Samson's Folly and the Migration of Dan

SAMSON WAS the stereotypical alpha male. Ruled by his passions, Samson fell into the hands of Israel’s enemies, the Philistines—but God used even Samson’s failings to save His people from their enemies.We discuss Samson’s flaws, such as his pride and rather flexible approach toward keeping his vow as a Nazirite. It’s clear that Samson either wasn’t the smartest guy in Israel, or he put so much trust in his own strength that he did foolish things.Then we move on to the story of the tribe of Dan’s relocation from its original land allotment west of Judah to the north, at the base of Mount Hermon. The Danites, unable to push the Philistines out of their territory, seized the area around the ancient city of Laish and settled there.This story is connected to that of an ambitious Levite priest who left the territory of Judah and settled with a wealthy Ephraimite named Micah, who had fallen into the pagan practices of Israel’s Amorite neighbors. We revisit the practice of ancestor veneration and the monthly kispum ritual, which involved the household idols called teraphim, through which pagans in the ancient Near East believed they provided food and drink for their dead ancestors.Judges 17 and 18 show the fulfillment of Moses’ prophecy over Dan in Deuteronomy 33:22: “Dan is a lion’s cub that leaps from Bashan.” Mount Hermon and the area around the city of Dan were part of Og’s kingdom, Bashan, but at the time of the prophecy, the Israelites were still camping on the plains of Moab east of the Jordan River.The account also shows that Dan was the first of the tribes of Israel to fall back into pagan worship. By taking the Levite, Jonathan (a descendant of Moses!), as their tribal priest, they violated the Law, since the approved priesthood served at the Tabernacle in Shiloh. This may be the reason early Christian theologians such as Irenaeus believed the Antichrist would come from the tribe of Dan.