tribe of the Danites
Judges 18:1
18:1 tribe of the Danites. The tribe of Dan had been unable to conquer the territory assigned to them (Judges 1:34). Consequently, they sent a delegation northward to find a suitable location, eventually settling on a northern coastal city which they renamed Dan, after they had conquered it (Judges 18:27-29). This was Israel’s northernmost city. Beer-sheba, in Judah, was the most southerly, giving rise to the proverbial expression, “from Dan even to Beer-sheba” (Judges 20:1). The fact that this city of Dan is mentioned in Judges 5:17 is one indication that the events of Judges 17–21 occurred very early in the period of the judges.