Dan, as the Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem:

Dan [is] a lion's whelp;
or like one for boldness, strength, and courage; and was verified in Samson, who was of this tribe; who, when a young lion roared against him, the Spirit of the Lord came on him, and he tore it to pieces, ( Judges 14:5 Judges 14:6 ) ;

he shall leap from Bashan;
not Dan, for he was seated far from that country; but the sense is, he was like to a young lion for its strength, when it leaps from Bashan, as Aben Ezra rightly explains it. Bashan was a mountain in which lions haunted, and from whence they might be said to leap, as they do when they seize on their prey: it may have some respect to the leap of the Danites from the northwest part of the land of Israel, where they were settled, but was not sufficient for them, to the northeast of it, when they went against Leshem, and took it, and called it Dan; see ( Joshua 19:47 ) .

Deuteronomy 33:22 In-Context

20 Then he told Gad: "May Gad's broad lands be blessed! He lives like a lion: he rips an arm, even a head!

21 He chose the best part for himself because there, where the commander's portion was, the leaders of the people gathered together. Gad executed the LORD's justice and the Lord's judgments for Israel."

22 Then he told Dan: "Dan is a lion cub. He jumps up from Bashan."

23 Then he told Naphtali: "Naphtali—you are full of favor, overflowing with the LORD's blessing— go possess the west and the south!"

24 Finally, he told Asher: "Asher is the most blessed of sons. I pray that he's his brothers' favorite— one who dips his foot in fine oil.