Concerning Dan he said: “Dan is a lion’s cub, leaping out of Bashan.”
22. And of Dan he said. He foretells that the tribe of Dan, like that of Gad, should be warlike, not so much from voluntary disposition, as from necessity; for their love of war was not to be deemed praiseworthy, inasmuch as it is altogether contrary to humanity; but because the unscrupulousness of the enemies, by which that tribe was infested, compelled them to take up arms.
Here is, I. The blessing of Dan, Deu 33:22. Jacob in his blessing had compared him to a serpent for subtlety; Moses compares him to a lion for courage and resolution: and what could stand before those that had the head of a serpent and the heart of a lion?
Commenting on Deuteronomy 33:22-25
And of Naphtali he said,.... The tribe of Naphtali, as the Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem: O Naphtali, satisfied with favour; with the favour of men, which to have is a great blessing; and as he gave goodly words to others, he had the good word of others, Gen 49:21; and with the favour of God, as the next clause shows; which is the greatest...