Dan

Dan is the eldest son of Jacob and Bilhah, and the brother of Naphtali. He is one of the forefathers of the people of Israel. His mother is Bilhah, but he is counted as a son of Rachel. Dan has no specific role in the stories about Jacob’s children.

The name Dan comes from the Hebrew word “to administer justice” or “to act justly”.
As it appears that Rachel cannot have any children, she gives her servant Bilhah to Jacob as a concubine, in order to have children through her. Bilhah has two sons by Jacob, Dan and Naphtali.
At the birth of Dan, Rachel says, “God has judged in my favour. He has heard my prayer and has given me a son” (Genesis 30:6). So she gives him the name “Dan”.

The name Dan may refer to the tribe of Dan, of which Dan is the forefather. But it is also the designation for the region where the descendants of Dan went to live. That region was in the south of Israel by the coast. According to Judges 18, the tribe of Dan later went to live in the north of Israel and founded the city of Dan. 

As one of the 12 sons of Jacob, Dan receives a blessing from Jacob when the latter is old (Genesis 49:16-17). Jacob says to Dan that his descendants will act justly, as his name implies, but they will also be like a snake that bites the heels of the horse, with the result that the rider falls off.