Tel Dan, Israel

Dan (Hebrew: דן‎) is an ancient city and mentioned in the Bible, described as the northernmost city of the Kingdom of Israel, belonging to the Tribe of Dan.

With the archaeological site of Tel Dan, which the Book of Judges (Judges 18:27-29) states was known as Laish prior to its conquest by the Tribe of Dan, whereas in Joshua 19:47 it is called Leshem.

According to the archaeological excavations at the site Dan was it was abandoned, for almost 1000 years.

The Bible describes the Tribe of Dan defeating the people of Laish and burning the town to the ground, and then building their own town in the same spot. The narrative states that Laish subsequently became known as Dan, after the name of the tribe, and that it housed a sanctuary filled with idol. Scholars think that the former refers to the Assyrian conquest of the Kingdom of Israel by Tiglath-pileser III in 733/732 BCE, and that the latter refers to the time of Hezekiah’s religious reform.

The excavators of Tel Dan uncovered a city gate made of mud bricks on top of megalithic basalt standing stones, estimated to have been built around 1750 BC, presumed to be the period of the Biblical patriarchs.

Its popular name is Abraham’s gate, because Abraham traveled to Dan to rescue his nephew Lot. Genesis 14:14:

“And when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his trained servants, born in his own house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued them unto Dan.”

The gate was restored in the late 2000s, and has become a popular tourist attraction.

According to 2 Kings 10:29 and 2 Chronicles 13:8, Jeroboam erected two golden calves as gods in Bethel and Dan. Textual scholars believe that this is where the Elohist story of Aaron’s Golden Calf actually originates. However, Biblical scholars believe that Jeroboam was actually trying to outdo the sanctuary at Jerusalem (Solomon’s Temple), by creating a seat for God that spanned the whole kingdom of Israel, rather than just the small space above the Ark of the Covenant in Jerusalem; the seat for God in the Jerusalem sanctuary was represented by a cherubim on either side, while scholars believe that Jeroboam was using the calves to represent the sides of his seat for God.

Tourism

Tel Dan National Park

The Tel Dan National Park is a relatively small park compared with its neighboring parks in northern Israel. It too is located near road 99, which connects Kiryat Shmona with the Golan Heights.

An archeological site is located at the center of the park, where the remains of the Biblical city of Laish. The Tribe of Dan, pushed by the Philistines from their lands near the Mediterranean, conquered the city and renamed it Dan.

Of the three sources of the Jordan, the Dan is the largest and most significant. Its springs provide up to 238 million cubic meters of water annually, providing half of the water flowing into the Jordan River.

The springs are fed by the snow and rain which fall on Mt. Hermon and the Galilee. The water seeps into the mountain, dividing into hundreds of springs by the time it reaches the foothills. Together these springs form the largest karstic spring in the Middle East.

Visitors can choose one of 3 hiking routes, differing in length and characteristics. The paths go through areas shaded by trees with high canopies, next to which remains from different periods can be seen, including the walls and the ancient city gate, mills. In some places near the river there are small pools in which one can dip and wade in the water.

Recommended for Christian and non-Christian tours in Israel.

The Tel Dan Stele

A city was first built here during the early Canaanite period and in the eighteenth century BCE tremendous ramparts surrounded the city protecting it for centuries. This is the city of Lachish, which members of the tribe of Dan captured for their homeland. Important remains were discovered in a Mycenaean grave from the late Canaanite period.

In 1966 a team led by Prof. Abraham Biran began to excavate Tel Dan. The impressive findings included sections of imposing walls and gates, as well as a ritual site which dates to the time of dramatic events recounted in the Bible A major finding was the uncovering of a complete mud-brick city gate dating from the Middle Bronze Age. The most remarkable element of this gate is the three intact arches, the earliest complete arches found in the world.

The basalt stone bears an Aramaic inscription referring to one of the kings of Damascus; the excavators of the site believe that the king it refers to is Hazael (c 840 BCE). A small part of the inscription remains, with text containing the letters ‘ביתדוד’ (BYTDWD), which some archaeologists agree refers to House of David (Beth David in Hebrew. In the line directly above, the text reads ‘MLK YSR’L’, i.e. “King of Israel”. This is the first time that the name David has been found at an archaeological site dating before 500 BCE.

Dan suffered in the era of expansion by the Aramaeans, due to being the closest city to them in the kingdom of Israel. The several incursions indicated by the Book of Kings suggest that Dan changed hands at least four times between the Kingdom of Israel and Aramaeans, around the time that Israel was ruled by Ahab and the Aramaeans by Ben Hadad I, and their successors. Around this time, the Tel Dan stele was created by the Aramaeans, during one of the periods of their control of Dan. When the Assyrian empire expanded to the south, the kingdom of Israel initially became a vassal state, but after rebelling, the Assyrians invaded, the town fell to Tiglath-pileser III in 733/732 BCE.