The Tribe of Dan was NOT a genuine tribe of Israel

fulltimestudent

The claim that Dan was not a genuine tribe is not new, but as the Haaretz article explains there is newer archaeological evidence to suggest that the contemporary claims about the tribe of Dan have some merit.

So check out the Haaretz claims at: http://www.haaretz.com/jewish/archaeology/1.756385

But there are wider implications in the story. If this particular group of people did NOT travel from Egypt (as god's word of truth also claims) then they must have lived in Canaan all the time.

Then consider that Palestine (Canaan) was for so long part of the Egyptian Empire, and we begin to see that most of story about the origins of the Israelites is mythical.

David_Jay

While this may be news for many former and present JWs (and even some nominal Christians), I was raised being taught that the Biblical narrative of the Exodus is told in the genre of legend.

Jews have recognized for, I dunno, since forever that we actually merged with the people of Canaan/the Fertile Crescent (or we are them). The stories of "war conquests" are just legends describing in dramatic language how the monotheism of the Jews "conquered" the various religions of the land and made all of us one. It was as if these people "died" in conquests, but the stories are merely political legend.

The odd thing is that Jewish children know these things too, especially around Passover time since the Haggadah and stories around the Seder explain the Exodus legend in different terms than what is in the Bible. For instance, while "Ten Plagues" are still recognized during the Seder, the truth is that Judaism teaches there were 40, 70, 100, or more--or less--and the language of the Biblical Exodus is merely describing the hope of my people when we were Babylonian exiles, hoping that the "plagues" would come upon our then-present captors, the Chaldeans, and that we would be set free to return to the Promised Land in a new Exodus.

The Watchtower and other literalist Christians have taught people that the narratives in the Torah and Joshua and Kings, etc. is factual. It's not. I hear people all the time say they don't believe in God or even hate Jews because of all the "wars" we fought, believing we pillaged the peoples of the Fertile Crescent and replaced them.

The real truth is that this is what Christians tell people these stories mean. More likely than not, we who are Jews are merely the people of the Fertile Crescent, the very Canaanites we claimed to have "conquered." But I can say that a million times and people will still believe the Christian interpretation over the Jewish one.

It is good these stories are coming to light in Haaretz. With the return of Jews to Israel it is now possible to do critical archeological study and prove that the Jewish view has always been right and the Christian view (that these stories in the Old Testament are factual) has always been wrong.

fulltimestudent

David_jay: The real truth is that this is what Christians tell people these stories mean. More likely than not, we who are Jews are merely the people of the Fertile Crescent, the very Canaanites we claimed to have "conquered." But I can say that a million times and people will still believe the Christian interpretation over the Jewish one.

May I ask a question, David. If that is so, are the contemporary Palestinians (and possibly some others) descendants of ethnic "Jewish" people who at some point converted to Islam?

snowbird

There was certainly something going on with the tribe of Dan.

In Revelation, the tribe is not mentioned as producing any of the 144k.

No explanation is given for its omission; it's as if John knew none was needed.

Presupposition?

If so, what had gone on with this tribe that made it so inconsequential?

I'm researching all avenues, and have come up with some intriguing stuff.

Sylvia

waton

If so, what had gone on with this tribe that made it so inconsequential?

fpr one thing (in the bible) that tribe opted out of the land partition and took up territory in the North, and kept idos to centralize worship away from Jerusalem in the south. Somebody had to leave to make room for Joseph's double portion. His double portion is payback for his brothers ousting him. so justice.

British Israel taught that Dan later went even further north and founded the city of Danzig on the baltic.

David_Jay

May I ask a question, David. If that is so, are the contemporary Palestinians (and possibly some others) descendants of ethnic "Jewish" people who at some point converted to Islam?

That's a good question, fulltimestudent. My bet is there is more in common then a lot of people want to admit.

Unfortunately the current government in Israel is quite taken with the conservative Orthodox movement, the very conservative, anti-liberal slice of Orthodoxy to be more precise. There are many Jews who, because they are not members of an Orthodox synagogue, are not recognized as Jewish and therefore are not granted citizenship in Israel, even though some of these people had parents and grandparents in concentration camps during the Holocaust and have a paper trail of history proving their ancestry. So you can imagine what these think of the Palestinians.

To make things worse, those governing the Palestinians are just as staunch about things. Anyone who isn't "one of us" doesn't belong. Those among them who want peace with Israel are persecuted for even recognizing that Jews may have a claim to their place on the land.

It's a powderkeg, and both sides probably have the same blood running through their veins somewhere, and there is some data that supports this: http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/science/1.681385

David_Jay

A lot of Jews don't support or approve of the way the situation is carrying on in Israel. Many of us believe we can get along and live in peace.

Unfortunately, a lot of people, some Jews included, are just as close-minded as Jehovah's Witnesses and see everything as "us-and-them." Being pigheaded and stupid and a grade-A asshole comes in both Gentile and Jewish flavors.

HowTheBibleWasCreated

"Oh Dan why did you remain in ships".... On my YouTube channel I supported the Song of Deborah as the best hope to the original tribes of Israel and that Dan was Phonetician

Also their placement in Joshua pus them in the heart of Philistine territory.

OUTLAW

The Tribe of Dan was NOT a genuine tribe of Israel

Neither was the Tribe of Bob..

Crazyguy

The Egyptians broke thier empire down in to 12 groups and thier taxation was also the same as Solomons . There was never a 12 tribes of Israel oh did I forget to mention the word Solomon means son of Amon

The Tribe of Dan was NOT a genuine tribe of Israel

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