Joshua 19:40-46
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While Dan was a large tribe, this verse quietly reveals they received the seventh and final lot, hinting at a challenge: their allotted inheritance on the coast turned out to be smaller than expected. This led them to conquer additional territory, showing their resourcefulness when faced with less than ideal circumstances in God's provision.
The seventh lot came out for the tribe of the people of Dan, according to their clans. And the territory of its inheritance included Zorah, Eshtaol, Ir-shemesh, Shaalabbin, Aijalon, Ithlah, Elon, Timnah, Ekron, Eltekeh, Gibbethon, Baalath, Jehud, Bene-berak, Gath-rimmon, and Me-jarkon and Rakkon with the territory over against Joppa.
English Standard Version (ESV)
The division of the Promised Land is nearing its conclusion, with lots being drawn for the remaining tribes, including Naphtali just before Dan. This final portioning of territory is happening at Shiloh before the Lord, setting the stage for the land's permanent settlement. The verse about Dan's inheritance immediately precedes the account of how their allotted territory proved insufficient, leading them to seek land elsewhere.
Joshua 19:40 marks the final allocation of land by lot. Who were the people of Dan, and what does their 'seventh lot' signify in the grand scheme of Israel's inheritance?
The drawing of lots was a divine method for dividing the Promised Land among the twelve tribes.
Divine Order in Allocation
Joshua 19:40 states, 'And the seventh lot came out for the tribe of the people of Dan, according to their families.' This verse concludes the detailed account of land distribution. The lot wasn't random chance; it was understood as God's direct way of assigning portions, ensuring fairness and divine approval for each tribe's inheritance.
Dan's Place in the Order
Dan received the seventh lot. While the exact order of the lots could be influenced by various factors (like the size of the tribe or their position during the wilderness wanderings), the key is that each tribe received its designated place through this sacred process. As noted, Dan was among the more numerous tribes, and had a significant role, even leading the rear guard during their journey.
This final allotment signifies the completion of God's promise to give the land to Abraham's descendants, with every tribe, including Dan, finding their place within the covenant.
The land assigned to Dan by lot wasn't a straightforward victory. Discover how this tribe had to fight for their portion and what that reveals about faith and obedience.
While the lots designated an inheritance, securing and possessing that land often required active faith and courage.
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A Border Tribe's Struggle
Commentaries note that the inheritance initially allotted to the tribe of Dan was 'too little for them' (Joshua 19:47). This suggests their assigned territory may have been insufficient or contested.
Taking the Land by Force
Because of this inadequacy, the Danites didn't passively accept their lot. They 'went up to fight against Leshem, and took it, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and possessed it, and dwelt therein' (Joshua 19:47). They renamed it Dan, after their ancestor.
This action highlights a crucial aspect of the conquest: receiving an inheritance often involved actively engaging in faith, warfare, and expansion, as God empowered them. It wasn't just about the lot, but about the faithful pursuit of what God had promised.
Understand the original words
goral · Hebrew Noun
The method used by the Israelites, often guided by God's providence, to determine the specific geographical boundaries of tribal territories, demonstrating that the land division was divine rather than arbitrary.
nachalah · Hebrew Noun
A portion of land or property received as a legal possession, often by divine decree or ancestral succession, signifying the fulfillment of God’s covenantal promises to His people.
The tribe of Dan received their lot late in the division process, and their initial inheritance proved too small, forcing them to seek new territory later. This highlights the complex and sometimes challenging nature of settling into the Promised Land.
c. 1400 BC
Joshua leads Israel into Canaan
After the death of Moses, Joshua takes command and leads the Israelites across the Jordan River to begin their conquest of the Promised Land.
c. 1400-1390 BC— this verse
Conquest and division of Canaan
The Israelites wage war against the Canaanite nations, gradually securing territory. The land is then systematically divided by lot among the twelve tribes.
c. 1390 BC
Joshua receives his inheritance
After the land is divided among the tribes, Joshua is granted his own inheritance city, Timnath-serah, fulfilling a promise and demonstrating his selfless leadership.
During the period of the Judges
Danites expand northward
The tribe of Dan, finding their allotted territory insufficient and bordered by hostile Philistines, eventually moves north to conquer and settle the city of Leshem, renaming it Dan.
This passage describes how the Amorites pushed the tribe of Dan into the hill country, highlighting their eventual struggle for territory and the limited land allocated to them in the initial division, which aligns with the context of Dan's inheritance.
Numbers 1:39This verse shows Dan as one of the most numerous tribes during the wilderness census, providing context for why their inheritance might have been expected to be larger or more substantial than what they initially received.
Judges 18:1This verse directly follows the account of the land division and speaks of the tribe of Dan seeking more territory, illustrating the dissatisfaction with their allotted portion and their subsequent actions to expand.
Genesis 49:16-17Jacob's prophecy about Dan describes him as a 'viper by the roadside,' suggesting a fierce and potentially combative nature, which resonates with the tribe's later actions in taking the city of Leshem (Judges 18:27-29) for their inheritance.
calvinJoshua 19:32-51: "The sixth lot came out to the children of Naphtali, even for the children of Naphtali according to their families."
And then the coast turns westward to Aznothtabor, and goeth out from thence to Hukkok, and reacheth to Zebulun on the south side, and reacheth to Asher on the west side, and to Judah upon Jordan toward the sunrising.
Postea revertitur terminus ad mare ad Aznoth-thabor: et progreditur illinc in Huccoc, et pervenit ad Zabulon a meridie, et ad Aser pervenit…
ellicottJoshua 19:40: "And the seventh lot came out for the tribe of the children of Dan according to their families."
(40) The seventh lot . . . of the children of Dan. —Dan was the most numerous tribe, next to Judah, in each census taken during the exodus. (See Numbers 1, 26) This tribe had also had a post of honour in being commander of the rear-guard during the march. A similar post is here assigned to Dan in Palestine, viz., next to Judah, on the side of the Philistine territory. The Philistines w…
While Dan was a large tribe, this verse quietly reveals they received the seventh and final lot, hinting at a challenge: their allotted inheritance on the coast turned out to be smaller than expected. This led them to conquer additional territory, showing their resourcefulness when faced with less than ideal circumstances in God's provision.
The division of the Promised Land is nearing its conclusion, with lots being drawn for the remaining tribes, including Naphtali just before Dan. This final portioning of territory is happening at Shiloh before the Lord, setting the stage for the land's permanent settlement. The verse about Dan's inheritance immediately precedes the account of how their allotted territory proved insufficient, leading them to seek land elsewhere.
The division of the Promised Land is nearing its conclusion, with lots being drawn for the remaining tribes, including Naphtali just before Dan. This final portioning of territory is happening at Shiloh before the Lord, setting the stage for the land's permanent settlement. The verse about Dan's inheritance immediately precedes the account of how their allotted territory proved insufficient, leading them to seek land elsewhere.
"The seventh lot came out for the tribe of the people of Dan, according to their clans. And the territory of its inheritance included Zorah, Eshtaol, Ir-shemesh, Shaalabbin, Aijalon, Ithlah, Elon, Timnah, Ekron, Eltekeh, Gibbethon, Baalath,…" — While Dan was a large tribe, this verse quietly reveals they received the seventh and final lot, hinting at a challenge: their allotted inheritance on the coast turned out to be smaller than expect…
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Last reviewed October 2026
