Dan (ancient city)

Ancient city in northern Israel

Laish, Tel Dan

תל דן‎

Restored Bronze Age gate at Tel Dan

Shown within Israel

Show map of Israel

Dan (ancient city) (Eastern Mediterranean)

Show map of Eastern Mediterranean

Alternative name| تل القاضي
Location| Israel
Coordinates| 33°14′56″N 35°39′07″E﻿ / ﻿33.249°N 35.652°E﻿ / 33.249; 35.652
Type| conserved ruins
History
Founded| c. 4500 BC
Abandoned| c. 733 BC
Periods| Neolithic period, Bronze Age, Iron Age
Cultures| Neolithic, Canaanite, Israelite
Site notes
Public access| yes
Website| Tel Dan Nature Reserve

Dan (Hebrew: דן), and older name Laish, is an ancient city mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, described as the northernmost city of the Kingdom of Israel,[1] and belonging to the tribe of Dan, its namesake. It was later the site of a royal sanctuary built by Jeroboam.[2]

The city is identified with a tell located in Upper Galilee, northern Israel, known as Tel Dan (תל דן‎; "Mound of Dan") in Hebrew and Tell el-Qadi ("Mound of the Judge") in Arabic, a popular translation of the ancient Hebrew name.[2] The site was occupied continuously from the Early Bronze Age through the Iron Age II, the time of the Kingdom of Israel. While evidence suggests a period of abandonment during the Persian era, it was later rebuilt as a Hellenistic city with a notable shrine.[2]

## Identification and names

[edit]

The Hebrew Bible states that prior to its conquest by the tribe of Dan the site was known as Laish with variant spellings within the Books of Joshua, Judges and Isaiah.[3] In Joshua 19:47 it is called Leshem, which means "jewel".[4] Isaiah 10:30 has the alternative name Laishah "Lioness" in a number of translations.[5]

Rabbinic works,[6] and writers like Philostorgius, Theodoret, Benjamin of Tudela and Samuel ben Samson, all incorrectly identified Dan or Laish, with Banias (Paneas).[7][8][9] Eusebius of Caesarea more accurately places Dan/Laish in the vicinity of Paneas at the fourth mile on the route to Tyre.[9]

The Arab name of the archaeological site, Tell el-Qadi, meaning "the tell of the judge," plays on the distinction between Arabic "din" and Hebrew "dan," offering a popular translation of the ancient Hebrew name.[2] 19th century Swiss traveler Johann Ludwig Burckhardt identified the source of the Jordan River having the name "Dhan" (Arabic: ضان) in his travelogue published posthumously in 1822.[10] The American naval officer William F. Lynch was the first to identify Tell el-Qadi as the site of the ancient city of Dan in 1849.[11] Three years later, Edward Robinson made the same identification,[12] and this identification is now securely accepted.[2]

Tel Dan is the modern Israeli name for the site, based on the original Biblical name.[4]

## Geography

[edit]

This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (December 2019) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

|

Dan is situated in the area known as the Galilee Panhandle, which is a part of Upper Galilee. To the west is the southern part of Mount Lebanon; to the east and north are the Hermon mountains. Melting snow from the Hermon mountains provides the majority of the water of the Jordan River, and passes through Dan, making the immediate area highly fertile. The lush vegetation that results makes the area around Dan seem somewhat out of place in the otherwise arid region around it. Due to its location close to the border with Syria and Lebanon at the far north of the territory which fell under the British Mandate of Palestine, the site has a long and often bitterly contested modern history, most recently during the 1967 Six-Day War.

## Biblical narrative

[edit]

### Laish/Leshem

[edit]

According to the Book of Judges, prior to the Tribe of Dan occupying the land, the town was known as Laish (Judges 18:7, 14, 27–29), meaning lion, or rather lioness.[13][14] Joshua 19:47, although telling the same story as Judges 18, names the city as Leshem, which makes the researchers consider it as being the same place.[13]

Laish was allied with the Sidonians, Phoenicians from the city of Sidon. This might indicate they were also Phoenicians, who may or may not have been Canaanite. The alliance offered little practical benefit due to the remoteness of Laish from Sidon, and the intervening Lebanon mountains. The town was also isolated from the Assyrians and Aram by the Hermon mountains; the Septuagint mentions that the town was unable to have an alliance with the Aramaeans. The Masoretic Text does not mention the Aramaeans, but instead states that the town had no relationship with any man – textual scholars believe that this is a scribal error, with adham (man) being a mistake for Aram.[15]

### Israelite city of Dan

[edit]

Israelite-period cultic precinct unearthed at Dan

According to the Book of Judges story of Micah's Idol, the Tribe of Dan did not at that point have any territory to their name (Judges 18:1), and so, after scouting out the land, eventually decided to attack Laish, as the land around it was fertile, and the town was demilitarised. The Bible describes the Tribe of Dan with 600 men brutally defeating the people of Laish and burning it to the ground, and then building their city in the same spot. The narrative states that Laish became known as Dan after the tribe. They then erected a sanctuary that housed the idol stolen from Micah, which was served by a priest who was Moses' grandson. The sanctuary later received one of the two golden calves of Jeroboam, and remained in use until the "time of captivity of the land" and the time that the "house of God" ceased to be in Shiloh. Scholars think that the former refers to the Assyrian conquest of the Kingdom of Israel by Tiglath-Pileser III in 733/732, and that the latter refers to the time of Hezekiah's religious reform;[16] an alternative possibility, however, supported by a minority of scholars, is that "time of captivity of the land" is a scribal error and should read "time of captivity of the Ark", referring to the battle of Eben-Ezer, and the Philistine capture of the Ark, and that the ceasing of the "house of God" being in Shiloh refers to this also.[16]

#### Golden calf worship

[edit]

According to 2 Kings 10:29 and 2 Chronicles 13:8, Jeroboam erected two golden calves as gods in Bethel and Dan. Textual scholars believe that this is where the Elohist story of Aaron's golden calf originates due to opposition in some sections of Israelite society, including the Elohists, to the seeming idol-worship of Jeroboam.[17] However, some Biblical scholars believe that Jeroboam was trying to outdo the Temple in Jerusalem, by creating a seat for God that spanned the entire Kingdom of Israel rather than just the small space above the Ark of the Covenant in Jerusalem. The Holy of Holies in the Jerusalem Temple of Judah was represented by a cherub on either side, so Jeroboam might have been using the calves to represent the sides of his sanctuary, implying his whole kingdom was equal in holiness to the Ark.[18]

## Archaeology

[edit]

According to the archaeological excavations at the site, the town was originally occupied in the Late Neolithic period (c. 4500 BCE), and at some time in the fourth millennium BCE it was abandoned for almost 1,000 years.[19]

### Early Bronze

[edit]

Laish was a fortified settlement during the Early Bronze Age.[20]

### Middle Bronze

[edit]

The Egyptians cursed Laish in execration texts written during the Middle Kingdom. It has been speculated that the repetition in such texts of formulas from older ones dating to the Old Kingdom (27th–22nd century BCE) seem to indicate that they reflected the historical reality of the Early Bronze Age, rather than that of the Middle Bronze Age.[21]

The excavators of Tel Dan uncovered a city gate made of mud bricks on top of megalithic basalt blocks called orthostats,[22] estimated to have been built during the Middle Bronze Age around 1750 BCE.[23] As of 2009, its three constituent 'true' arches were the oldest complete and free-standing monumental arches made of mud-brick known in the world.[23] Its popular name is Abraham's Gate, due to the biblical story that Abraham travelled to Dan to rescue his nephew Lot (Genesis 14:14:). The gate was restored in the late 2000s and has become a popular tourist attraction.[24]

Hazor was the regional power during the Middle Bronze II, subordinate to Qatna to the north and with trade routes to Mari in the Middle Euphrates.

### Late Bronze

[edit]

#### Egyptian period

[edit]

In the 15th century BCE, Tuthmosis III conquered Dan (called Laysha) along others (Egyptian hieroglyphs did not distinguish between L and R).[25][26]

### Iron Age I

[edit]

During the Iron Age I, Egyptian withdrawal from Canaan led Laish (Dan) to become an independent entity allied with the Sidonians.

It remained independent until the 10th century BCE, when it was annexed by the Northern Kingdom of Israel or one of the Aramean kingdoms.[27]

In Judges 18 it is told that there was no king in the land. The Tribe of Dan were seeking an inheritance for themselves, so they sent five of their clan leaders from Zorah and Eshtaol to spy out the land of Laish. The Danites then conquered Laish with an army of 600 men burning the city to the ground and rebuilding it as Dan.

### Iron Age II

[edit]

Israelite outer gate

In Iron II, the Northern Kingdom of Israel seem to have gained control over Dan.

According to William G. Dever, the city's population was approximately 3,000 people during the 9th and 8th centuries BCE.[28]

#### Israelite city wall and gate

[edit]

The Israelite gate was built at a different location than the Canaanite gate.

In 1992, in order to tidy up the site for presentation to visitors, a heap of debris was removed[where?] which dated from the time of the Assyrian destruction of the city by Tiglath-Pileser III in 733/2 BCE. A hitherto unknown earlier gateway[where?] to the city was uncovered. The entrance complex led to a courtyard paved with stone with a low stone platform.[clarification needed] In the 9th century BCE, the podium[clarification needed] was enlarged, and major fortifications were built, a city wall with buttresses and a complex gate. The podium[clarification needed] was enlarged further in the 8th century BCE by Jeroboam II, then destroyed by Tiglath-Pileser III.[29][failed verification]

Tel Dan in 1969

#### Seat of king or judge

[edit]

At the Israelite gate there is a raised square platform reached by two steps. Decorated stone sockets in the corners may have been created to hold canopy poles. It may have been the base of the king's seat, where he would sit in judgment.[30]

#### Tel Dan stele

[edit]

Main article: Tel Dan stele

The Tel Dan stele. The Aramaic letters "BYTDWD", meaning "House of David", are highlighted.

Within the remains of the city wall, close to the entrance of the outer gate, parts of the stele were found.[31] The basalt stone bears an Aramaic inscription referring to one of the kings of Damascus; the excavators of the site believe that the king it refers to is Hazael (c 840 BCE),[32] though a minority argue that it instead refers to Ben-Hadad (c 802 BCE).[33] A small part of the inscription remains, with text containing the letters 'ביתדוד' (BYTDWD), which most archaeologists agree refers to "House of David" (Beth David in Hebrew.[34][35]) In the line directly above, the text reads 'MLK YSR'L', i.e. "King of Israel". Hebrew script from the era is vowel-less, which would make the inscription the first time that the name David has been found at an archaeological site dating before 500 BCE.

Dan suffered in the era of expansion by the Aramaeans, due to being the closest city to them in the kingdom of Israel. The several incursions indicated by the Book of Kings suggest that Dan changed hands at least four times between the Kingdom of Israel and Aramaeans, around the time that Israel was ruled by Ahab and the Aramaeans by Ben Hadad I, and their successors. Around this time, the Tel Dan stele was created by the Aramaeans, during one of the periods of their control of Dan.

When the Assyrian empire expanded to the south, the kingdom of Israel initially became a vassal state, but after rebelling, the Assyrians invaded and the town fell to Tiglath-Pileser III in 733/732 BCE.

#### Cultic area, altar

[edit]

Excavations at the cultic area of Dan have revealed a religious compound with a large four-horned central altar and presenting a diverse amount of cult paraphernalia.[36] These findings seem to be in line with the biblical account which portrays Dan as a major cultic center of the Kingdom of Israel from the reign of Jeroboam (1 Kings 12:28–30).[37]

### Later periods

[edit]

During the Persian, Hellenistic, and Roman periods, remains indicate that cultic activities continued around the podium (also known as "the High Place").[29]

## Tel Dan Nature Reserve

[edit]

The Tel Dan Nature Reserve was first declared on 39 hectares surrounding the Tel in 1974. Nine hectares were added to the reserve in 1989.[38] The Dan River is one of the three water sources of the Jordan River which meet in the northern part of the Hula Valley.[39] Notable points of interest include Paradise Springs, the Abraham or Canaanite Gate and the Israelite Gate.[40]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ See verses listed at From Dan to Beersheba
2. ^ a b c d e Lemche, Niels Peter (2004). Historical dictionary of ancient Israel. Historical dictionaries of ancient civilizations and historical eras. Lanham, Md.: Scarecrow Press. p. 100\. ISBN 978-0-8108-4848-1.
3. ^ Provan, Iain William; Long, V. Philips; Longman, Tremper (2003). A Biblical History of Israel. Westminster John Knox Press. pp. 181–183\. ISBN 0-664-22090-8.
4. ^ a b N. P. Lemche (2003). "'House of David', the Tel Dan Inscription(s)". In T. L. Thompson (ed.). Jerusalem in Ancient History and Tradition. T&T Clark International. p. 47.
5. ^ e.g. ASV, NIV and NRSV
6. ^ Jastrow, M, 1903. A Dictionary of the Targumim, the Talmud Bavli and Yerushalmi, and the Midrashic Literature, p. 1185 and 1189, or webpage.
7. ^ Wilson (2004), p. 150
8. ^ Provan, Long, Longman, 2003, pp. 181-183
9. ^ a b Saulcy, 1854, pp. 537-538
10. ^ Burckhardt, John Lewis (1822). Travels in Syria and the Holy Land. J. Murray. ISBN 978-1-4142-8338-8. "The source of the Jordan, or as it is here called, Dhan (ضان), is at an hour and a quarter N. E. from Banias." `{{cite book}}`: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
11. ^ Lynch, W. F. (1849). Narrative of the United States Expedition to the River Jordan and the Dead Sea. London: Richard Bentley. p. 472.
12. ^ Robinson, E.; Smith, E. (1856). Later Biblical Researches in Palestine and in the Adjacent Regions - A Journal of Travels in the Year 1852. Boston: Crocker & Brewster., p. 392
13. ^ a b abarim-publications, Laish "Laish" and "Laishah" at Abarim Publications. Re-accessed 20 July 2022.
14. ^ Laish at Bible Gateway. Accessed 20 July 2022.
15. ^ Peake, A. S.; Black, M.; Rowley, H. H. (2001). Peake's Commentary on the Bible. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-26355-9. Retrieved 7 September 2010.
16. ^ a b  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Singer, Isidore; et al., eds. (1901–1906). "Micah". The Jewish Encyclopedia. New York: Funk & Wagnalls.
17. ^ Friedman, Richard Elliot (1989). Who wrote the Bible?. Perennial Library. p. 109\. ISBN 978-0-06-097214-1. Retrieved 7 September 2010.
18. ^ Friedman 1989, p. 47.
19. ^ Bar-Yosef, O., Gopher, A., and Nadel, D. (1987). "Pottery Neolithic Levels at Tel Dan". Mitekufat Haeven - Journal of the Israel Prehistoric Society 20:91–113.
20. ^ Ben-Tor (2006), p. 81.
21. ^ Ben-Tor (2006), pp. 67, 81.
22. ^ Finkelstein, Israel; Mazar, Amihai (2007). Brian B. Schmidt (ed.). The Quest for the Historical Israel: Debating Archaeology and the History of Early Israel. Society of Biblical Literature. pp. 177–. ISBN 978-1-58983-277-0.
23. ^ a b Frances, Rosa: The three-arched middle Bronze Age gate at Tel Dan - A structural investigation of an extraordinary archaeological site, retrieved 9 April 2020.
24. ^ Ilani, Ofri; Ashkenazi, Eli (March 18, 2009). "4,000-year-old 'Abraham's Gate' reopened to public after painstaking restoration work". Ha'aretz English Language Edition.
25. ^ Müller, Wilhelm Max; Lutz, Henry Frederick. "Geographic List Of Tuthmosis III. Karnak.". Egyptological Researches: Results of a journey in 1904. pp. 80f. second row, #31. Egyptian hieroglyphs – like contemporary Linear A and Linear B – did not distinguish L and R.
26. ^ "Dan". www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org.
27. ^ Ilan, David (2020). DAN IV - The Iron Age I Settlement: The Avraham Biran Excavations (1966-1999). ISD LLC. pp. 634–635\. ISBN 978-0-87820-183-9.
28. ^ Dever, William G. (2017). Beyond the Texts: an archaeological portrait of ancient Israel and Judah. Atlanta: SBL Press. pp. 271, 392. ISBN 978-0-88414-218-8.
29. ^ a b Negev, Avraham; Gibson, Shimon (July 2005). Archaeological encyclopedia of the Holy Land. Continuum International Publishing Group. pp. 131–132\. ISBN 978-0-8264-8571-7. Retrieved 16 September 2010.
30. ^ Rogoff, Mike (February 24, 2015). "When King David Sat 'In the Gate,' What Did That Mean?". Haaretz. Retrieved October 23, 2024.
31. ^ Biran, Avraham; Naveh, Joseph (1993). "An Aramaic Stele Fragment from Tel Dan". Israel Exploration Journal. 43 (2–3). Israel Exploration Society: 81–98\. JSTOR 27926300.2–3&rft.pages=81-98&rft.date=1993&rft_id=https://www.jstor.org/stable/27926300#id-name=JSTOR&rft.aulast=Biran&rft.aufirst=Avraham&rft.au=Naveh,+Joseph&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Dan+(ancient+city)" class="Z3988">
32. ^ Suriano, Mathew J. (2007). "The Apology of Hazael: A Literary and Historical Analysis of the Tel Dan Inscription". Journal of Near Eastern Studies. 66 (3): 163–176\. doi:10.1086/521754. S2CID 162347286.
33. ^ George Athas (2003). The Tel Dan inscription: a reappraisal and a new interpretation. Continuum International Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-567-04043-5. Retrieved 15 September 2010.
34. ^ Rainey, Anson F. (November–December 1994). "The House of David and the House of the Deconstructionists". Biblical Archaeological Review. 20 (6).
35. ^ Shanks, Hershel (September–October 1999). "Biran at Ninety". Biblical Archaeology Review. 25 (3). Archived from the original on 2016-03-06. Retrieved 2010-09-15.
36. ^ Greer, Jonathan S. (2013). Dinner at Dan: Biblical and Archaeological Evidence for Sacred Feasts at Iron Age II Tel Dan and Their Significance. BRILL. p. 98\. ISBN 978-90-04-26062-7.
37. ^ Greer, Jonathan S. (2023). "A 'Chosen Place' not Chosen, but not Rejected: The Temple of Dan in Archaeology and Text". Semitica. 65: 251–265\. doi:10.2143/SE.65.0.3293121. ISSN 2466-6815.
38. ^ "List of National Parks and Nature Reserves" (PDF) (in Hebrew). Israel Nature and Parks Authority. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 7, 2009. Retrieved 2010-09-27.
39. ^ Eretz Magazine Archived March 12, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
40. ^ Israel Nature and Parks Authority, Tel Dan Nature Reserve, accessed 12 October 2020

### Bibliography

[edit]

* Ben-Tor, Amnon (2006), Yaira Amit; Nadav Naʼaman (eds.), "Do the Execration Texts reflect an accurate picture of the contemporary settlement map of Palestine?", Essays on ancient Israel in its Near Eastern context: a tribute to Nadav Naʼaman, Eisenbrauns, pp. 63–87, ISBN 978-1-57506-128-3 Re-accessed 20 July 2022.
* Wilson, John Francis (2004). Caesarea Philippi: Banias, the Lost City of Pan. I. B. Tauris. ISBN 1-85043-440-9.

## External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tel Dan.

* Tel Dan Excavations – official Nelson Glueck School of Biblical Archaeology website
* Tel Dan inscription
* Israel Nature & Natural Parks Protection Authority Site
* 1961 Israeli map of Tel Dan and surrounding area. [1]

* v
* t
* e

Nature reserves of Israel

Jerusalem District|

* Adullam
* Avshalom Cave
* Ein Hemed
* HaMasrek
* Lifta
* Nahal Sorek
* Har HaTayasim
* Te'omim Cave

Northern District|

| Acre|

* Achziv Islands
* Nahal Gamal
* Nahal Kziv
* Nahal Yehiam
* Rosh HaNikra

|

Golan|

* Gamla1
* Hasbani River1
* Hermon1
* Yehudiya Forest1
* Nahal Hermon1

Jezreel|

* Alonei Abba
* Balfouria
* Gilboa Iris
* Hurshat Zakum
* Mount Gilboa
* Mount Tabor
* Nahal Tavor
* Shimron

Kinneret|

* Ein Nun
* Mount Arbel
* Nahal Yavne'el

Safed|

* Nahal Amud
* Nahal Ayun
* Nahal Betzet
* Nahal Dishon
* Ein Avazim
* Ein Elah
* Ein Te'oh
* Hula Valley
* Hurshat Tal
* Kerem Ben Zimra
* Mount Meron
* Pa'ar Cave
* Shamir-Nahal Rachum
* Tel Anafa
* Tel Dan

Haifa District|

* Ein Afek
* Alonei Yitzhak
* Dor Beach and Ma'agan Michael Islands
* Ein Nymphit
* Gador
* Mount Carmel
* Nahal Taninim
* Tel Shikmona

Central District|

* Bnei Zion
* Bitan Aharon
* Hadasim
* Horvat 'Ethri
* Neot Kedumim
* Nahal Poleg
* Palmachim Beach
* Tel Yitzhak
* Udim

Southern District|

| Ashkelon|

* Brekhat Zmorot
* Kurkar Gvar'am
* Nitzanim Dunes
* Mevo Ashdod
* Yam Shikma

|

Beersheba|

* Nahal Abuv
* Coral Beach
* Ein Gedi
* HaMakhtesh HaGadol
* HaMakhtesh HaKatan
* Makhtesh Ramon
* Timna Valley
* Yotvata Hai-Bar

Eshkol|

* Be'eri Badlands

Judea and Samaria Area|

* Alonei Shmuel2
* Einot Tzukim2
* Um Tzafa Forest2
* Nahal Og2

Located in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights1 and West Bank.2

* v
* t
* e

Sites of the Israelite settlement

Sites involved in the 13th–11th century BCE archaeological phenomenon of the Israelite Settlement

New settlements at previously unoccupied sites
in late 13th/early 12th centuries|

* Bull Site
* Tel Dor
* Izbet Sartah
* Tell el-Ful (Gibeah)
* Giloh
* Heshbon
* Khirbet ed-Dawwara
* Khirbet el-Mastarah
* Khirbet Ghuraba
* Khirbet Ibn Nasir
* Tel Arad
* Tel Be'er Sheva (Beersheba)
* Tel Esdar
* Tell es-Sa'idiyeh (Zaretan)
* Tell Radanna

New settlements at long deserted sites
in 12th/11th centuries|

* Bethzur
* Tel Dan
* Et-Tell (Ai)
* Gibeon
* Khirbet Marjameh
* Shiloh
* Tel Kinrot (Kinneret)
* Tel Masos
* Tell en-Nasbeh (Mizpah)
* Tel Rumeida (Hebron)

Destroyed in late 13th/early 12th centuries|

* Azekah
* Ashdod
* Beit Shemesh
* Bethel
* Deir Alla (Succoth)
* Lachish
* Rabud
* Tell Beit Mirsim
* Tel 'Eton
* Tel Hazor
* Tel Megiddo

Not destroyed in late 13th/early 12th centuries|

* Beth-shan
* Gezer
* Jerusalem
* Shechem
* Taanach

* v
* t
* e

Middle Eastern megaliths

Lebanon|

* Sands of Beirut
* Hermel
* Kouachra
* Tlail
* Wadi Boura

Syria|

* Stone circles, lines and tombs near the Monastery of Saint Moses the Abyssinian

Saudi Arabia|

* Hejaz
* Tihamah

Israel|

* Atlit Yam
* Dan (ancient city)

Jordan|

* Johfiyeh
* Amman

Turkey|

* Göbekli Tepe
* Karahan Tepe

Egypt|

* Nabta Playa

Iran|

* Kharg Island

Iraq|

* Barda Balka

General articles|

* Standing stone
* Dolmen
* Henge
* Menhir
* Stone circle
* Stone row
* Concentric stone circle
* Recumbent stone circle
* Chambered cairn
* Harrespil
* Photographs of stone circles
* European megaliths

Authority control databases

International|

* VIAF
* 2

National|

* Germany
* United States
* France
* BnF data
* Israel

Geographic|

* Pleiades

Other|

* IdRef
* Yale LUX

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template