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The Tribe of Dan,
Judgment, and Justice.
Contents:
The Birth of Dan. Judgment.
Dan in Exile.
Judah in Dan.
Dan in Judah.
Legalistic and Pugnacious Aspects of Dan.
Samson and Judgment.
Dan and the Serpent Path.
Dan in Biblical Codes.
Dan to Gather Up the Stragglers!
Idolatry.
Dan, Depression, and Justice.
YouTube Clip: "Dan and Judgment".
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The Birth of Dan. Judgment.
Genesis 30
1 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!'
2 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?'
3 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.'
4 Then she gave him Bilhah her maid as wife, and Jacob went in to her.
5 And Bilhah conceived and bore Jacob a son. 6 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.
Dan was born out of judgment. The very name DAN in Hebrew means "Judge"!
This is reflected in the declaration of Rachel, "God has judged my case".
Dan in Exile.
The Tribe of Dan was part of the Ten Tribes in the northern Kingdom of Israel. Dan in the Land of Israel was split into at least three different sections. All the inhabitants of "Israel" were taken into captivity by the Assyrians and driven forth to various parts of the Assyrian Empire. They lost their identity and became the Lost Ten Tribes of Israel. Dan was part of them. The purpose of the Exile was in order to became like the Gentiles and uplift them from inside. To become "a great and mighty nation" (Genesis 18:18) in order to establish "justice and judgement" (Genesis 18:19).
See:
The Purpose of Exile and Loss of Identity.
http://britam.org/Purpose.html
The Divine Purpose for the Exile and Division of the Tribes
http://britam.org/tape3.html
Dan too was part of this.
Actually, the Tribe of Dan according to different legends may have been exiled or otherwise left the region of Israel before the other Tribes. A legend transmitted by Eldad HaDani says that when Jeroboam son of Nebat led the Ten Tribes away from Judah hostilities broke out between Judah and Israel. Rather than engage in fratricidal strife the Tribe of Dan (or a part of it) left the Land of its own free will. Eldad HaDani was apparently an inhabitant of Khazaria. His very name testifies to Danite origins, "HaDani" in Hebrew means "The Danite". The Don River, Dneister, and Danube and other waterways are named after Dan. There are those who claim that the Don River etc are named after a European root meaning "water". We have evidence however that it is in fact an ethnic connotation.
In the course of their peregrinations a section of Dan conquered parts of Greece. They strongly influenced the formation of Greek civilization. Numerically however they were few and according to Irish legend left Greece at a later date.
We identify the descendants of Dan with the Danes of Denmark and with part of the Irish and Welsh in Britain.
Judah in Dan
In "The Tribes" we show how in several cases offshoots from Judah accompanied groups of Danites. Amongst the Danites in Exile are also to be found descendants of Judah. In many ways the Irish and Jews are diametrically opposed to each other. On the other hand there also prevails a strange similarity, even at times in appearance.
# ED KOCH, former Jewish Mayor of New York City, once told U. S. Cardinal John O?Conner, an American of Irish descent, "The TEN LOST TRIBES OF ISRAEL we [Jews] believe ended up in Ireland" (U. S. News & World Report, March 17, 1987). #
http://tentribes.blogspot.com/2007_06_01_archive.html
Dan in Judah
A small number of Danites are also to be found amongst the present-day Jews. Judah was originally comprised of the Tribes of Judah and Benjamin. Later the Levites joined them. Eventually a minority representative relatively small number of refugees from the Kingdom of Israel also came to Judah. Technically Judah contains representative portions of all the Twelve Tribes but only the original three predominate, i.e. Judah, Benjamin, and Levi.
Legalistic and Pugnacious Aspects of Dan.
The Talmud (Pesachim 4) gives an anecdote about someone who was constantly saying, "Let us go to judgement at court".
They concluded that he was descended from Dan.
In the USA many of the policemen, judges, and lawyers, are of Irish descent.
S. Gusten Olsen ("The Incredible Nordic Origins", 1981) tells us that in Norway most of the circuit judgers used to be descended from Danes.
The Irish have a reputation for violence or rather for always fighting with friends and associates. This is grossly exaggerated.
Most Irishmen are law-abiding and well-behaved, even gentle. There are exceptions.
If due to the there being something to this reputation then it emanates from a feeling of need for justice. The Irish alacrity for fisticuffs where it exists is often an expression of need for redress. It is not violence for the sake of it nor lust for mastery.
This does not mean that it is justified or praiseworthy. Often it is unjustified and may even verge on the criminal. Even so, it exists to some extent and where its effects are negative may be considered a pathologically misdirected search for Judgment.
This too may be an expression of Dan.
Samson and Judgment.
Samson was from the Tribe of Dan.
Samson was captured by the Philistines who poked his eyes out.
Samson died by pulling down the building in which numerous Philistines were assembled.
Samson had been their erstwhile opponent. They had gathered together to celebrate their idol and had decided to mock Samson.
Before he died, Samson asked God to give him strength and help him take revenge on his captors.
Judges 16:
28 Then Samson called to the LORD, saying, 'O Lord GOD, remember me, I pray! Strengthen me, I pray, just this once, O God, that I may with one blow take vengeance on the Philistines for my two eyes!'
This is as if Samson asked God to judge him and help him revenge the loss of his eyesight.
Samson in effect was saying to God that he had been created different from others. For better or for worse, Samson had unique qualities and propensities. He asked the Almighty to enable him to make one last final vindicative use of his uniqueness.
Rafael Menachem Shlanger ("Shiftei Nachalateca") discusses this incident and suggests that this too reflects an aspect of judgement.
Rabbi Shlanger links the request of Samson to the principle that every being is created as they would have wished to be if they had have been given the choice. This is an aspect of "judgment".
Everything and every being was created,
# "in accordance to how they would have wanted to become" [Hebrew: "Be-Tsivyon-am"] According to the reasoning of each and every one and in the individual imprinted formation of each one.# (Rashi on Rosh Hashana 13a, cf. Hulin 60a.)
See:
Brit-Am Now no. 1477
#3. You Were Created as You Would Have Wanted to Be! The Source.
http://britam.org/now2/1477Now.html#You
Brit-Am Now no. 1601
#1. Brit-Am Replies to Query by Diane Herndon: You Were Born As You Agreed and Wished to Be!
http://www.britam.org/now2/1601Now.html
Brit-Am Now no. 1602
#1. Michelle Bowie: Talmudic Saying Encompassed by Scripture
http://britam.org/now2/1602Now.html
Each and every one of us in their own way is a "Little Samson". We are all unique. We wish to express this uniqueness. This is one of the elementary human urges.
Mankind is created with Five Basic Needs:
1. Survival.
2. Procreation.
3. Belonging to a Group.
4. Expressing Individual Uniqueness.
5. Serving a Higher Cause.
Samson prayed that through his death some of these Needs should be fulfilled. His prayer was answered.
Dan and the Serpent Path.
Jacob blessed Dan:
Genesis 49:
16 'Dan shall judge his people As one of the tribes of Israel.
17 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.
18 I have waited for your salvation, O LORD!
In Biblical Exegesis a prediction especially a blessing may have manifold applications.
The Sages said that one application of being "A viper by the path" was exemplified by Samson. Samson was enormously strong but partly lame in his legs. This caused him to drag his feet as he walked. The trail of Samson on the dusty path was similar to that left by a snake who has wriggled across the road.
Another aspect of this serpent trail is the habit of the Tribe of Dan leaving places named after their forefather Dan everywhere they went (Judges 18).
Dan in Biblical Codes.
The Tribe of Dan.
In Hebrew the expression "Tribe of Dan" is found as "Mateh Dan" and "Shevet HaDani".
Both "Shevet" and "Mateh" connote "staff".
A Biblical Codes search suggested islands, surrounded by Ocean, and the word "Thule".
This is applicable to Ireland, the British Isles, Scandinavia, and North America.
The Gaedhal (of Nial) and Iberni of Ireland were also found.
http://www.britam.org/codesarticles/CodesDan.html
Denmark came up with Dan.
http://www.britam.org/codescountries/CodesDenmark.html
Ireland came up with Asher, King David, Yehudah, Tarshish.
We only found Dan around Donegal in Northwest Ireland where descendants of Nial according to DNA findings comprise ca. 20% of the population.
http://www.britam.org/codesarticles/CodesIreland.html
Maybe more specific searches will come up with different results?
Dan to Gather Up the Stragglers!
The Tribe of Dan when the Israelites came out of Egypt headed the northern triumvirate of Dan, Asher, and Naphtali.
Dan is described as "the rear guard of all the camps" (Numbers 10:25). In Hebrew this is "ama-asef lecol ha-machaneh" or literally "The one who gathers up (or shepherds in) for the rest of the camp". Dan was to gather up the stragglers. In Jewish popular tradition Dan is associated with the recovery of lost objects.
In our article,
Dan - Tribal Characteristics in a Nutshell
http://www.britam.org/tribes/DanTC.html
we described Dan as a "a pioneer, a trailblazer".
This is only partly correct. Dan also has a conservative reserved streak. He may be potentially very brave but paradoxically loath to take chances.
He also may be slow but catches up later.
This is reflected even in his procreation record.
The Patriarch Dan only had one son known as "Hushim" (Genesis 46:23) or as Shuham (Numbers 26:42).
Even though Dan had only one son and other Tribal ancestors had several it was Dan who was ultimately to overtake them in numbers.
When they came out of Egypt the Tribe of Dan numbered 62,700 warriors (Numbers 1:38-39). This made them (after Judah) the second largest Tribe in Israel!
So too, Samson, limping along may have been a little tardy in reaching a place but when he did his strength ensured him leaving an impression.
Idolatry
Traditionally the Tribe of Dan was associated with idolatry.
Jeroboam King of Israel who lead the division from Judah set up two golden bull calves, one in Beth-el and the other in Dan (1-Kings 12:28-30).
Dan, Depression, and Justice.
The Tribe of Dan was originally in the southwest of Israel between Judah and Ephraim. A group of 600 Danites left to go north. On their way they abducted a Levite and an idol belonging to Micah who lived in Migron near Shiloh. Hoping to retrieve his officiating priest and deity Micah got together a local posse and pursued the Danites. When he met up with them the Danites warned him to desist lest "angry fellows" (Judges 18:25) do him justice. Realizing that discretion is the better part of valor Micah took their advice. The expression translated as "angry fellows" in Hebrew is "mari-nefesh" meaning literally "bitter of spirit". This evokes the experience of resentment over injustices done to them in the recent past. This is also a characteristic of Dan. A Danite might feel that injustice has been done to him though he is not always sure exactly what. He also feels for the injustice done to others. This too reflects the quality of being Dan, of judgement.
This may take an exaggerated dimension. In the USA, Irishmen, secular Jews, and Quakers of largely Welsh descent all have similar voting patterns.
In the Republic of Ireland (Eire) there are Irishmen who support the Palestinians against the Jews. They like to imagine the Palestinians have been done wrong by. This is false and the opposite of the truth. It is however a twisted perverted sense of seeking "justice and judgment" that has become so degraded as to verge on fratricidal adversity to Judah. In the eyes of the Almighty such transgression may well verge on idolatry!
In the case of the Danites and Micah they were misapplying the principle. It was as if they were saying, "We have been wronged unjustly in the past and therefore will not hesitate to wrong you in the present if you pressure us." Prior to this incident however Scripture has informed us how Micah himself was an idolater and a thief. Also, Jonathan the Levite was quite happy to be "abducted".
There are features in the story of Samson that tell us something about Dan, the Messiah and coming Redemption.
We hope to discuss these matters in a future article.
See:
Articles on the Tribe of Dan
http://www.britam.org/DanContents.html
| Dan and Judgment.avi Duration: 32.06 minutes |
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The Tribe of Dan went to Ireland, Britain, Wales, and Denmark. The name "Dan" means "Judgement". Aspects of the Tribal Characteristics and Goals of the Tribe of Dan reflect the search for Justice and Judgement. This was also in general the Purpose for the Ten Tribes being Exiled and Losing their identity. It was due to the Promise to Abraham the forefather. Dan was part of this. Samson the judge-hero came from Dan. Samson also reflects Danite characteristics. The case of Dan has implications for the Ten Tribes as a whole. |
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