Dan / Laish

In the military narrative of Abraham's rescue of Lot, Dan serves as the location where the patriarch's small force overtakes and routs the coalition of eastern kings. The Book of Jasher provides tactical detail of the nighttime pursuit and ambush near this northern site, portraying Abraham as a decisive warrior guided by divine purpose. The location marks the northernmost extent of the promised land in the traditions preserved across these texts. Within the broader corpus, the site connects to later narratives of Israel's territorial boundaries and the division of the land among the tribes, as referenced in Jubilees' account of the earth's apportionment among Noah's descendants.

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Region: Earth

Strongest connections in Ancient Text

The Book of Jasher 16

Key Chapters

The Book of Jasher 16 Four Kings with Eight Hundred Thousand Men War against Sodom and the Cities of the Plai 2 min read

Key Passages

Abraham pursues the kings

The Book of Jasher 16:7-12

A⁷nd the wife of Lamech conceived and bare him a son at that time, at the revolution of the year.

⁸ And Methuselah called his name Noah, saying, The earth was in his days at rest and free from corruption, and Lamech his father called his name Menachem, saying, This one shall comfort us in our works and miserable toil in the earth, which God had cursed. ⁹ And the child grew up and was weaned, and he went in the ways of his father Methuselah, perfect and upright with God. ¹⁰ And all the sons of men departed from the ways of the Lord in those days as they multiplied upon the face of the earth with sons and daughters, and they taught one another their evil practices and they continued sinning against the Lord. 17.

Did You Know?

Abraham divided his 318 men for a nighttime ambush here, defeating a coalition of four kings.

The site marks the northernmost boundary of the promised land in these traditions.

Abraham's night ambush here demonstrates that small, obedient forces defeat large, corrupt ones.

The site marks Israel's future northern border — Abraham's military action claims future territory.

The victory establishes Abraham as a legitimate political-military figure, not just a wandering nomad.