Jacob's blessing, Genesis 49

"Dan shall govern his people
As one of the tribes of Israel
Dan shall be a serpent by the road,
A viper by the path,
That bites the horses' heels
So the rider is thrown back.

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Mose's blessing, Deuteronomy 33,

Dan is lion's whelp
That leaps forth from Bashan

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Midrash Rabbah Bamidbar 2

His gem was zircon (LESHEM),
and his flag was sapfire-like,
with a serpent drawn on it, as it is written:
Dan will be as a serpent on a road...

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Dan
Dan is the least of the tribes. Dan had a hard history. Its territory was a first in the very neighbourhood of Philistines, who oppressed Dan hardly. The area around TelAviv is called "Dan" until today. But the tribe was forced to leave its land and look for an alternative. It was found in the north-east of the land of Israel, an area in the modern Golan heights.

Nevertheless, Jacob said: Dan shall govern (="judge") his people as one of the tribes, which means: There will be a prominent leader of Israel from the tribe of Dan. Shimshon (SAMSON) the hero was a Dannite. But the Jewish legend is not satisfied with Shimshon. It asks: why does Moses say "Dan is lion's whelp" ? The image of a lion symbolizes kingship, and the kingship of Israel belongs to David the Judean for ever. The answer is: The King to come, the Messiah, will be of the House of David (Judean), but his mother sure will be a Dannite.