Jacob’s Twelve Sons — Dan
We learn in Genesis 30:6 that Dan was the fifth son, the first of Bilhah, Rachel’s maid. The tribe of Dan was very numerous. When they left Egypt at the exodus there were 62,700 fighting men, more than all the tribes except Judah. By the time they are numbered again they increased to 64,400 — compare Numbers 1:39 with Numbers 26:42-43.
When Jacob blessed his sons he said, “Dan shall judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel. Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder in the path, that biteth the horse heels, so that his rider shall fall backward. (Genesis 49:16-17). It has been suggested that the Antichrist will be from Dan, which explains why his name is omitted from the list of those that are sealed in Revelation 7:3-8.
This tribe was guilty of introducing idolatry in the land of Israel very early in their history, which continued until the captivity. “The children of Dan set up the graven image: and Jonathan, the son of Gershom, the son of Manasseh, he and his sons were priests to the tribe of Dan until the day of the captivity of the land” (Judges 18:30). May we take warning from this, as John exhorts us, “Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.” (1 John 5:21).
