We end the month of July with my poem and study on the tribe of Dan. We have the introduction of Bilhah, Rachel's maid, with the birth of Dan, and I also take a look at some of the significant elements of his tribe. May it bless you today! Love Lucy x
The Tribe Of Dan
Key Facts
Order of birth- Fifth
Order of blessing- Seventh
Mother- Bilhah
Meaning of name- Judge or Justice is served
Character details- Hated his brother Joseph, and played his part in selling him into slavery.
Tribe details- Had a strong connection to the sea, cunning in nature with a potential for causing disruption. Had the role of judges and depicted as fierce warriors. Possibly the tribe from which the Antichrist will come. Known for idolatry, absent from mention in Revelation 7 regarding the 144,000 sealed from the tribes of Israel.
Symbol of tribe- Weighing Scales or a Serpent
Land allocation- Initially they settled in the central coastal region, but later moved north after facing conflict with the Philistines. They conquered the city of Laish and renamed it Dan.
Relevant Scriptures
Genesis 30:1-6
“Now when Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister, and said to Jacob, “Give me children, or else I die!”
And Jacob’s anger was aroused against Rachel, and he said, “Am I in the place of God, who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?”
So she said, “Here is my maid Bilhah; go in to her, and she will bear a child on my knees, that I also may have children by her.”
Then she gave him Bilhah her maid as wife, and Jacob went in to her. And Bilhah conceived and bore Jacob a son. Then Rachel said, “God has judged my case; and He has also heard my voice and given me a son.” Therefore she called his name Dan.”
Genesis 49:1 & 16-18
“And Jacob called his sons and said, 'Gather together, that I may tell you what shall befall you in the last days:
Dan shall judge his people As one of the tribes of Israel.
Dan shall be a serpent by the way, A viper by the path, That bites the horse’s heels So that its rider shall fall backward.
I have waited for your salvation, O Lord!'”
DanThe Tribe Of Dan
Key Facts
Order of birth- Fifth
Order of blessing- Seventh
Mother- Bilhah
Meaning of name- Judge or Justice is served
Character details- Hated his brother Joseph, and played his part in selling him into slavery.
Tribe details- Had a strong connection to the sea, cunning in nature with a potential for causing disruption. Had the role of judges and depicted as fierce warriors. Possibly the tribe from which the Antichrist will come. Known for idolatry, absent from mention in Revelation 7 regarding the 144,000 sealed from the tribes of Israel.
Symbol of tribe- Weighing Scales or a Serpent
Land allocation- Initially they settled in the central coastal region, but later moved north after facing conflict with the Philistines. They conquered the city of Laish and renamed it Dan.
Relevant Scriptures
Genesis 30:1-6
“Now when Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister, and said to Jacob, “Give me children, or else I die!”
And Jacob’s anger was aroused against Rachel, and he said, “Am I in the place of God, who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?”
So she said, “Here is my maid Bilhah; go in to her, and she will bear a child on my knees, that I also may have children by her.”
Then she gave him Bilhah her maid as wife, and Jacob went in to her. And Bilhah conceived and bore Jacob a son. Then Rachel said, “God has judged my case; and He has also heard my voice and given me a son.” Therefore she called his name Dan.”
Genesis 49:1 & 16-18
“And Jacob called his sons and said, 'Gather together, that I may tell you what shall befall you in the last days:
Dan shall judge his people As one of the tribes of Israel.
Dan shall be a serpent by the way, A viper by the path, That bites the horse’s heels So that its rider shall fall backward.
I have waited for your salvation, O Lord!'”
Twelve tribes of Israel from twelve different brothers,
All the sons of Jacob, but from four different mothers.
Leah bore him six of them, while two came from Zilpah.
Rachel bore another two, and two more came from Bilhah.
Dan was fifth in order, and Bilhah was his mother.
Though Rachel’s maid gave birth, he’d be the child of another.
Credited as Rachel’s son, this brother’s name means “judge”;
Unveiling bitter jealousy as Rachel held a grudge.
Envious of Leah and the sons she had produced,
We hear her words to Jacob and the strife this introduced.
Rachel blamed her husband through a harsh and desperate cry.
“Give me children, Jacob! Or else I surely die!”
The man who’d worked for seven years to claim her as his bride
Responded to his wife as anger rose from deep inside.
Declaring he did not possess the power of God’s throne,
Jacob’s words reveal he had frustrations of his own.
So Rachel gave him Bilhah to end her tribulation,
Then claimed Dan’s birth as victory and blesséd vindication!
Clearly, she believed this proved that God had heard her prayers.
A woeful situation for this family, full of cares.
Then Jacob’s words of blessing spoke once more about his name;
As “Dan” means “judge,” so too, his tribe would also do the same.
Great heroes would emerge to keep all things in one accord.
Proclaiming to the people, “Keep the statutes of the Lord.”
And yet, in spite of all of this, there’s sorrow, clear to see,
For with the tribe of Dan, we find a deep idolatry.
Influenced by pagan gods, they stumbled all the nation,
But thankfully, this leads us on to God’s plan of salvation!
Exodus 2:1-3
“And God spoke all these words, saying:
“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
You shall have no other gods before Me.””
Insight to Dan
Mother-Bilhah, on behalf of Rachel
The birth of Dan shows us the first of Jacob’s sons not born through his first wife, Leah. At this point, Leah has given birth to four boys, yet her sister, Rachel, has been unable to conceive so far. The text instantly lets us see the envy this caused in Rachel’s heart, adding layer upon layer to the tension and strife within this family.
Up to this point, we’ve heard a lot about Leah’s jealousy over the love and affection Jacob shows towards Rachel. In Genesis 30, however, we now hear that it’s not only Leah who’s filled with envy but Rachel too. While Rachel may have the more attractive looks and the attention of a devoted husband, it’s Leah who has the children and the ability to produce offspring.
As I mentioned in my studies of Reuben and Zebulun, the culture of the day placed great importance on producing male offspring within a family, and so this gives deeper context for the cause of Rachel’s heartache and sorrow. There was a great pressure on women to provide male children, and quite a social stigma attached to childlessness.
This certainly helps us appreciate more deeply the intensity of Rachel’s sorrow as she cried to Jacob, “Give me children, or else I die!” So while we’ve seen that Leah had a resentment towards Rachel, now we hear Rachel’s resentment towards Jacob as she places a pressure on him to provide her with children. The problem is, Jacob already has four sons with Leah. Clearly, he is able to produce children, highlighting that it’s not Jacob’s fault if Rachel isn’t conceiving. This seems to add yet another level of grief and tension to the situation, giving insight into the marital strife between the two. It certainly reveals the truth that no marriage is completely free from challenging times and difficult seasons, even one that is well paired and founded in love.
The text then reveals to us Jacob’s own frustrated response to his wife as his anger is roused against her accusations. This is when Rachel then resorts to fixing the issue through human efforts and gives her maid, Bilhah, to Jacob to conceive and bear a child on her behalf. I took a closer look at the handmaid system in my study of Issachar last month and explained how this was never a part of God’s plan for marriage but a manmade system used for a time within that culture.
I think it’s interesting to note that whenever we see polygamous marriages within Scripture, they’re always unhappy and full of conflict. It emphasises the truth that God’s intention for marriage is one woman for one man, and the continual upset we see between Jacob and his wives is clear evidence for this! The text tells us that Rachel saw Bilhah as a way to end her suffering, however, and she “gave him Bilhah her maid as wife.” This doesn’t mean Jacob actually married Bilhah; it simply means he lay with her as a man would lie with his wife.
Bilhah then goes on to conceive and give birth to a son, whom Rachel calls “Dan.” She triumphantly declares, “God has judged my case; and He has also heard my voice and given me a son.” It’s interesting to hear that Rachel considers this child, who has been born through human scheming, to be a divine victory for her. It seems she feels vindicated, and that Dan’s birth is proof that God has listened to her prayers.
After years of goading and torment from Leah, Rachel finally has a child to call her own and “a horse in the race,” so to speak! At last, she has something to hold up to her older sister in the competition to be Jacob’s most valuable wife.
Interestingly, there’s no mention of Bilhah’s feelings or thoughts on the matter; it seems the focus is solely on the desperate rivalry and rather sad situation between the two sisters who share a husband. It’s hard to imagine what Bilhah would have been thinking during all of these events, as she’s a woman in a very different time and culture. The narrative gives Bilhah no voice at all, and so we’re left to our own imagination for what this woman’s response was as Rachel’s proxy seed bearer.
While the text may not hone in on Bilhah’s personal details or emotions, we know God wouldn’t have overlooked this woman. When we study other passages of Scripture, we see many times how God provides comfort and help for people who are powerless, voiceless, and victims of their circumstances. For example, when Hagar fled from Sarai’s cruelty in Genesis 16, the Lord sent an angel to minister to her and provide for her, causing Hagar to praise the Lord.
Later, in Genesis 21, we read about how Abraham sent Hagar away with their son, Ishmael, because of Sarah’s disdain for them. The Scriptures go on to show us that God heard Ishmael’s dying cries and provided for both him and his mother. God took care of Hagar and Ishmael when others wouldn’t, and many times throughout the Bible, we see God’s mercy, care, love, provision, and faithfulness shine through the marginalised and their undesirable situations.
I would like to think that when it comes to Bilhah, we can rest in knowing that the steadfast love and reliable character of God would have ministered to her too. We really don’t know what she was feeling as she was used as a pawn to achieve other people’s hopes and dreams. What we do know, however, is that God hears the prayers of the weak and needy. He sees the plight of the soul in need. I’d like to think that if Bilhah called out to God, as Hagar did in her own situation, God would have faithfully met and ministered to Bilhah in the midst of her circumstances too.
Jacob’s Prophetic Blessing
Jacob’s seventh blessing goes to his fifth son, Dan, as he declares,
“Dan shall judge his people
As one of the tribes of Israel.”
Just as Dan’s name means “judge,” so too, his father states that the people of his tribe will act as judges among the nation of Israel. This isn’t in the sense of judges who sit in a courtroom, but rather, they would act as deliverers and heroes who stand up against wickedness. Dan’s tribe would be a nation that would give their lives in service to protect and proclaim the ways of the Lord.
One of the most well-known judges who came from the tribe of Dan was, of course, Samson. He was certainly far from perfect and had his faults and flaws, but Samson is remembered as one of the greatest judges in Israel who was a direct descendant of Dan.
Jacob’s blessing then goes on to say,
“Dan shall be a serpent by the way, A viper by the path, That bites the horse’s heels So that its rider shall fall backward.”
The serpent is often used in Scripture as a symbol for sin and judgement, once again making reference to the meaning of Dan’s name and the role of those within his tribe.
Sadly and ironically, the sin of idolatry in Israel originated largely through the tribe of Dan. Jacob’s words here are perhaps referring to how their idolatry would cause the nation of Israel to fall backwards, away from the things of the Lord.
When the tribes of Israel were allocated portions of land, the tribe of Dan was originally given a central coastal region of Canaan. Due to pressure from the Amorites and Philistines, they struggled to fully occupy this area, and so they migrated north, settling just above the Sea of Galilee. They captured the city of Laish and renamed it Dan.
This meant they were closer to the pagan world than any other tribe and were constantly being trampled on and conquered by pagan nations. They ultimately became influenced by this paganism, which, in turn, led them to becoming the most pagan of all the tribes of Israel. We know from Deuteronomy 29 that any tribe involved in the sin of idolatry would cause God’s anger to be roused against them, excluding them from their inheritance, which shows us once again the theme of sin and judgement.
Something worthy of note is that with Jacob’s prophetic blessing to the tribe of Dan, we start to see future things being spoken of when it comes to Israel as a nation. So far, through Jacob’s blessings to his sons, we’ve seen the nation of Israel go from being a disappointing people to a dispersed people, a delivered people, an exiled people, and then an exploited people. These are things that we can see have already happened in Israel’s history.
Dan now represents what’s going to take place for the nation of Israel in the future, the things still to come in our current time. Dan’s tribe takes us to the tribulation period and speaks of things yet to happen. What we see now through Jacob’s words is that Dan represents Israel becoming a poisoned people.
This may be something Jacob was also addressing when he mentions the serpent in his blessing to Dan. The serpent often represents the devil throughout Scripture, and this has led many rabbis and scholars to believe that Jacob’s words are a foreshadowing of a figure who will oppose God, a false Messiah who will come from the tribe of Dan. Often referred to as the Antichrist, he will be one who is poisonous, sly, treacherous, energised, and empowered by the serpent, Satan.
Ezekiel 38 and 39 show us that the Antichrist will act as a poison amongst the Jewish people, causing great problems for the nation of Israel in the future. This suggestion has also caused many to believe this is why the tribe of Dan is not mentioned in Revelation 7, where we have the list of the 144,000 sealed from the tribes of Israel.
We go on to read that Jacob’s last words to Dan are, “I have waited for your salvation, O Lord!” The word Jacob uses when he says “salvation” is the Hebrew word, Yeshua, which in the Greek is Iesous, or in English, Jesus. Jacob is basically saying, “I have waited for Jesus to come!” It seems that the mention of the serpent and the oncoming trouble through Dan and his tribe causes Jacob to spontaneously cry out, “Jesus, come quickly!”
Thankfully, this negative picture isn’t necessarily the end of the matter for the tribe of Dan. Some scholars believe Jacob may have said this to show there is a positive end to their situation. In Ezekiel 48, there’s a division of the land given to the tribes of Israel during the thousand-year millennial reign of Christ. Verse 1 of this chapter tells us that there’s a portion of land given to the tribe of Dan, showing that they are reinstated during the Kingdom Age.
Closing Thoughts
Idolatry seems to be a main theme when it comes to the tribe of Dan. It can also become a theme in our own hearts and lives if we’re not careful. Idols aren’t necessarily as easy to spot as we may think they are. Often, when we think of “idol worship,” we picture people bowing before the image of a golden calf or a statue of Buddha. Idols are simply the things we place in importance above God, however. Whatever we give priority to in our lives and whatever sits on the top seat in our hearts, if it isn't Jesus Christ, then it's an idol. As the Bible tells us in Exodus 20:3,
“You shall have no other gods before Me.”
Now might be a good time to ask ourselves some questions for reflection:
Is there anything in my life that I’ve been prioritising over my relationship with Jesus? Who am I living for, and what am I most passionate about? Am I being influenced by the idols of this world? Is my faith being trampled on by the ways of those around me who don’t worship Jesus as their Saviour? Has my faith become diluted and compromised my witness?
Let’s ask the Lord to help us recognise any idols that may have snuck into our lives, making sure we keep Jesus on the throne of our hearts. The tribe of Dan gives us a clear picture of how damaging idolatry is, both for ourselves and for those around us, so may Jesus always have His rightful place in our lives as our First Love!
