Dan was the firstborn of Rachel through her maidservant:
Genesis 30:5 Bilhah conceived and bore Ya‘akov a son. 6 Rachel said, “God has judged in my favor; indeed he has heard me and given me a son.” Therefore she called him Dan [he judged]. 7 Bilhah Rachel’s slave-girl conceived again and bore Ya‘akov a second son. 8 Rachel said, “I have wrestled mightily with my sister and won,” and called him Naftali [my wrestling].
What was the dynamic like with his “mother” Rachel? Did she treat Dan as her own then give him (and Naphtali) up when Joseph came along?
We don’t have an explicit account describing their relationship, but take a moment to consider what this must have been like. A woman can’t give birth on her own so she has her maidservant serve as a surrogate in order for her to have a child. Desperation fueled a compromised decision.
This smells an awful lot like Sarah, Hagar, and Ishmael, doesn’t it?
In that story, we have a bit more context given in the narrative. Once Isaac comes along, Ishmael no longer has utility in Sarah’s life. In fact, she even begins to resent him. The adopted son was wanted until such a time as he wasn’t. Rejection is embedded deep within Ishmael, and this rejection created a centuries long thorn in the side of Isaac’s offspring.
What about that little boy named Dan? Did he suffer as a son like Ishmael suffered?
Again, we don’t have too many details but put yourself in Dan’s position. Rachel was in competition with her sister on giving birth and Dan was the first to come. And he was likely used as a tool in this competition.
God “judged” in her favor against Leah with Dan, then she “wrestled” and won with Naphtali.
Dan was a commodity, maybe even a weapon, in this battle between sisters.
Then along came Joseph.
Genesis 37:2 Here is the history of Ya‘akov. When Yosef was seventeen years old he used to pasture the flock with his brothers, even though he was still a boy. Once when he was with the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives, he brought a bad report about them to their father. 3 Now Isra’el loved Yosef the most of all his children, because he was the son of his old age; and he made him a long-sleeved robe. 4 When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they began to hate him and reached the point where they couldn’t even talk with him in a civil manner.
Joseph, the biological son of Rachel came and tattled on the maidservant’s children. Dan was the oldest son of the maidservants. Did his voice even matter in his father's ears?
In addition, his mother slept with Reuben. How did that play when the news came out?
Dan had a lot of tough angles that existed in his life. It seems so much was stacked against him before he even got going.
There is no real mention of Dan’s existence in the Tanakh.
Nothing in Egypt until the blessing of Jacob (at which point he must have developed a reputation based on the blessing he received).
Not much is mentioned about him in the wilderness with the exception of three instances.
We learn that one of his descendants was skilled in artistry for the Tabernacle:
Exodus 31:6 “I have also appointed as his assistant Oholi’av the son of Achisamakh, of the tribe of Dan. Moreover, I have endowed all the craftsmen with the wisdom to make everything I have ordered you — 7 the tent of meeting, the ark for the testimony, the ark-cover above it, all the furnishings of the tent, 8 the table and its utensils, the pure menorah and all its utensils, the incense altar, 9 the altar for burnt offerings and all its utensils, the basin and its base, 10 the garments for officiating, the holy garments for Aharon the cohen and the garments for his sons, so that they can serve in the office of cohen, 11 the anointing oil and the incense of aromatic spices for the Holy Place: they are to make everything just as I have ordered you.”
And we see that one of his female descendants married an Egyptian and their son used the name YHVH in a curse:
Leviticus 24:10 There was a man who was the son of a woman of Isra’el and an Egyptian father. He went out among the people of Isra’el, and this son of a woman of Isra’el had a fight in the camp with a man of Isra’el, 11 in the course of which the son of the woman of Isra’el uttered the Name [Yud-Heh-Vav-Heh] in a curse. So they brought him to Moshe. (His mother’s name was Shlomit the daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan.) 12 They put him under guard until YHVH would tell them what to do. 13 YHVH said to Moshe, 14 “Take the man who cursed outside the camp, have everyone who heard him lay their hands on his head, and have the entire community stone him. 15 Then tell the people of Isra’el, ‘Whoever curses his God will bear the consequences of his sin; 16 and whoever blasphemes the name of YHVH must be put to death; the entire community must stone him. The foreigner as well as the citizen is to be put to death if he blasphemes the Name.
Lastly, we have Moses’ Blessing:
Deuteronomy 33:22 Of Dan he said: “Dan is a lion cub leaping forth from Bashan.”
In Joshua, Dan had the last lot fall to them for their inheritance:
Joshua 19:40 The seventh lot came out for the tribe of the descendants of Dan according to their families. 41 The territory of their inheritance included Tzor‘ah, Eshta’ol, ‘Ir-Shemesh, 42 Sha‘alabin, Ayalon, Yitlah, 43 Eilon, Timnah, ‘Ekron, 44 Elt’keh, Gib’ton, Ba‘alat, 45 Y’hud, B’nei-Brak, Gat-Rimmon, 46 Yarkon Springs and Rakon, with the border fronting Yafo.
But they were not content
Joshua 19:47 The territory of the descendants of Dan was too small for them, so the descendants of Dan went up and fought against Leshem, captured it, defeated it by the sword, took possession of it and lived there, calling Leshem “Dan” after Dan their ancestor. 48 This is the inheritance of the tribe of the descendants of Dan according to their families, these cities with their villages.
They then moved to the northernmost point -- outside the Land.
They rejected their inheritance which was nestled along the coast and very close to Jerusalem, and instead put themselves in a compromised location. Their choice of land had them on the frontline when the Assyrians decided to come.
As if this weren’t enough, the land they chose was the furthest away from Jerusalem as you could get. Throughout the Tanakh the phrase “from Dan to Be’er-Sheva” is used to cover the entirety of the Land end to end.
Samson was from Dan. (Judges 13-16)
In Judges 18 we see a little more of the rejection (and subsequent craziness). They scout for “better” land and come across a Levite employed by a man named Mikhah, from Efrayim, to serve as his cohen.
They recruit him to be their priest in their new land. They grab an idol overlaid with silver, a vest, and household gods. They then put sons of Manasseh as their cohanim. And they put up Mikhah’s idol.
In 1 Kings 12, we see that Jeroboam puts one of the golden calves in Dan:
1 Kings 12:25 Then Yarov‘am built up Sh’khem in the hills of Efrayim and lived there. After that, he left and built up P’nu’el. 26 Nevertheless Yarov‘am said to himself, “Now the rulership will return to the house of David. 27 For if these people continue going up to offer sacrifices in the house of YHVH in Yerushalayim, their hearts will turn back to their lord, Rechav‘am king of Y’hudah. Then they will kill me and return to Rechav‘am king of Y’hudah.” 28 After seeking advice, the king made two calves of gold and said to the people, “You have been going up to Yerushalayim long enough! Here are your gods, Isra’el, who brought you out of the land of Egypt!” 29 He placed one in Beit-El and the other in Dan, 30 and the affair became a sin, for the people went to worship before the one [in Beit-El and] all the way to Dan [to worship the other]. 31 He also set up temples on the high places and made cohanim from among all the people, even though they were not descended from Levi.
As was pointed out before, being in the north, when the Assyrians came they took Dan first. From this point forward there is little known about the Tribe of Dan.
Their identity is lost.
It’s not until the 144,000 in Revelation that we see the silent testimony of Dan. They are omitted from the count and no reason given. They could have been omitted because they rejected their birthright, participated in idolatry, or established a perverted priesthood, but nothing is conclusive. We just know something happened.
So there is no redemption at the End of this Age for Dan.
But…
In Ezekiel 48 something odd comes into the light. The layout of the Land is given and Dan is mentioned first:
Ezekiel 48:1 “‘Following is the list of tribes:
“‘This is Dan’s territory: from the north end, through Hetlon to the entrance of Hamat, Hatzar-‘Einan (at the border of Dammesek), northward, next to Hamat; and they will have their sides east and west.
It’s on down in the chapter that we have something most telling, however:
Ezekiel 48:30-34 “‘These are the city exits; they are to be named after the tribes of Isra’el, three gates on each of the four sides; the four sides each measure just under one-and-a-half [miles]: on the north, gates named after Re’uven, Y’hudah and Levi; on the east, gates named after Yosef, Binyamin and Dan; on the south, gates named after Shim‘on, Yissakhar and Z’vulun; and on the west, gates named after Gad, Asher and Naftali.
On the East Gates we find Dan. Not the kingly tribe of Judah, not the priestly tribe of Levi. But Dan. That rebellious, idolatrous, ungrateful tribe of Dan -- sitting here with Joseph and Benjamin.
As you may already know, it is this East Gate that is most significant:
Ezekiel 43:1 After this, he brought me to the gate facing east. 2 There I saw the glory of the God of Isra’el approaching from the east. His voice was like the sound of rushing water, and the earth shone with his glory. 3 The vision seemed like the vision I had seen when I came to destroy the city; also the visions were like the vision I had seen by the K’var River; and I fell on my face. 4 YHVH’s glory entered the house through the gate facing east.
The cherubim are at the east gate of the Garden. The Tabernacle gate faces east. Yeshua came into Jerusalem through the east gate. Zechariah says the Messiah will enter Jerusalem again from the east.
The east gate faces the coming presence of God. So whatever the story is with regard to Dan in this Age, we see a redemption at the very end.
Does everything in our life get redeemed? No.
Can everything in our life be redeemed? No.
Look at Moses. He lost his opportunity to go into the Land -- and that did not change even though he continued to lead the Children of Israel. You can be forgiven and still not have that redeemed.
Redemption does exist but it is not necessarily done.
Dan began his life as a weapon used in a battle of sisters. He made poor decisions throughout his existence until such a time as his existence was lost. Whatever the reason, he was also excluded in the assembly at the end of this age. But in the Age to Come, he found rest. He found a place. He was saved.
More than that, he was a gateway for the glory of YHVH to enter.
And his father saw it.
Jacob spoke these words over his son and it is amazing how prophetic these words were/are:
Genesis 49:16 “Dan will judge his people as one of the tribes of Isra’el.
In the acharit-hayamim (Last Days) Dan will be there. He will also have a position of authority. Despite all of the future decisions Dan and his offspring would make,
17 Dan will be a viper on the road, a horned snake in the path that bites the horse’s heels so its rider falls off backward.
From this starting point to the end point, His life on the path will be that of a viper. Not the most fruitful existence and a life most certainly full of challenges.
18 I wait for your deliverance, YHVH.
But at the end, his name will be on one of the east gates.
If this can happen for Dan, it can happen for you.
Even if you despise your birthright.