Genesis 49:16

16 “Dan[a] will provide justice for his people as one of the tribes of Israel.

Genesis 49:16 in Other Translations

KJV
16 Dan shall judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel.
ESV
16 "Dan shall judge his people as one of the tribes of Israel.
NLT
16 “Dan will govern his people, like any other tribe in Israel.
MSG
16 Dan will handle matters of justice for his people; he will hold his own just fine among the tribes of Israel.
CSB
16 Dan will judge his people as one of the tribes of Israel.

Genesis 49:16 Meaning and Commentary

Genesis 49:16

Dan shall judge his people as one of the tribes of Israel.
] There is an elegant paronomasia, or an allusion to the name of Dan in those words, which signifies to judge, and the sense of them is, there should be heads, rulers, and judges of it, as the other tribes had; and this is the rather mentioned of him, because he is the first of the children of concubine wives as yet taken notice of; and what is here said of him is also to be understood of the rest of the sons of the concubines; for the meaning is not, that a judge should arise out of him as out of the other tribes, that should judge all Israel, restraining it to Samson, who was of this tribe, as the Targums and Jarchi; for no such judge did arise out of all the tribes of Israel; nor was Samson such a judge of Israel as David, who, according to Jarchi, is one of the tribes of Israel, namely, of Judah; for David did not judge as Samson, nor Samson as David, their form of government being different.

Genesis 49:16 In-Context

14 “Issachar is a rawboned donkey lying down among the sheep pens.
15 When he sees how good is his resting place and how pleasant is his land, he will bend his shoulder to the burden and submit to forced labor.
16 “Dan will provide justice for his people as one of the tribes of Israel.
17 Dan will be a snake by the roadside, a viper along the path, that bites the horse’s heels so that its rider tumbles backward.
18 “I look for your deliverance, LORD.

Cross References 2

  • 1. Genesis 30:6; Deuteronomy 33:22; Judges 18:26-27
  • 2. S ver 2

Footnotes 1

  • [a]. "Dan" here means "he provides justice."
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