Genesis 49:16

16. Dan shall judge his people,

As one of the tribes of Israel.

17. Dan shall be a serpent on the way,

A cerastes upon the track,

Biting the heels of the horse,

And his rider shall fall backwards.

Verse Genesis 49:16. Dan shall judge] Dan, whose name signifies judgment, was the eldest of Jacob's sons by Bilhah, Rachel's maid, and he is here promised an equal rule with those tribes that sprang from either Leah or Rachel, the legal wives of Jacob.

Some Jewish and some Christian writers understand this prophecy of Samson, who sprang from this tribe, and judged, or as the word might be translated avenged, the people of Israel twenty years. See Judges 13:2; Judges 15:20.