Deuteronomy 33:22

22 Also he said to Dan, Dan, a whelp of a lion, shall flow largely from Bashan. (And he said of the tribe of Dan, Dan is a whelp of a lion, 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 And he said to Gad, Gad is blessed in broadness; he rested as a lion, and he took from his adversary the arm and the noll. (And he said of the tribe of Gad, Gad is blessed in their broad places; they rest like a lion, but they tear off the arms and the tops of the heads of their adversaries.)

21 And he saw his princehood, that he was kept a teacher in his part; the which was with (the) princes of the people, and he did the rightfulnesses of the Lord, and his doom with Israel. (And they chose the best land for themselves, a ruler's portion, when the leaders of the people were gathered together; and they did the justice of the Lord, and his laws, or his judgements, with Israel.)

22 Also he said to Dan, Dan, a whelp of a lion, shall flow largely from Bashan. (And he said of the tribe of Dan, Dan is a whelp of a lion, leaping out from Bashan.)

23 And he said to Naphtali, Naphtali shall use abundance, and he shall be full with blessings of the Lord; and he shall wield the sea and the south. (And he said of the tribe of Naphtali, Naphtali shall have great abundance, and they shall be full of the Lord's blessings; they shall take the land southward from Lake Galilee.)

24 Also he said to Asher, Asher, be blessed in sons, and please he his brethren; dip he his foot in oil. (And he said of the tribe of Asher, Asher is the most blessed of the tribes; may they be the favourite among their brothers, or their kinsmen, and may they bathe their feet in oil.)