Division of the Land

48 “Here is the list of the tribes of Israel and the territory each is to receive. The territory of Dan is in the extreme north. Its boundary line follows the Hethlon road to Lebo-hamath and then runs on to Hazar-enan on the border of Damascus, with Hamath to the north. Dan’s territory extends all the way across the land of Israel from east to west.

The Land Given to Dan

⁴⁰ The seventh allotment of land went to the clans of the tribe of Dan.

⁴ And I heard how many were marked with the seal of God—144,000 were sealed from all the tribes of Israel:

¹⁵ Is it against the law for me to do what I want with my money? Should you be jealous because I am kind to others?’

¹⁶ “So those who are last now will be first then, and those who are first will be last.”

²⁸ So on the advice of his counselors, the king made two gold calves. He said to the people,^[a] “It is too much trouble for you to worship in Jerusalem. Look, Israel, these are the gods who brought you out of Egypt!”

²⁹ He placed these calf idols in Bethel and in Dan—at either end of his kingdom.

² So the king said to Joab and the commanders^[a] of the army, “Take a census of all the tribes of Israel—from Dan in the north to Beersheba in the south—so I may know how many people there are.”

²⁶ So the men of Dan continued on their way. When Micah saw that there were too many of them for him to attack, he turned around and went home.

²⁷ Then, with Micah’s idols and his priest, the men of Dan came to the town of Laish, whose people were peaceful and secure. They attacked with swords and burned the town to the ground. ²⁸ There was no one to rescue the people, for they lived a great distance from Sidon and had no allies nearby. This happened in the valley near Beth-rehob.

Then the people of the tribe of Dan rebuilt the town and lived there. ²⁹ They renamed the town Dan after their ancestor, Israel’s son, but it had originally been called Laish.

⁷ “Your northern boundary will begin at the Mediterranean Sea and run east to Mount Hor, ⁸ then to Lebo-hamath, and on through Zedad ⁹ and Ziphron to Hazar-enan. This will be your northern boundary.