Dan (sources)

Bible and Targums

Genesis

Genesis 14:14

MT -- When Abram heard that his nephew had been taken captive, he led forth his trained men, born in his house, three hundred eighteen of them, and went in pursuit as far as Dan.

LXX -- And Abram having heard that Lot his nephew had been taken captive, numbered his own home-born servants three hundred and eighteen, and pursued after them to Dan.

Tg Pseudo-Jonathan -- And when Abram heard that his brother was made captive, he armed his young men who were trained for war, grown up in his house; but they willed not to go with him. And he chose from them Eliezer the son of Nimrod, who was equal in strength to all the three hundred and eighteen; and he pursued unto Dan. [JERUSALEM. Domestics (marbitsi, down-liers) of his house, eighteen and three hundred, and pursued after them unto Dan of Kisarion.] And he divided them at night in the way; a part were to engage with the kings, and a part were hidden to smite the firstborn of Egypt. And he arose, he and his servants, and smote them, and pursued them which remained of them unto (the place) of the memorial of sin which was to be in Dan, from the north of Darmesek.

Tg Onkelos -- And Abram heard that his brother had been captured; and he armed the young men born in his house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued unto Dan.

Genesis 30:1-6

MT -- 1 When Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, she envied her sister; and she said to Jacob, "Give me children, or I shall die!" 2 Jacob became very angry with Rachel and said, "Am I in the place of God, who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?" 3 Then she said, "Here is my maid Bilhah; go in to her, that she may bear upon my knees and that I too may have children through her." 4 So she gave him her maid Bilhah as a wife; and Jacob went in to her. 5 And Bilhah conceived and bore Jacob a son. 6 Then Rachel said, "God has judged me, and has also heard my voice and given me a son"; therefore she named him Dan.

LXX -- 30:1 And Rachel having perceived that she bore Jacob no children, was jealous of her sister; and said to Jacob, Give me children; and if not, I shall die. 2 And Jacob was angry with Rachel, and said to her, Am I in the place of God, who has deprived thee of the fruit of the womb? 3 And Rachel said to Jacob, Behold my handmaid Balla, go in to her, and she shall bear upon my knees, and I also shall have children by her. 4 And she gave him Balla her maid, for a wife to him; and Jacob went in to her. 5 And Balla, Rachel’s maid, conceived, and bore Jacob a son. 6 And Rachel said, God has given judgment for me, and hearkened to my voice, and has given me a son; therefore she called his name, Dan.

Tg Pseudo-Jonathan -- And Rahel saw that she bare not to Jakob, and Rahel was envious of her sister, and said to Jakob, Pray before the Lord that He give me children; and if not, my life I shall reckon as the dead. And the anger of Jakob was stong against Rahel, and he said, Why do you ask of me? Ask before the Lord, from before whom are children, and who hath restrained from thee the fruit of the womb. And she said, Behold my handmaid Bilhah, enter with her, that she may bear, and I may increase and may be builded up from her. And she made her handmaid Bilhah free, and delivered her to him, and Jakob entered with her. And Bilhah conceived, and bare a son to Jakob. And Rahel said, The Lord hath judged me in His good mercies; He hath also heard the voice of my prayer, and given me a son; and so it is to be that He shall judge by the hand of Shimshon bar Manovach, who shall be of his seed; and hath he not delivered into his hand the people of the Philistaee? Therefore she called his name Dan.

Tg Onkelos -- And Rahel saw that she did not bear unto Jakob; and Rahel envied her sister, and she said to Jakob, Give me children; and if not, I die. And the anger of Jakob was incensed against Rahel, and he said, Why ask of me? Is it not before the Lord that thou shouldest ask, who hath denied thee the generation of the womb? And she said, Behold my handmaid Bilhah, go in unto her, and she shall bear, and I also shall nourish (children), and be builded up from her. And she gave him Bilhah her handmaid to wife; and Jakob went in unto her, and Bilhah conceived, and bare to Jakob a son. And Rahel said, The Lord hath judged me, and hath also received my prayer, and given me a son: therefore she called his name Dan.

Genesis 35:25

MT -- The sons of Bilhah, Rachel's maid: Dan and Naphtali.

LXX -- And the sons of Balla, the hand-maid of Rachel; Dan and Nephthalim.

Tg Pseudo-Jonathan -- The sons of Bilhah, the handmaid of Rahel, Dan and Naphtali;

Tg Onkelos -- The sons of Bilhah, the handmaid of Rahel, Dan and Naphtali;

Genesis 46:23

MT -- The children of Dan: Hashum.

LXX -- And the sons of Dan; Asom.

Tg Pseudo-Jonathan -- The sons of Dan, able men (or armed) and merchants, of whose numbers there is no end (or sum).

Tg Onkelos -- And the sons of Dan, Hushim

Genesis 49:16-18

MT -- 16 Dan shall judge his people as one of the tribes of Israel.17 Dan shall be a snake by the roadside, a viper along the path, that bites the horse's heels so that its rider falls backward. 18 I wait for your salvation, O Lord.

LXX -- 16 Dan shall judge his people, as one tribe too in Israel. 17 And let Dan be a serpent in the way, besetting the path, biting the heel of the horse (and the rider shall fall backward), 18 waiting for the salvation of the Lord.

Tg Pseudo-Jonathan -- From the house of Dan there is to arise a man who will judge his people with the judgment of truth. All the tribes of Israel will hearken to him together. A chosen man shall arise from the house of Dan, like the basilisk which lieth at the dividing of the way, and the serpent's head which lurketh by the way, that biteth the horse in his heel, and the master from his terror is thrown backward. Even thus will Shimshon bar Manovach slay all the heroes of Philistia, the horsemen and the foot; he will hamstring their horses and hurl their riders backwards.

Tg Onkelos -- From the house of Dan will be chosen and will arise a man in whose days his people shall be delivered, and in whose years the tribes of Israel have rest together. A chosen man will arise from the house of Dan, the terror of whom shall fall upon the peoples; (a man) who will smite the Philistines’ with strength, as the serpent, the deadly serpent, lurking by the way, be will slay the mighty of the Philistines host, the horsemen with the foot; he will weaken (loosen) the horses and chariots, and throw their riders backward. For thy salvation have I waited, O Lord!

Judges 13:1-5

MT -- 1 The Israelites again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord gave them into the hand of the Philistines forty years. 2 There was a certain man of Zorah, of the tribe of the Danites, whose name was Manoah. His wife was barren, having borne no children. 3 And the angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and said to her, "Although you are barren, having borne no children, you shall conceive and bear a son. 4 Now be careful not to drink wine or strong drink, or to eat anything unclean, 5 for you shall conceive and bear a son. No razor is to come on his head, for the boy shall be a nazirite to God from birth. It is he who shall begin to deliver Israel from the hand of the Philistines."

LXX -- And the children of Israel yet again committed iniquity before the Lord; and the Lord delivered them into the hand of the Phylistines forty years. 2 And there was a man of Saraa, of the family of the kindred of Dan, and his name was Manoe, and his wife was barren, and bore not. 3 And an angel of the Lord appeared to the woman, and said to her, Behold, thou art barren and hast not born; yet thou shalt conceive a son. 4 And now be very cautious, and drink no wine nor strong drink, and eat no unclean thing; 5 for behold, thou art with child, and shalt bring forth a son; and there shall come no razor upon his head, for the child shall be a Nazarite to God from the womb; and he shall begin to save Israel from the hand of the Phylistines.

Chronicles 2:1-2

NRSV - These are the sons of Israel: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun; 2 Dan, Joseph, and Benjamin, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher.

MT - אֵלֶּה, בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל: רְאוּבֵן שִׁמְעוֹן לֵוִי וִיהוּדָה, יִשָּׂשכָר וּזְבֻלוּן. דָּן יוֹסֵף וּבִנְיָמִן, נַפְתָּלִי גָּד וְאָשֵׁר

LXX - Ταῦτα τὰ ὀνόματα τῶν υἱῶν Ισραηλ· Ρουβην, Συμεων, Λευι, Ιουδα, Ισσαχαρ, Ζαβουλων, Δαν, Ιωσηφ, Βενιαμιν, Νεφθαλι, Γαδ, Ασηρ.

Testament Literature

THE TESTAMENT OF DAN, THE SEVENTH SON OF JACOB AND BILHAH

1 1 The copy of the words of Dan, which he spake to his sons in his last days, in the hundred and 2 twenty-fifth year of his life. For he called together his family, and said: Hearken to my words, ye 3 sons of Dan; and give heed to the words of your father. I have proved in my heart, and in my whole life, that truth with just dealing is good and well pleasing to God, and that lying and anger 4 are evil, because they teach man all wickedness. I confess, therefore, this day to you, my children, 5 that in my heart I resolved on the death of Joseph my brother, the true and good man. [And 6 I rejoiced that he was sold, because his father loved him more than us.] For the spirit of jealousy 7 and vainglory said to me: Thou thyself also art his son. And one of the spirits of Beliar stirred me up, saying: Take this sword, and with it slay Joseph: so shall thy father love thee when he is dead. 8 Now this is the spirit of anger that persuaded me to crush Joseph as a leopard crusheth a kid. 9 But the God of my fathers did not suffer him to fall into my hands, so that I should find him alone and slay him, and cause a second tribe to be destroyed in Israel.

2 1 And now, my children, behold I am dying, and I tell you of a truth, that unless ye keep yourselves from the spirit of lying and of anger, and love truth and longsuffering, ye shall perish. 2 For anger is blindness, and does not suffer one to see the face of any man with truth. 3 For though it be a father or a mother, he behaveth towards them as enemies; though it be a brother, he knoweth him not; though it be a prophet of the Lord, he disobeyeth him; though 4 a righteous man, he regardeth him not; though a friend, he doth not acknowledge him. For the spirit of anger encompasseth him with the net of deceit, and blindeth his eyes, and through lying 5 darkeneth his mind, and giveth him its own peculiar vision. And wherewith encompasseth it his eyes? With hatred of heart, so as to be envious of his brother.

3 1 For anger is an evil thing, my children, for it troubleth even the soul itself. And the body of the angry man it maketh its own, and over his soul it getteth the mastery, and 3 it bestoweth upon the body power that it may work all iniquity. And when the body does all 4 these things, the soul justifieth what is done, since it seeth not aright. Therefore he that is wrathful, if he be a mighty man, hath a threefold power in his anger: one by the help of his servants; and a second by his wealth, whereby he persuadeth and overcometh wrongfully; and thirdly, having his 5 own natural power he worketh thereby the evil. And though the wrathful man be weak, yet hath 6 he a power twofold of that which is by nature; for wrath ever aideth such in lawlessness. This spirit goeth always with lying at the right hand of Satan, that with cruelty and lying his works may be wrought.

4 1, 2 Understand ye, therefore, the power of wrath, that it is vain. For it first of all giveth provocation by word; then by deeds it strengtheneth him who is angry, and with sharp losses disturbeth his 3 mind, and so stirreth up with great wrath his soul. Therefore, when any one speaketh against you, be not ye moved to anger, [and if any man praiseth you as holy men, be not uplifted: be not moved 4 either to delight or to disgust]. For first it pleaseth the hearing, and so maketh the mind keen to perceive the grounds for provocation; and then being enraged, he thinketh that he is justly angry 5 If ye fall into any loss or ruin, my children, be not afflicted; for this very spirit maketh (a man) 6 desire that which is perishable, in order that he may be enraged through the affliction. And if ye suffer loss voluntarily, or involuntarily, be not vexed; for from vexation ariseth wrath with lying. 7 Moreover, a twofold mischief is wrath with lying; and they assist one another in order to disturb the heart; and when the soul is continually disturbed, the Lord departeth from it, and Beliar ruleth over it.

5 1 Observe, therefore, my children, the commandments of the Lord, And keep His law; Depart from wrath, And hate lying, That the Lord may dwell among you, And Beliar may flee from you. 2 Speak truth each one with his neighbour. So shall ye not fall into wrath and confusion; But ye shall be in peace, having the God of peace, So shall no war prevail over you. 3 Love the Lord through all your life, And one another with a true heart. 4 I know that in the last days ye shall depart from the Lord, And ye shall provoke Levi unto anger, And fight against Judah; But ye shall not prevail against them, For an angel of the Lord shall guide them both; For by them shall Israel stand. 5 And whensoever ye depart from the Lord, ye shall walk in all evil and work the abominations of the Gentiles, going a-whoring after women of the lawless ones, while with all wickedness the spirits 6 of wickedness work in you. [For I have read in the book of Enoch, the righteous, that your prince is Satan, and that all the spirits of wickedness and pride will conspire to attend constantly on the sons of Levi, to cause them to sin before the Lord. 7 And my sons will draw near to Levi. And sin with them in all things; And the sons of Judah will be covetous, Plundering other men's goods like lions.] 8 Therefore shall ye be led away [with them] into captivity, And there shall ye receive all the plagues of Egypt, And all the evils of the Gentiles. 9 And so when ye return to the Lord ye shall obtain mercy, And He shall bring you into His sanctuary, And He shall give you peace. 10 And there shall arise unto you from the tribe of [Judah and of] Levi the salvation of the Lord; And he shall make war against Beliar. And execute an everlasting vengeance on our enemies; 11 And the captivity shall he take from Beliar [the souls of the saints], And turn disobedient hearts unto the Lord, And give to them that call upon him eternal peace. 12 And the saints shall rest in Eden, And in the New Jerusalem shall the righteous rejoice, And it shall be unto the glory of God for ever. 13 And no longer shall Jerusalem endure desolation, Nor Israel be led captive; For the Lord shall be in the midst of it [living amongst men], And the Holy One of Israel shall reign over it [in humility and in poverty; and he who believeth on Him shall reign amongst men in truth].

6 1, 2 And now, fear the Lord, my children, and beware of Satan and his spirits. Draw near unto God and unto the angel that intercedeth for you, for he is a mediator between God and man, and for the 3 peace of Israel he shall stand up against the kingdom of the enemy. Therefore is the enemy eager 4 to destroy all that call upon the Lord. For he knoweth that upon the day on which Israel shall 5 repent, the kingdom of the enemy shall be brought to an end. For the very angel of peace shall 6 strengthen Israel, that it fall not into the extremity of evil. And it shall be in the time of the lawlessness of Israel, that the Lord will not depart from them, but will transform them into a nation 7 that doeth His will, for none of the angels will be equal unto him. And His name shall be in every place in Israel, and among the Gentiles. 8 Keep, therefore, yourselves, my children, from every evil work, And cast away wrath and all lying, And love truth and long-suffering. 9 And the things which ye have heard from your father, do ye also impart to your children [that the Saviour of the Gentiles may receive you; for he is true and long-suffering, meek and lowly, and 10 teacheth by his works the law of God]. Depart, therefore, from all unrighteousness, and cleave unto the righteousness of God, and your race will be saved for ever. And bury me near my fathers.

7 1, 2 And when he had said these things he kissed them, and fell asleep at a good old age. And his sons buried him, And after that they carried up his bones, and placed them near Abraham, and 3 Isaac, and Jacob. [Nevertheless, Dan prophesied unto them that they should forget their God, and should be alienated from the land of their inheritance and from the race of Israel, and from the family of their seed.]

The Testament of Reuben

6:7 -- For to Levi God gave the sovereignty and to Judah with him and to me also, and to Dan and Joseph, that we should be rulers.

The Testament of Judah

7 1-8 -- (1) And the next day it was told us that the king of the city of Gaash with a mighty host was coming against us. (2) I, therefore, and Dan feigned ourselves to be Amorites, and as allies went into their city (3) And in the depth of night our brethren came and we opened to them the gates, and we took for a prey all that was theirs, and their threewalls we cast down. (4) And we drew near to Thamna, where was all the substance of the hostile kings. (5) Then being insulted by them, I was therefore wroth, and rushed against them to the summit; and they kept slinging against me stones and darts (6) And had not Dan my brother aided me, they would (7) have slain me. We came upon them, therefore, with wrath, and they all fled; and passing by (8) another way, they besought my father, and he made peace with them.

24 2 -- And the Lord blessed Levi, and the Angel of the Presence, me; the powers of glory, Simeon; the heaven, Reuben; the earth, Issachar; the sea, Zebulun; the mountains, Joseph; the tabernacle, Benjamin; the luminaries, Dan; Eden, Naphtali; the sun, Gad; the moon, Asher.

Testament of Zebulun

4 1-13 -- (1) And after he [Joseph] was sold my brothers sat down to eat and drink. (2) But I, through pity for Joseph, did not eat, but watched the pit, since Judah feared lest Simeon, Dan, and Gad should rush off ( 3) and slay him. But when they saw that I did not eat, they set me to watch him, till he was (5) sold to the Ishmaelites. And when Reuben came and heard that while he was away (Joseph) had been sold, he rent his garments, (and) mourning, said: How shall I look on the face of my father (6) Jacob? And he took the money and ran after the merchants, but as he failed to find them he returned grieving. But the merchants had left the broad road and marched through the Troglodytes by a short cut. (7) But Reuben was grieved, and ate no food that day. Dan therefore came to him and said: Weep not, neither grieve; for we have found what we can say to our father Jacob. (8) Let us slay . . (10) a kid of the goats, and dip in it the coat of Joseph; and let us send it to Jacob, saying: Know, is this the coat of thy son? (11) And they did so. For they stripped off from Joseph his coat when they were selling him, and put upon him the garment of a slave. Now Simeon took the coat, and would not give it up, for he wished to rend it with his sword, as he was angry that Joseph lived and that he had not slain him. (12) Then we all rose up and said unto him: If thou givest not up the coat, we will say to our father that thou alone didst this evil thing in Israel (13) And so he gave it unto them, and they did even as Dan had said.

Testament of Asher

7:5-7 -- (5) For I have known that ye shall assuredly be disobedient, and assuredly act ungodly, not giving heed to the law of God, but to the commandments of men, being corrupted through wickedness. (6) And therefore shall ye be scattered as Gad and Dan my brethren, and ye shall know not your lands, tribe, and tongue. (7) But the Lord will gather you together in faith through His tender mercy, for the sake of Abraham, Issac, and Jacob

Pseudepigrapha

Joseph and Aseneth

XXIV. And Pharaoh's son was in much affliction and torment because of Aseneth, and he was greatly distressed. 2. And his servants whispered in his ear, "Lo, the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, the maidservants of Leah and Rachel, Jacob's wives, hate Joseph and Aseneth and are jealous of them, and they will do what you want." 3. And Pharaoh's son sent messengers and summoned them, and they came to him by night; and Pharaoh's son said to them, "I have heard that your are good soldiers." 4. And Gad and Dan, the elder brothers, said to Pharaoh's son, "Let our lord tell his servants what it is he wants, and he will do it." 5.And Pharaoh's son was overjoyed, and he said to his servants, "Go away and leave us alone, for I have something to say to these men privately." 6. And all the servants went out; and Pharaoh's son told them lies, saying, "I offer you a choice between prosperity and death: so choose prosperity and not death. 7. I know that you are good soldiers, and that you will not die as women die; but act like men and take vengeance on your enemies. 8. I heard" (he continued ) "your brother Joseph say to my father Pharaoh, 'Dan and Gad are the children of maidservants and are not my brothers. 9. And I am only waiting for my father to die to take action against them and all their progeny, so that they will not share the inheritance with us, for they are the children of maidservants, and it was they who sold me to the Ishmaelites. 10. When my father is dead I will repay them for the wrong they did me.' 11. And my father Pharaoh commended Joseph and said to him, 'What you have said is quite right, my son; and now take some of my soldiers and proceed against them as they did against you, and I will help you.'" 12. And when the men heard what Pharaoh's son told them they were much troubled and distressed, and they said to him, "We appeal to you, our lord, to help us; and whatever you tell your servants to do, we will do it." 13. And Pharaoh's son said to them, "To-night I will kill my father, for my father Pharaoh is like a father to Joseph; and do you also kill Joseph, and I will marry Aseneth." 14. And Dan and Gad said to him, "We will do everything you have told us to. We overheard Joseph say to Aseneth, 'Go to-morrow to our country estate, for it is vintage-time; and he has arranged for six hundred armed soldiers to go with her and fifty outrunners." 15. And when Pharaoh's son heard this, he gave the four men five hundred men each and appointed them their officers and commanders. 16. And Dan and Gad said to him, "We will go by night and lie in wait at the brook and hide in the woods on the banks. 17. And as for you, take fifty men with you, archers on horseback, and go on ahead, some distance in front; and Aseneth will come and fall into our hands, and we will cut down the men who are with her. 18. And Aseneth will flee in her chariot and fall into your hands and you will be able to deal with her as you wish. 19. And afterwards we will kill Joseph while he is fretting about Aseneth; and we will kill his children before his eyes." 20. And Pharaoh's son was delighted when he heard this, and he sent two thousand soldiers after them. 21. And they came to the brook and hid in the woods on the banks, and five hundred men took up their position in front; and in between them was a highway.

Jubilees

Chapter 28:16-19 Jacob 17 said: 'Have I withheld from thee the fruits of thy womb Have I forsaken thee' And when Rachel saw that Leah had borne four sons to Jacob, Reuben and Simeon and Levi and Judah, she said unto 18 him: 'Go in unto Bilhah my handmaid, and she will conceive, and bear a son unto me.' (And she gave (him) Bilhah her handmaid to wife). And he went in unto her, and she conceived, and bare him a son, and he called his name Dan, on the ninth of the sixth month, in the sixth year of the 19 third week. [2127 A.M.]

Chapter 33:22 …and the sons of Bilhah, Dan and Naphtali.

Chapter 34:20 …and the name of Dan's wife, 'Egla.

Chapter 38:6-7

6 And Levi and Dan and Asher went forth on the east side of the tower, and fifty (men) with them, 7 and they slew the fighting men of Moab and Ammon.

Chapter 44:20-30 26,27 ...And all the souls of Rachel were fourteen. And the sons of Bilhah, the handmaid of Rachel, the 28 wife of Jacob, whom she bare to Jacob, were Dan and Naphtali. And these are the names of their sons who went with them into Egypt. And the sons of Dan were Hushim, and Samon, and Asudi. 29 and 'Ijaka, and Salomon-six. And they died the year in which they entered into Egypt, and there 30 was left to Dan Hushim alone.

Philo

Leg. 2:94 -- Such a serpent Jacob boasts that Dan is, and he speaks thus: "Dan is, and he speaks thus: "Dan will judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel:" [Genesis 49:16] and again, "Let Dan be a serpent in the path, sitting upon the road, biting the heel of the horse, and the rider shall fall backwards, waiting the salvation of the Lord." The fifth son of Leah is Issachar, the legitimate son of Jacob; but if the two sons of Zilpah are counted he is the seventh; but the fifth son of Jacob is Dan, the son of Billah, the handmaid of Rachel; and the cause of this we will investigate in the proper place, but concerning Dan we must examine further now.

Leg. 2:96-97 -- (96) And now she begins to form the mortal race--now the mortal race subsists by imbibing; for, like a foundation, the sense of taste is the cause of the duration of animals; but the name Billhah, being interpreted, means imbibing. From her was born Dan, which name being interpreted means judgment, for this kind distinguishes between the separates immortal from mortal things, therefore he prays that he may become a workman of temperance. But he will not pray for Judah, for Judah already had the capacity of praying to and pleasing God: (97)"Therefore let Dan," says he,"be a serpent in the path." -- One path is the soul. For as in the roads one may behold a great variety of living beings, inanimate and animate, irrational and rational, good and bad, slaves and free, young and old, male and female, strangers and natural citizens, sick and healthy, mutilated and perfect; so also in the soul there are motions inanimate, and imperfect, and diseased, and slavish, and female, and innumerable others of the class of evils; and on the other hand, there are motions which are living, and perfect, and masculine, and free, and healthy, and ripe, and virtuous, and genuine, and really legitimate."

Agr. 1:94-95 -- (94)It is not unnaturally, therefore, that Moses, singing his song of triumph on the destruction of the riders, nevertheless prays fore complete safety for the horsemen; for these are able, putting their bridles into the mouths of the irrational powers, to check the impetuosity of their superabundant violence. What then his prayer is must be told: he says, "Let Dan be a serpent in the way, sitting in the path, biting the heel of the horse; and the horseman shall fall backwards, awaiting the salvation of the Lord." [Genesis 49:16] (95) But we must explain what is the enigmatic meaning which he conceals under this prayer, the name of Dan, being interpreted, means "judgment;" therefore he here likens that power of the soul which investigates, and accurately examines, and distinguishes between, and, in some degree, decides on each part of the soul, to a dragon (and the dragon is an animal various in its movements, and exceedingly cunning, and ready to display its courage, and very powerful to repel those who begin acts of violence), but not to that friendly serpent, the counselor of life, which is wont to be called Eve in his national language, but to the one made by Moses, of the material of brass, which, when those who had been bitten by the poisonous serpents, and who were at the point of death beheld, they are said to have lived and not to have died.

Agr. 1:99-100 -- (99) And every wise man looks upon what is good as dear to him, which is also altogether calculated to ensure his preservation. So that when Moses prays that it may happen to Dan, either himself, to be that serpent (for the words may be understood in eitehr sense), he means a serpent closely resembling the one which has been made by himself, but not like the one which appeared to Eve, for then the prayer is an entreaty for good things; (100) therefore the character of patient endurance is good, and capable of receiving immortality, which is the perfect good. But the character of pleasure is evil, bringing in its train the greatest of all punishments, death. On which account says, "Let Dan become a serpent," and that not in any other place rather than in the road."

Agr. 1:107-109 -- (107) Moses, therefore, represents the serpent that appeared to Eve as planning the death of man, for he records, that God says in his curses, "He shall bruise they head, and thou shalt bruise his heel." But he represents the serpent of Dan, which is the one which we are now discussing, as biting the heel of the horse and not of the man, (108) for the serpent of Eve, being the symbol of pleasure, as has been already shown, attacks man, that is to say, the reasoning power which is in every one of us; for the enjoyment and free use of excessive pleasure is the destruction of the mind; (109) and the serpent of Dan being a sort of image of vigorous virtue and of patient endurance, will bit the horse, who is the emblem of passion and wickedness, because temperance is occupied about the over throw and destruction of these things...

Som 2:35 -- Dan is a symbol of the distinction between, and division of, different things. . .

Josephus

Ant 1:305 -- But Rachel, fearing lest the fruitfulness of her sister should make herself enjoy a lesser share of Jacob's affections, put him to bed with her handmaid Bilhah; by whom Jacob had Dan: one may interpret that name into the Greek tongue, a divine judgment. And after him Nephtali, as it were unconquerable in stratagems, since Rachel tried to conquer the fruitfulness of her sister by this stratagem.

Ant 2:181 -- And this was the legitimate posterity of Jacob. He had, besides, by Bilhah, the handmaid of Rachel, Dan, and Naphtali; which last had four sons that followed him--Jahzeel, Guni, Jezer, and Shillem. Dan had an only begotten son, Hushim.