Bible Strands
Judges 18:29
They named it Dan, after their forefather Dan, who was born to Israel—though the city was formerly named Laish.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator records the Danite tribe renaming the conquered settlement of Laish to Dan during their northward migration and territorial expansion.
The words — וַיִּקְרְא֥וּ (va-yiqrə’û) means "and they called," denoting the formal act of designation. הָעִיר (hā‘îr) translates as "the city," specifying the exact location receiving the new identifier.
The thread — The renaming fulfills the territorial shift noted in Joshua 19:47, where the Danites capture Leshem after their original inheritance is lost. The text explicitly ties the new name to the patriarch Dan, son of Israel, establishing a tribal claim to the site.
Why it lands — The verse demands recognition that human renaming operates independently of divine territorial allocation. It requires the reader to observe how tribal identity and political conquest merge without explicit covenantal approval.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And they called the name of the city Dan, after the name of Dan their father, who was born unto Israel: howbeit the name of the city was Laish at the first.
Cross-references
- Joshua 19:47 (Later, when the territory of the Danites was lost to them, they went up and fought against Leshem, captured it, and put it to the sword. So they took possession of Leshem, settled there, and renamed it after their father Dan.)
- Genesis 14:14 And when Abram heard that his relative had been captured, he mobilized the 318 trained men born in his household, and they set out in pursuit as far as Dan.
- 1 Kings 15:20 And Ben-hadad listened to King Asa and sent the commanders of his armies against the cities of Israel, conquering Ijon, Dan, Abel-beth-maacah, and the whole land of Naphtali, including the region of Chinnereth.
- Genesis 30:6 Then Rachel said, “God has vindicated me; He has heard my plea and given me a son.” So she named him Dan.
- Judges 20:1 Then all the Israelites from Dan to Beersheba and from the land of Gilead came out, and the congregation assembled as one man before the LORD at Mizpah.
- 1 Kings 12:29 One calf he set up in Bethel, and the other in Dan.
- Genesis 32:28 Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men, and you have prevailed.”
- 2 Samuel 17:11 Instead, I advise that all Israel from Dan to Beersheba—a multitude like the sand on the seashore—be gathered to you, and that you yourself lead them into battle.