Deuteronomy 33:22

22 About the tribe of Dan he said: "Dan is a young lion; He leaps out 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 About the tribe of Gad he said: "Praise God, who made their territory large. Gad waits like a lion To tear off an arm or a scalp.

21 They took the best of the land for themselves; A leader's share was assigned to them. They obeyed the Lord's commands and laws When the leaders of Israel were gathered together."

22 About the tribe of Dan he said: "Dan is a young lion; He leaps out from Bashan."

23 About the tribe of Naphtali he said: "Naphtali is richly blessed by the Lord's good favor; Their land reaches to the south from Lake Galilee."

24 About the tribe of Asher he said: "Asher is blessed more than the other tribes. May he be the favorite of his brothers, And may his land be rich with olive trees.