Devarim 33:22

22 And of Dan he said, Dan is a gur aryeh (lion’s whelp); he shall leap from Bashan.

Devarim 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 ) .

Devarim 33:22 In-Context

20 And of Gad he said, Baruch be he that enlargeth Gad; he dwelleth as a lion, and teareth the zero’a as well as the crown of the head.

21 And he provided the reshit for himself, when the chelkat mechokek (lawgiver’s chelek) was assigned. When the Rashei Am came, he executed the Tzidkat Hashem, and His mishpatim with Yisroel.

22 And of Dan he said, Dan is a gur aryeh (lion’s whelp); he shall leap from Bashan.

23 And of Naphtali he said, O Naphtali, satisfied with ratzon, and full with the Birkat Hashem; possess thou the west and the south.

24 And of Asher he said, Baruch be Asher with banim; let him be acceptable to his brethren, and let him tovel (dip, immerse as in tevilah) his foot in shemen.