Joshua 19:47

Too little for them. Literally, “the territory of the children of Dan went out from them.” That is, it slipped away from them because their powerful neighbors, the Amorites, forced them into the mountains, not permitting them to dwell in the valley (Judges 1:34). This put them into such straits that they had to find different territory where there was not such fierce opposition. Thus the children of Dan refused to occupy the territory assigned them of God, who would have given them complete victory over their enemies if they had cooperated with His plan. Instead, they occupied a territory of their own choosing. It has been suggested that this attitude on the part of Dan accounts for the omission of this tribe from the list of the tribes given in Rev. 7.

Leshem. A town not far from the sources of the river Jordan at the foot of Mt. Lebanon, and called Laish in the book of Judges, before it was taken by the Danites. The town was discovered by five spies whom the Danites had dispatched to spy out the north country. These five spies reported back that the land was very good and that the city was quiet and secure, having no dealings with other cities, being a long distance from Sidon. Immediately 600 armed men set out and took the city and changed its name to Dan (see Judges 18).

Because the conquest of Leshem took place some time after the death of Joshua, some have argued that the book of Joshua was not written by him, but at a much later period. However, this short account of the taking of Leshem was evidently inserted later by some other person, writing under divine guidance, so as to complete the account of the Danites’ possessions.