Deuteronomy 33:22

_AND OF DAN HE SAID, DAN IS A LION'S WHELP: HE SHALL LEAP FROM BASHAN._ Dan is a lion's whelp, х_ QUWR_ (H6979) _ 'ARYEEH_ (H738)] - a cub; differing from х_ KªPIYR_ (H3715)] a young lion weaned, mud beginning to catch prey for itself. Dan is here called "a lion's whelp," in the knowledge or prophetic anticipation of his tribal character, when developed in future; and accordingly Burckhardt renders the clause. HE SHALL LEAP - i:e., after he shall have grown up and commenced looking out for prey. FROM BASHAN The territory allotted to Dan in the southwest of Canaan having been found insufficient he FROM BASHAN. The territory allotted to Dan in the southwest of Canaan having been found insufficient, he, by a sudden and successful irruption, established a colony in the northern extr

22._And of Dan he said. _He foretells that the tribe of Dan, like that of Gad, should be warlike, not so much from voluntary disposition, as from necessity; for their love of war was not to be deemed praiseworthy, inasmuch as it is altogether contrary to humanity; but because the unscrupulousness of the enemies, by which that tribe was infested, compelled them to take up arms. He compares it to a lion impetuously leaping from Mount Bashan; and the particle of comparison must be understood here, for Mount Bashan was not situated in the territory of this tribe. But Moses means to say that they should be as ready for the combat as a lion, which, after it has issued from its den into the open plains, makes an attack upon every one that it meets....

6-23 The order in which the tribes are here blessed, is not the same as is observed elsewhere. The blessing of Judah may refer to the whole tribe in general, or to David as a type of Christ. Moses largely blesses the tribe of Levi. Acceptance with God is what we should all aim at, and desire, in all our devotions, whether men accept us or not, 2 Corinthians 5:9. This prayer is a prophecy, that God will keep up a ministry in his church to the end of time. The tribe of Benjamin had their inheritance close to mount Zion. To be situated near the ordinances, is a precious gift from the Lord, a privilege not to be exchanged for any worldly advantage, or indulgence. We should thankfully receive the earthly blessings sent to us, through the successive seasons. But those good gifts which come down from the Father of lights, through the rising of the Sun of righteousness, and the pouring out of h...

Verse Deuteronomy 33:22. _DAN_ IS _A LION'S WHELP: HE SHALL LEAP FROM BASHAN._] The Jewish interpreters observe that Bashan was a place much frequented by _lions_, who issued thence into all parts to look for prey. By this probably Moses intended to point out the strength and prowess of this tribe, that it should extend its territories, and live a sort of predatory life. It appears from Joshua 19:47, that the portion originally assigned to this tribe was not sufficient for them; hence we find them going out to war against _Leshem_ and taking it, adding it to their territories, and calling it by the name of the tribe. Jacob, in his prophetic blessing of this tribe, represents it under the notion of a _serpent in the_ _path_,...

Dan shall be like a lion which leaps forth from his covert in Bashan. Compare Song of Solomon 4:8....

EXPOSITION MOSES' BLESSING. Before ascending Mount Nebo, to take a view of the land he was not permitted to cuter and then to die, Moses took farewell of the people he had so long guided and ruled, by pronouncing on them a blessing in their several tribes. This blessing was probably spoken on the same day as the song recorded in the preceding chapter, and to the same assembly. The one may be regarded as the counterpart of the other. In the song, Moses dwells chiefly on the calamities that were to befall the people because of their apostasy; in the blessing, he depicts the benefits that were to be enjoyed by them through the Divine favor. The tone of the one is somber and minatory; the tone of the other is serene and cheering. The one presents the darker side, the other the brighter side, of Israel's fortunes. Both were fitting utterances for the occasion: the one the farewell warning, t...

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; 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

3. THE BLESSING OF MOSES Chapter S 32:44-33:29 _ 1. Introduction (Deuteronomy 32:44)_ 2. Jehovah's manifestation (Deuteronomy 33:1) 3. The blessing of Reuben, Judah and Levi (Deuteronomy 33:6) 4. The blessing of Benjamin and Joseph (Deuteronomy 33:12) 5. The blessing of Zebulon and Issachar (Deuteronomy 33:18) 6. The blessing of Gad, Dan, Nephtali and Asher ...

DEUTERONOMY 33. THE BLESSING OF MOSES. Of this poem (quite unconnected with the context) the following statements may be made: (_a)_ It was composed during the prosperous reign of Jeroboam II (786- 746 B.C.) A date after the disruption is required by Deuteronomy 33:7; a period of prosperity by Deuteronomy 33:13. Prior to 786 B.C. Israel had been ruled by petty kings, and after 746 B.C. the Northern Kingdom had a long and disastrous struggle with Damascus. (_b)_ The writer belonged to the Northern Kingdom, and therefore gives far more prominence to Israel (Joseph) than to Judah. (_c)_ He was a member of the priestly class (Deuteronomy 33:8). Accepting the above conclusions, it follo

DAN. Compare Genesis 49:16....