יהושע, פרק י״ט, פסוק מ״ז

The systematic division of the land among the tribes pauses to recount a historical event that unfolded much later, during the era of the Judges. The narrative shifts to the tribe of Dan, who faced a severe land shortage and were forced to launch a military campaign far to the north to secure a new home.

The original territory assigned to the tribe proved entirely inadequate for their needs. The primary approach among commentators is that the allotted land was simply too small to support their large population [מצודת דוד, רד״ק, חומת אנך]. Compounding this problem, the tribe was unable to take full control of the region they had been granted. The Amorites blocked them from descending into the valley, forcing them into the western frontier, while the Philistines heavily occupied the coastal areas [מלבי״ם, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. Consequently, the tribe's territory became fractured, with the lands of other tribes physically separating their original borders from the new area they would eventually conquer [רש״י].

Driven by this geographic distress, the tribe of Dan traveled north to wage war against the city of Leshem. This military expedition took place much later in history, during the time of Othniel the son of Kenaz and the events involving the idol of Micah, as detailed extensively in the Book of Judges [רש״י, רד״ק, מלבי״ם]. Leshem, also known as Laish, was originally inhabited by Sidonians and sat at the northeastern edge of the land, opposite the territory of the tribe of Naphtali [רש״י, מצודת דוד, ביאור שטיינזלץ].

There are different perspectives regarding the original status of this northern city. One approach suggests that Leshem was actually part of the original portion designated for the tribe of Dan, but it had not been conquered along with the rest of the land, forcing the tribe to fight for it at a later date [רד״ק]. Another perspective maintains that the city lay entirely outside the borders of the land initially divided among the tribes. According to this view, the Danites, in their search for a peaceful and suitable home, wandered far beyond their original boundaries to capture the city [רד״ק, מצודת דוד, ביאור שטיינזלץ].

Following their victory, the tribe took permanent possession of the city and renamed it Dan, honoring their founding ancestor. This renaming transformed the city into the definitive northern landmark of the Land of Israel. It gave rise to the well-known phrase "from Dan to Beersheba," which describes the diagonal span of the land from its northeastern tip at Dan to its southwestern edge at Beersheba [מצודת דוד, רד״ק, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. Furthermore, the city's location, identified by the Sages with the area of Pamias, ultimately provided the Jordan River with its name, as the waters literally flow down from Dan [מצודת דוד, רד״ק].