Dan (vv. 16-18). The name Dan means “to judge” (30:6), and his tribe produced one of the most famous judges, Samson (Judg. 13–16). The tribe of Dan was given a fertile land bordering the Mediterranean Sea in Philistine territory (Josh. 19:40-48), but they weren’t able to drive out the Philistines. In order to gain more land, they moved north and conquered the people of Laish and took their land (v. 47; Judg. 18:1-29).

By associating Dan with the serpent, Jacob revealed his crafty nature and his habit of making sudden attacks on his enemies. The tribe’s conquest of the defenseless people of Laish is an example of their subtle tactics, and their setting up an image in their territory shows that they weren’t wholly devoted to the Lord (v. 20). Two centuries later, King Jeroboam set up one of his idolatrous golden calves in Dan (1 Kings 12:28-30).

Dan is left out of the genealogies in 1 Chronicles 2–10 and in the tribal listing in Revelation 7:1-8. Is this because of their idolatry? However, when Ezekiel described the placing of the tribes during the kingdom age, he had a place for Dan (Ezek. 48:1-2).

The exclamation, “I have waited for your salvation, O Lord!” (Gen. 49:18 nkjv) suggests that Jacob was in communion with the Lord while he was speaking to his sons. Was he asking God for special strength to finish what he had to say? Or was he announcing that the Lord would soon call him into eternity? The word translated “salvation” is yeshua, which gives us the name Joshua, “Jehovah is salvation.” The Greek form is “Jesus.”