The Mysterious Tribe of Dan

From...    Hope of Israel Ministries (Ecclesia of YEHOVAH):

"The Serpent's Trail" --

One of the sons of Jacob was a youngster by the name of Dan, which means "judge." He was the son of Rachel's handmaid Bilhah (Gen. 35:25). Dan became the ancestor of one of the twelve tribes of "Israel," the name YEHOVAH God gave to Jacob after wrestling with him (Gen. 32:28). Jacob, when he was growing old, prophesied of Dan, "Dan will provide justice for his people as one of the tribes of Israel. Dan will be a serpent by the roadside, a viper along the path, that bites the horse's heels, so that it's rider tumbles backward. I look for your deliverance, O Lord" (Gen. 49:16-18). The King James Version has this last verse, "I have waited for thy salvation, O Lord."

A serpent, when it slithers and crawls, leaves a trail or track in the sand. Even so the tribe of Dan would leave signs or "waymarks" showing where it had journeyed. They tended to leave their "name" behind as an identifying sign! We read in Joshua: "But the Danites had difficulty taking possession of their territory, so they went up and attacked Leshem, took it, put it to the sword and occupied it. They settled in Leshem and NAMED IT DAN after their forefather" (Josh. 19:47).

For some reason, as this prophecy states, Dan must "wait" for YEHOVAH's salvation -- even longer than the other tribes. In the book of Revelation, when the Messiah tells the apostle John that he will choose 144,000 special servants from the twelve tribes of Israel (Rev. 7:1-8), and chooses 12,000 out of each tribe, it is interesting to note that he gives Joseph a double portion -- that is, a portion for Ephraim (Joseph) and a portion for his brother Manasseh (Rev. 7:6, 8) -- but Dan is not mentioned at all! Why is this?

Part of the answer may be contained in the book of Judges. The tribe of Dan still had not settled down and occupied their "inheritance" in Canaan (Judges 18-2), so they sent five warriors forth to explore the land. They found a Levitical priest of the Lord in the house of a man named Milcah, and enquired whether YEHOVAH God would bless their endeavor. He said yes. They journied forth and found a city Laish dwelling securely and prosperously, went back and urged their tribe to attack it, and 600 Danites sallied forth. But on their way, they set up camp in a place they named Mahaneh Dan (there they go again! -- Jud. 18:12), and then came to Milcah's house again.

Notice what happened: "The six hundred Danites, armed for battle, stood at the entrance to the gate. The five men who had spied out the land went inside and took the carved image, the ephod, the other HOUSEHOLD GODS and the cast IDOL while the priest and the six hundred armed men stood at the entrance to the gate. When the men went into Milcah's house and took the carved image, the ephod, the other household gods, and the cast idol, the priest said to them, 'What are you doing?' They answered him, 'Be quiet! Don't say a word! Come with us and be OUR FATHER AND PRIEST. Isn't it better that you serve a tribe and clan in Israel as priest rather than just one man's household?' Then the priest was glad" (Jud. 1:16-20).

The tribe of Dan was the first tribe of Israel to plunge into pagan IDOLATRY! Over the centuries, they have become steeped in idolatry and image worship -- so much so that they will be slow to repent of their sins and to come out of the prevalent end-time idolatry of Roman Catholicism, which numbers over 900 million adherents around the world, today.

Dan was born to Bilhah about 1737 B.C. (Gen. 30:1-9). He was a rambunctious youth, and multiplied greatly during the sojourn of the Israelites in Egypt (Exodus 1:7-9, 12). When Moses led the children of Israel out of Egypt, about 1483 B.C., the tribe of Dan which accompanied him numbered some 62,700 men old enough to make war, 20 years old and upward (Numbers 1:38-39). Dan outnumbered Manasseh, the son of Joseph by almost 2 to 1, and outnumbered the children of Ephraim about 3 to 2. His descendants were very prolific.

When Moses gave his final blessings to the children of Israel, he said of Dan, "And of Dan he said, Dan is a lion's whelp: he shall leap from Bashan" (Deut. 33:22). Notice! Dan would be a vigorous, warlike, tribe of warriors. He would not sit solitary, and be content but would "leap" forth, and journey forth, by leaps.

In the book of Judges, we learn another trait of this tribe. In the song of Deborah and Barak, during the time of the Judges, the song asks, "Why did Dan remain in ships?" (Judges 5:17). Or, "Dan abode in ships." The tribe of Dan was a mighty SEA-FARING tribe, which loved to sail the seas.

History tells us more about these ancient Danites. At the same time Moses led the children of Israel out of Egypt, with the kingdom of Egypt left in shambles, some chose not to follow Moses into the land of Canaan. About 1500 B.C., a last flowering of megalithic culture occurred. On the island of Sardinia in the Mediterranean Sea, a tower-building people sometimes called the Shardana emerged, and soon dominated Sardinia and then invaded Corsica and the Balearics, and ruled them for about a thousand years. These were ancient Danites! Their very name identifies them! They gave their name to their island, Sar DINia, and their very name SharDANa, proves who they really were. In Hebrew, the term "sharon" means a level "plain." It comes from the root word yashar, meaning "to make straight or even, right, pleasant, prosperous." The "Shardana" were nothing more than the "prosperous DANites," the tribe of Dan! The term "sar" or "shar" in Hebrew means "chief," "prince," "ruler," from which such words as "Tsar," "Caesar," "Kaiser," etc., derive. The "Shar-Dana," then, were the chiefs or princes of DAN!

The Shardana were a tribe of warrior-farmers -- just like the tribe of Dan! Remember, Dan was prophesied to be a "lion's whelp" -- a warlike tribe.

Say Alastair Service and Jean Bradbery in Megaliths and their Mysteries of the Shardana:

"They were farmers and warriors, and in each of their dominions they developed quite new sorts of monument particular to each island. The designs and structural techniques appear to be rooted in the earlier European megalithic tradition. But their Giants' Tomb, Taula, Navetas, Nuraghi and other forms are an impressive original finale to the long story of megalithic architecture. That story finally ends with the roman conquest of Menorca in 23 B.C." (p. 19).

The "Tower people," or Shardana, or tribe of Dan, conquered Corsica around 1400 B.C., the same time Israel entered the Promised Land under Joshua. Their occupation lasted until 800 B.C., or possibly as late as 500 B.C. (about the same time Assyria took Israel into captivity, 718-721 B.C., or near the time of the Babylonian captivity of Judah in 587 B.C.).

In the division of Palestine among the twelve tribes of Israel, after the Exodus from Egypt, Dan received his portion in the very north. As Dan was unable to secure and conquer much of its inheritance, due to spiritual weaknesses, they felt hemmed in and constrained to migrate and conquer elsewhere, which is one reason they captured Laish and renamed it "Dan." Their inheritance was near the cities of Tyre and Sidon, famous home ports of the Phoenicians. Dan, who "abode in ships," made common concourse with the Phoenicians, intermarried with them, and established colonies throughout the Mediterranean region.

In the downfall of the northern kingdom of Israel in 718-721 B.C., the inland portion of the tribe of Dan was carried into captivity with the other tribes composing the northern Kingdom, led by Ephraim. This portion of Dan was taken into captivity beyond the Euphrates River, into Assyria, and when the Assyrian Empire fell in the seventh century B.C., they migrated through the Caucasian Pass, just north of the Caucasus. This was known as the land of the "Sarmatians," and the pass was called the "Sarmatian Gate." The name Sarmatia was obviously derived from the name Samaria, which was the capital of the northern kingdom of Israel. These people called themselves the Scoloti, but the Greeks called them Sythians. These people continued migrating to the northwest of Europe and eventually many of them settled in the British Isles, and are the "Scots" of today.

The chief tribe of the northern kingdom of Israel was Ephraim, the youngest son of Joseph. Even after Ephraim was carried away into captivity, and never returned, YEHOVAH's heart still yearned for him. YEHOVAH God said through the prophet Jeremiah:

"Is not Ephraim my dear son, the child in whom I delight? Though I often speak against him, I still remember him. Therefore my heart yearns for him, declares the LORD. SET UP ROAD SIGNS, PUT UP GUIDEPOSTS. Take note of the highway, the road that you take. RETURN, O Virgin Israel, return to your towns. How long will you WANDER, O unfaithful daughter?" (Jer. 31:20-22, NIV).

As the Israelites migrated through Europe, they fulfilled this prophecy, and left "ROAD SIGNS" and "GUIDEPOSTS" along the way, so that we can trace their route! The chief tribe to do this was Dan, because of their proclivity to leave the name of their ancestor "DAN" everywhere they went.

In Hebrew there are no vowels, so the name Dan is written DN, or its Hebrew equivalent. Thus words like Dan, Din, Don, Dun, Den, or Dn, correspond to the name of Dan.

Just west of the Black Sea, ancient geographers designated a region by the name of Moesia, which means the land of the "Moses-ites." These people revered a person whom they called Zal-moxis. "Zal" significes "chief," so this person, "chief Moxis" or "leader Moxis" was actually "chief MOSES," the man of YEHOVAH God who led Israel to the promised land, and whom these people remembered as their original leader. The tribe of Dan also passed through this region, and the surrounding territory, leaving its name in Mace-DON-ia, and the Dar-DAN-elles, and to the north by the river DAN-ube. In the territory of Sarmatia (or Samaria, meaning the Israelites), were located the rivers DN-iper, DN-ister, and the DON.

Professor Totten declares:

"There is no grander theme upon the scrolls of history than the story of this struggle of the Anglo-Saxons westward. The very streams of Europe mark their resting places, and in the root of nearly all their ancient names (Dan, or Don) recall the sacred stream Jor-dan river of rest-- from whose whose hands, so far away, as exiles, they set out. It was either the little colony of Dan, obeying its tribal proclivity for naming everything it cap- turied (Jud. 18:1-29) after their father, or else the mere survival of a word and custom; but, none the less, it serves to TRACE these wanderers LIKE A TRAIL. Hence the Dan-ube, the Dan-ieper, the Dan-iester, the Dan-au, the Daci and Davi, the Dan, the Don, the U-Don, the Eri-don, and the THOUSAND OTHER dans and dons of ancient and early geography, down to the Danes in Dan-emerke, or 'Dan's last resting place'" (quoted in Allen, Judah's Sceptre and Joseph's Birthright, p. 263-64).

Denmark, the name of the modern country in Europe north of Germany, means, literally, "Dan's mark." It's people are called "Danes." In fact, because at one time Denmark ruled all the surrounding region, the whole region took its name from them -- the ScanDINavian peninsula! Clearly, here are remnants of the people of DAN, who migrated westward overland from the Caucasus to their present location in northern Europe!

However, other Danites, who dwelt or abode in ships, and who associated themselves with the sea peoples of Tyre and Sidon, fled westward through the Mediterranean when northern Israel fell. Early Danites fled Egypt at the time of the Exodus, and migrated through SarDINia, and left their trail along the sea-coasts of the Mediterranean. Thus Dan, who was a "lion's whelp" who would "leap from Bashan," leaped all the way to Ireland, where historians explain that the early settlers were known as the "Tuatha de Danaan" -- literally, the "tribe of Dan." The Greeks called them the Danoi, the Romans called them Danaus.

In Ireland, today, we find their customary evidence -- their place names -- in abundance. Such names as Dans-Lough, Dan-Sower, Dan-Monism, Dun-dalke, Dun-drum, Don-egal Bay, Don-egal City, Dun-glow and Lon-don-derry, as well as Din-gle, Dun-garven and Duns-more, which means "MORE DANS." Of course, the most famous Irish ballad of all time is the song, "Danny Boy." It should be plain that the country of Ireland is replete, filled with names which derive from the ancient patriarch of the Hebrews -- DAN, the son of Jacob! It should be plain that the ancient Danites settled in Ireland, and most of them dwell in that land, today.

There is also a river Don in Scotland, and another in England. These countries, also, show the evidence of the presence or passing of the tribe of Dan, who migrated with the other tribes of the northern kingdom of Israel, especially the tribe of Joseph (Ephraim and Manasseh). Here we find such names markers, or "guide posts" as YEHOVAH God called them in Jeremiah -- as Dun-dee, Dun-kirk, Dunbar, Dunraven, E-din-burgh, and Lon-don.

The Greek historian Herodotus reveals that some of the ancient Greeks actually came from Egypt, and that the ancestor of the Dorian princes in southern Greece was a certain "Danae, the daughter of Acrisus" (Herodotus, VI, 1, iii). The term "Dorian" apparently comes from the name of a city of Manasseh, in northern Israel, called "Dor," near the Mediterranean coast. The Dorians were apparently Danites, of the tribe of Dan, perhaps mixed with some of the descendants of Manasseh.

The Irish word "tuath" means literally "a tribe" or "people." These people were the tribe of DAN of Biblical fame! They came from the Greek "Danaans," and were the same people as the tribe of Dan. Hecateus of Abdera says that the Egyptians, troubled by calamities, in order that the divine wrath might be averted, expelled the foreigners -- all aliens gathered together in Egypt. Of these, some, under their leaders DANUS and CADMUS, migrated to Greece, others to other regions, but the greatest number to "Syria," that is, Palestine, their leader said to have been Moses.

Says Diodorus of Sicily:

"They say also that those who set forth with Danaus, likewise from Egypt, settled what is practically the oldest city of Greece, Argos, and that the nations of the Colchi in Pontus and that of the Jews, which lies between Arabia and Syria, were founded as colonies by certain emigrants from their country . . ." (Diodorus, Bk. I, xxviii, 1-5).

The tribal emblem of the Danites was a snake with a serpent in its claws. Interestingly, Josehus records a letter written by the Lacedemonian Greeks to the Jews in which they express their kinship to the Jews. Their seal, that of the tribe of Dan, was affixed to the epistle -- an eagle with a dragon (serpent) in its claws!

The reply of the Jewish high priest to the letter from the southern Greeks, the Spartan Greeks, declared:

"Jonathan the high priest of the Jewish nation . . . to the ephori and senate and the people of the Lacedemonians, send greeting:

"When in former times an epistle was brought to Onias, who was then our high priest . . . concerning the KINDRED THAT WAS BETWEEN US AND YOU, a copy of which is here subjoined, we both joyfully received the epistle . . . because we were well satisfied about it from the SACRED WRITINGS, yet did not we think fit, first to begin the claim of this RELATION TO YOU, the glory which is now given us by you. It is a long time since this relation of ours to you hath been renewed, and when we, upon holy and festival days offer sacrifices to God, we pray to Him for your preservation and victory . . . . You will, therefore, do well yourselves to write to us, and send us an account of what you stand in need of from us, since we are in all things disposed to act according to your desires" (Antiquities of the Jews, XIII, 5, 8).

The Lacedemonians received the Jewish ambassadors carrying the letter kindly and made a decree of friendship and mutual assistance with the Jews, and then sent the letter to their Lacedemonian kinsmen.

In Ancient Mythology, Bryant relates that Stephanus Byzantium shows that Alexander Polyhistor and Claudius Jolaus also speak of a direct relationship or kindship between the Spartan Greeks and the people of Judaea (vol. 5, p. 51-52, 60).

During the time of the Messiah, the Jews knew that some of the Israelites who had long since been carried into captivity, and then migrated from thence, had settled among the Greeks in the Ionian peninsula. The Jews were mystified by a statement of the Messiah that they would look for him, but be unable to find him (John 7:34). "The Jews said to one another, 'Where does this man intend to go that we cannot find him? Will he go where our people live SCATTERED AMONG THE GREEKS and teach the Greeks?'" (verse 35).

Clearly, some of the scattered, dispersed Israelites who had left Palestine centuries before had been "scattered among the Greeks."

From Greece, then, the tribe of Dan -- the Tuatha de Danaan -- travelled by ship through the Mediterranean Sea, and thence up the coast of Europe to Ireland and Scandinavia.

Early Irish history reveals that the first permanent settlers in Ireland were called "Nemedians," after their leader, and were "of the patriarch, Jacob" and were "said to have come from the shores of the Euxine [Black] Sea" (Moore, The History of Ireland, Vo.1, p. 63). It is very possible that some of these descendants of Jacob, or grandchildren, migrated to Ireland during the time of grievous famine that struck the Middle East in Joseph's time, around 1707 B.C. That famine lasted seven years and struck the whole Middle East, and was "very grievous" (Gen. 41:31, 54-57).

This was about the time the Nemedians entered Ireland, according to Irish history! The Nemedians dwelt in Ireland from 1709-1492 B.C., during the time most of the descendants of Israel were in Egypt. Before the time of the Exodus, the Nemedians were conquered by African sea-rovers called Fomorians, and a colony of them fled to Greece, where other Israelites and Danites had settled, after leaving Egypt. They later returned to Ireland, now known as the Firbolgs. They were the first people to establish royal authority over Ireland, dividing the land into five provinces.

At this time, after ruling about 30-40 years, a new tribe conquered the Firbolgs -- called the "Tuatha de Danaan." This tribe also dwelt in Greece, and then migrated to Denmark and Norway, and then to Ireland (Moore, p. 60). The Tuatha de Danaan became the sole masters of the country. In time, they were dispossessed of the country by another group of Israelites -- the Milesian Scots!

Says Moore in The History of Ireland:

"In process of time, theTuatha-de-Danaan were themselves dispossessed of their sway; a successive invasion from the coast of SPAIN having put and end to the Danaanian dynasty, and transferred the sceptre into the hands of that Milesian or SCOTIC race, which through so long a series of succeeding ages, supplied Ireland with her kings. This celebrated colony, though coming directly from Spain, was originally, we are told, of Scythic race" (p. 60).

The Milesian Scots, under Heremon the son of Gathelus, arrived in Ireland shortly after the Exodus -- bringing with them the celebrated Lia Fail or Pillar-Stone of Jacob.They ruled Ireland for many hundreds of years and eventually settled the northern part of England, calling it Scotland.

These Milesian Scots came from Scythia and said they were originally from Egypt, and connected themselves with the children of Israel. Says Moore:

"Tracing this chosen race in their migrations to different countries, and connecting them, by marriage or friendship, during their long sojourn in Egypt, with most of the heroes of Scripture history, our Bards conduct them at length, by a route not very intelligible, to Spain" (ibid.).

The Tuatha de Danaan were beyond doubt of the tribe of Dan, of Israelitish fame. The new tribe, the Milesian Scots, were no doubt of the royal tribe of Judah -- through his son Zarah. These Scots spoke of a "long sojourn" in Egypt, no doubt the same as that of Israel, from the time of Jacob till Moses, over two hundred years. Says Moore:

"A scheme of descent which traces the ancestors of the Irish through a direct series of generations not merely to the first founders of Phoenician arts and enterprise, but even to chieftains connected by friendship with the prophet Moses himself" (p. 71).

This authority concludes that the Milesian Scots were of the same race as the three colonies in Ireland before them -- that is, the Nemedians, the Firbolgs, and the Tuatha de Danaan. Notice!

"The Bardic historians themselves, who represent the Scoti to have been of Scythic descent and to have from thence derived their distinctive appellation . . . and to confirm still further the origin of the Scots from that quarter. It is added by the Bards that they were OF THE SAME RACE WITH THE THREE COLONIES that had preceded them; namely, the Nemedians, the Tuatha-de-Danaans, and the firbolgs or Belgae" (p. 74).

The tribe of Dan was the first tribe to plunge into idolatry, as the book of Judges reveals (Judges 18). They became ensnared in this sin, and their descendants, today, the Irish, are among the most superstitious and idolatrous people on the earth. They today practice the Roman Catholic religion, and are among the most devout and fervid Catholics on earth. This, however, is partly due to the fact that a strong Canaanite element is mixed in with the people of Southern Ireland. The Canaanites and their descendants have always gravitated towards the various forms of sun worship. It will require the Second Coming of the Messiah to bring them back out of the idolatry they are steeped in, and that is why the tribe of Dan is left out of the 144,000 servants of YEHOVAH God mentioned in the book of Revelation.

In the ancient Annals of Clonmacnoise we read of the Tuatha de Danaan:

"Upon them [the Firbolgs] came in the people called Twathy De Danaan out of Greece too. Being a Branch of the same stock that Firbolgs were of and were kinsmen. During the time of Firbolg, which was 37 years, there reigned in Assyria 3 monarchs. . . . Twathy De Danaan after they had spent much time abroad in learning necromancy, magic, and other diabolical arts wherein they were exceedingly well skilled, and in those days accounted the chiefest in the world in that profession. Landed in the west part of Connaught. Forbolgs hearing of their coming made towards them, and meeting them in a great plain called Moytoyrey in Connaught, fought with them, where Firbolg was overthrown and one hundred thousand of them slaine with their said King Eochy McEirche, which was the greatest slaughter that was hard of in Ireland in one meeting" (Annals of Clonmacnoise From the Creation to A.D. 1408, 1627 edition, quoted by Raymond McNair, in an unpublished manuscript on "The Lost Ten Tribes of Israel," p. 149).

Meanwhile, the tribe of Joseph also migrated to England and the British Isles, and became dominant there. They became known as the "British."

In Isaiah 49, a prophecy for the End time, YEHOVAH God says, "Listen to me, you ISLANDS; hear this, you distant NATIONS" (Isa. 49:1). This is a message to the scattered nations of the northern kingdom of Israel. YEHOVAH says to them, "In the time of MY FAVOR I will answeryou, and in the day of salvation I will help you; I will keep you and will make you TO BE A COVENANT FOR THE PEOPLE, to restore the land and to reassign its desolate inheritances . . ." (v. 8).

The Hebrew word for "covenant" is Beriyth. In Judges 8:33 and 9:4 it is used as a proper name -- "Baal-Berith." This means "Baal of the covenant." The Hebrew for "man" is Iysh. If we take the Hebrew word which means "covenant," and anglicize it, we come up with "Brit" -- the British people, of course, are often called "Brits." The term "BRIT-ISH" is literally, in Hebrew, "Covenant Man," or "Man of a Covenant." The people of YEHOVAH's covenant, then, that are IN THE ISLANDS, who compose distant nations, as compared to Israel in the Middle East, are the British peoples! Their very name once again IDENTIFIES them!

The people of Wales call themselves, in ancient Welsh, "Bryth y Brithan," which means "Briths of Briton." This means "The Covenanters" of "the land of the Covenant." The earliest settlers in Wales and Southern England were the Simonii -- the descendants of the tribe of Simeon!

The tribe of Dan, more than any other of the "lost ten tribes of Israel," left its "signature" wherever it migrated or journeyed. It did so by the unique method of naming rivers, moutains, lakes, villages, towns, bays, and cities after the name of their ancestor -- Dan.

Therefore, tracing the name and routes and migrations of the Danites gives us the evidence we need to trace the other "missing" tribes of Israel to their locations in northwestern Europe, and the world.

The Danites, unfortunately, are still steeped in pagan idolatry and superstition. It has been a warlike tribe. Jacob prophesied of Dan,

"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" (Gen. 49:16-17).

The Irish, today, are infamous for their rejection of the British rule. All Ireland is in ferment against the British rulership in Northern Ireland, and Irish terrorists strike without warning, just like a "serpent by the way, an adder in the path." The outlawed Irish Republican Army in its clandestine war with England has set off bombs in London, near the Prime Minister's office, and has shown no reluctance to main, kill or destroy.

Because of this attitude, the modern descendants of Dan are the most wayward and idolatrous and far from YEHOVAH God of all the tribes.

Therefore, Jacob declared, Dan prophetically has to say, unlike the other tribes of Israel:

"I have WAITED for thy salvation, O LORD" (Gen. 49:18).

But in the Millennium, during the Reign of YEHOVAH God and the Messiah, even the tribe of Dan will fulfill their true purpose and destiny. They will truly abide in ships, and settle new colonies, and rebuild the waste places. They will once again "leap from Bashan," and colonize the world!

YEHOVAH God says of His people Israel, including the tribe of Dan:

"Though you were ruined and made desolate and your land laid waste, now you will be TOO SMALL for your people, and those who devoured you will be far away. The children born during your bereavement will yet say in your hearing, 'This place is TOO SMALL for us; give us more space to live in.' Then you will say in your heart, 'Who bore me these? I was bereaved and barren; I was exiled and rejected. Who brought these up? I was left all alone, but these -- where have they come from?' . . . . Then you will know that I am the LORD; those who hope in me will not be disappointed" (Isaiah 49:19-23).

The true saga of the tribe of Dan, "a serpent by the way," who left a tantalizing, fascinating "trail" of waymarks along his path of journey, is one of the proofs of the modern location and identity of the so-called "Lost Ten Tribes of Israel." Dan, a remarkable people, a powerful people of farmer-warriors, and sailors, left their indelible imprint on ancient history, wherever they went. They will also become a powerful force for good, during the reign of the Messiah and YEHOVAH God the Father, when they establish the Kingdom of YEHOVAH God on this earth!

-- Edited By John D. Keyser.