Deuteronomy 33:22Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

The offspring of the lioness, symbolizing sin and damnation, is reminiscent of Mafna'in. Immanuel, the one who rescues the nations, represented the movement from spiritual infancy to salvation. He liberated the souls of the righteous from the depths of hell, akin to how a lion cub feeds from its mother.

Moses bestowed a blessing upon this tribe, proclaiming that Dan is like a young lion emerging from Bashan, symbolizing a state of confusion. Therefore, in alignment with the Greek translation, which has also influenced the Latin text, we should interpret that Dan transformed into a serpent lying in wait. Dan signifies ‘judgment,’ indicating that this tribe faced significant peril of condemnation, and the serpent that slithered in represents the Antichrist, whose poisonous bite harms the one who seeks to advance.

He referred to Dana the skimne, who had fled from Bashan, as his lineage, after they unintentionally assaulted the city of Laissa, conquered it, slaughtered its people, and transformed the city into their own habitation.

In Scripture, Christ is referred to as both a lion and a cub of lions (Gen. 49:9), and a comparable description is applied to Antichrist. Moses articulates this by saying, “Dan is a lion’s cub; he will leap from Bashan.” To avoid any misunderstanding that this reference pertains to the Savior, it is important to clarify its true meaning. The mention of “Dan,” designates the tribe of Dan, indicating that Antichrist will emerge from it. Just as Christ descends from the tribe of Judah, so Antichrist is born from the tribe of Dan. This is further supported when James states, “Let Dan be a serpent in the way, a horned snake in the path” (Gen. 49:17).

The Scriptures teach us that the term lion can hold various meanings; it refers both to Christ as the Lion of Judah and to the adversary as the Lion of Bashan.