The Tribe of Dan Mystery

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Why is the tribe of Dan not in the list of the tribes in Revelation 7:4-8? I think the reason comes from the prophecy that Israel (Jacob) gave in Genesis 49:16-17 about Dan's future.

16 “Dan shall judge his people, As one of the tribes of Israel.
17 Dan shall be a serpent in the way, A horned snake in the path, That bites the horse’s heels, So that his rider falls backward.” NASB '95

I see this prophecy relating back to Genesis 3:13-15 where God cursed the serpent and he became a snake.

13 Then the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” And the woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
14 The LORD God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, Cursed are you more than all cattle, And more than every beast of the field; On your belly you will go, And dust you will eat All the days of your life;
15 And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel.” NASB '95

This is the prophecy that Jesus, The Messiah fulfilled when he was crucified and rose from the dead.

Notice the similarity of the last lines of each prophecy. Dan “bites the horse’s heels” and the serpent “shall bruise him” (the woman’s seed – Jesus) “on the heel”.

Dan is seen as a serpent which is cursed “more that all cattle and more than every beast of the field”. Through the crucifixion and the resurrection, The Messiah had victory over the serpent. Thus, Dan (the serpent) is cut off and is not included in Revelation 7:4-8.

4 And I heard the number of those who were sealed, one hundred and forty-four thousand sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel:
5 From the tribe of Judah, twelve thousand were sealed, from the tribe of Reuben twelve thousand, from the tribe of Gad twelve thousand,
6 from the tribe of Asher twelve thousand, from the tribe of Naphtali twelve thousand, from the tribe of Manasseh twelve thousand,
7 from the tribe of Simeon twelve thousand, from the tribe of Levi twelve thousand, from the tribe of Issachar twelve thousand,
8 from the tribe of Zebulun twelve thousand, from the tribe of Joseph twelve thousand, from the tribe of Benjamin, twelve thousand were sealed. NASB '95

This prophecy preserves the double portion that Israel (Jacob) gave to Joseph when he adopted and blessed Ephraim and Manasseh In Genesis 48. Ephraim, who was Joseph’s second son, would have inherited Joseph’s portion and would not be listed separate from Joseph because Joseph reversed the inheritance order. Manasseh, as the “double-portion holder”, would be listed. Revelation 7:4 does not state the number of the tribes; it only states “every tribe”. Yet, the list is of 11 tribes, not 12.

What do you think?

:bible:
 
Tribe of Dan

Basically they were rejected because they joined with the house of Micah and went into idolitray. To get a better understanding you would have to read the whole chapter of Judges 18.
 
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