Deuteronomy 33:22

22 And of Dan he said: -- Dan [is] a lion's whelp; he doth leap 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 of the Enlarger [is] Gad, As a lioness he doth tabernacle, And hath torn the arm -- also the crown!

21 And he provideth the first part for himself, For there the portion of the lawgiver is covered, And he cometh [with] the heads of the people; The righteousness of Jehovah he hath done, And His judgments with Israel.

22 And of Dan he said: -- Dan [is] a lion's whelp; he doth leap from Bashan.

23 And of Naphtali he said: -- O Naphtali, satisfied with pleasure, And full of the blessing of Jehovah, West and south possess thou.

24 And of Asher he said: -- Blessed with sons [is] Asher, Let him be accepted by his brethren, And dipping in oil his foot.