The territory of the sons of Dan proceeded beyond them; for the sons of Dan went up and fought with Leshem and captured it. Then they struck it with the edge of the sword and possessed it and settled in it; and they called Leshem Dan after the name of Dan their father.I've spent several previous chapters noting how the tribes did not fulfill God's command to clear the land of its inhabitants. Here, I have to give credit to the one people who seemed to still remember that command. The people of Dan here showed courage and faith to continue the task that God had given them, and eliminating the inhabitants.
Indeed, if I'm reading this correctly, it appears that they were actually starting to embark upon the greater command God had given them. It's suggested that the Leshem was beyond the original territory that the Israelites had been planning to take. However, God had promised them all the land from the Mediterranean to the Euphrates, which would essentially cover all the way to modern-day Iraq. The Israelites were only planning to take a small part of that, yet here Dan begins the expansion. They've apparently done their part in clearing out the land given to them, so they start to work on expanding their borders, driving out more of those God has promised to them.
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