Dan: the gifted judge

In Genesis 49:16, Jacob told his son Dan that his descendants would “provide justice for his people as one of the tribes of Israel.” 

Justice: what a gift to have, the ability to judge people fairly and interpret the law accurately in each person’s situation, without favouring one’s own bias, or pushing the current political narratives or ideological fads. Imagine living in a world with a judicial system like that. Well, God provided such a system for Israel in Dan, because justice is crucial for a nation and its people to be at peace, knowing that they will be fairly treated and real crime will be swiftly dealt with. 

But “judging” for Dan was a foregone conclusion from the day of his birth. His birth mother was Bilhah, Rachel’s handmaid, but Rachel named him because in her words, “God has judged me, and has also heard my voice, and has given me a son (through Bilhah), therefore she called his name Dan” (30:6) – “Dan” meaning “he will judge.” 

What Rachel meant by the word “judge” was connected to “God has judged me” in verse 6, which in turn was connected to “he has also heard my voice.” She had desperately wanted a child, and here she had a son, at last – not quite the natural birth she’d hoped for, but in her mind God had heard her desperation and frustration and in judging her situation this was the answer he’d provided

To Rachel, then, God was the perfect judge of her life. He’d obviously been aware of – and sensitive to – her frustration and sorrow at not being able to bear children herself, so like a lawyer in a court case God had “pleaded her case.” He was on her side, in her corner, totally understanding how she felt. His answer, therefore, had, and would, perfectly fit in with both her need and his plan. 

His plan being to provide Israel with Dan, gifted like himself with good and wise judgment. Or as Jacob later phrased it, Dan would “provide justice for his people.” The Hebrew word for “justice” in that verse is yadin from the root word “din” meaning law or judgement – so Dan would be very good at judging how God’s law applied to a person’s situation. He would be given a sensitivity to a person’s need, and just like God did with Rachel he’d come up with an answer that best suited. 

Is there any evidence in the history of Israel, then, of “Dan’s sensitivity toward the needy”?….(next blog)