Dan was the fifth born son of Jacob by Rachel’s slave-girl Bilhah. After Leah bore Jacob his first four sons (Rueben, Simeon, Levi and Judah), Rachel got jealous because she was barren (this is why her handmaiden stepped in for her). When Bilhah bore Dan, Rachel said: “God has pronounced judgment in my favor, for he has heard my prayer and given me a son.†Therefore she named him Dan (Genesis 30:6). Bilhah’s second son was called Naphthali by Rachel. Not to be outdone by her sister, Leah’s servant-girl Zelpha followed with Gad and Asher. Then Leah bore two more sons, Issachar and Zabulon. The last two sons were Joseph and Benjamin (God finally made Rachel fruitful, and her two sons were Jacob’s favorites). So where exactly is Dan’s place among the Twelve. Well, we know from Jacob’s blessings upon his sons (Genesis 49) that “Dan shall achieve justice for his people†but he also refers to Dan as a “serpent†and a “viperâ€. The Tribe of Dan was partially located along the Mediterranean Sea north of the Philistines (they were the only Israelites referred to as “seafaring†people). In the 8th century B.C. the Tribe of Dan was “lostâ€, along with nine other tribes (known as the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel) after Assyria conquered the Kingdom of Israel (either they assimilated, were exiled or they themselves fled – no definitive historic record is left). Only the Tribes of Judah, Benjamin and Levi are said to be the ancestors of all modern Jews. Incidentally, the most well-known Danite (i.e., descendant of Dan) in the Bible was Samson.
