Deuteronomy 33:22

22 And of Dan he said, "Dan [is] a cub of [a] lion; he leaps 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 And of Gad he said, "Blessed [be] {the one who enlarges Gad}; like a lion he dwells, and he tears an arm as well as a scalp.

21 And he selected [the] best [part] for himself, for there [the] portion of a ruler [is] included, and he came [with the] heads of [the] people; he did the righteousness of Yahweh, and his regulations for Israel."

22 And of Dan he said, "Dan [is] a cub of [a] lion; he leaps from Bashan."

23 And of Naphtali, he said, "Oh, Naphtali, sated of favor, and full of the blessing of Yahweh; take possession of [the] lake, and [the land to the] south."

24 And of Asher he said, "Blessed {more than sons} [is] Asher; {may he be the favorite} of his brothers, {dipping his feet in the oil}.

Footnotes

• [a]. Hebrew "the Bashan," referring to a well-known geographical and agricultural area