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2. Naphtali belonged to the camp of Dan (Numbers 2:25-31). Dan was the elder of the two Brothers and presumably this was the reason that Dan was given preference. The other Son in the camp of Dan was Asher who also was, apparently, a younger Son and one of Zilpah’s children (Genesis 30:12/13).

3. Dan and Naphtali are put together in Exodus 1:4 and also in Moses Blessing (Deuteronomy 33:22/23). In Jacob’s Blessing they are separated and the order is somewhat different (the reason could be matter of enquiry) and in Revelation 7:1-8 Dan is not mentioned; it is thought by some, because he was the first tribe to apostatise (Judges 18).

It is also of point that in Exodus 31:6 one of the two named persons appointed to make the tabernacle was of the tribe of Dan, that is, Aholiab the son of Ahisamach. It is remarkable that God used him and, in the case of the temple, he also used someone who had a connection with the tribe of Dan. He also used Samson who was of the tribe of Dan in a different way (Judges 13:2 and 5). What this tells us is that God is sovereign in whom he uses and could thus use Danites although Dan was not one who Jacob could say much good about (Genesis 49:16/17). One supposes Jacob’s statement “Dan will judge his people” was fulfilled in Samson (Judges 16:31). The reference to falling backwards is to my mind a warning to those who think falling backwards is a blessing. The cause of the falling was the snake which reminds us of the serpent in Genesis 3:1.

Reverting to the references to Dan and Naphtali, it may be mentioned that in Scripture tribes may be referred to by the name of an ancestor or by the name of the place in which they dwelt. Thus in Genesis 37:25 and 28 we have people called Ishmaelites (Sons of Ishmael) and also called Midianites (apparently the land in which they lived). See also Judges 8:24 where the Midianites are called Ishmaelites. On this basis any one living in Naphtali would be named as one of that tribe, though anyone knowing the person’s actual ancestry might call them a Danite. The reverse could be true if a member of the tribe of Naphtali was living in Dan (the place).

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