Deuteronomy 33:22

22 Moses said this about the tribe of Dan: “Dan is a lion’s cub, leaping 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 Moses said this about the tribe of Gad: “Blessed is the one who enlarges Gad’s territory! Gad is poised there like a lion to tear off an arm or a head.

21 The people of Gad took the best land for themselves; a leader’s share was assigned to them. When the leaders of the people were assembled, they carried out the LORD ’s justice and obeyed his regulations for Israel.”

22 Moses said this about the tribe of Dan: “Dan is a lion’s cub, leaping out from Bashan.”

23 Moses said this about the tribe of Naphtali: “O Naphtali, you are rich in favor and full of the LORD ’s blessings; may you possess the west and the south.”

24 Moses said this about the tribe of Asher: “May Asher be blessed above other sons; may he be esteemed by his brothers; may he bathe his feet in olive oil.