Dan (Bible)

Twelve Tribes of Israel

• Simeon
• Levi
• Judah
• Dan
• Naftali
• Gad
• Ash
• Issachar
• Zebulun
• Josef Manasseh
• Ephraim

Dan (Hebrew דָּן Richter) is a biblical figure. He is the fifth son of Jacob and son of Bilhah, the handmaid of Rachel.

Dan is considered the founder, patriarch called, one of the Twelve Tribes of Israel ( the root of Dan ). His only direct descendant of his son Hushim.

An interpretation of the name is Dan " (God) has held court upholds " and probably comes from Genesis 30.6. Dan ( and his descendants ) is characterized by the blessing of Jacob as a judge and warrior.

The most notable biblical figure of the tribe of Dan is the judge Samson, from which the book tells the judge.

Originally, the tribe of Dan, west of Jerusalem was located. They were later pushed to the extreme north of Israel, where they (also Leshem, Laish or called Laish ) conquered the city of Laish. This re-named them in Dan. The city of Dan is probably identical with the discovery site of Tel Dan (also known as Tell al - Kadi known). The tribe of Dan was lost in the Babylonian exile. The occurring in biblical texts phrase " from Dan to Beersheba " means due to the northern location of Dan: the whole of Israel.

The Ethiopian Jews regard themselves as members of the tribe of Dan.

The Danites, a blood- avenging secret society from the early history of the Mormons, also named Dan.

The central region of the modern state of Israel in the Tel Aviv area is named after the historic settlement area of ​​the tribe of Dan Gush Dan.