Dan's migration- A colony to Greece
-- At the sacking of Troy -- Settlement of twelve cities
in Asia Minor -- The Lacedemonians, Israelites, by
Josephus -- Dan's escape with Simeon to Ireland --
Simeon in Wales -- The other Dan escapes to Denmark, via
north of the Black Sea, giving his name to every river crossed
-- His final settlement in Denmark
From historic evidences that have come to
light recently, it seems that Dan had long been familiar with the then
Western World; that he had been accustomed to the performance of voyages
with the Phoenicians all over the Mediterranean Sea, and beyond outside
the Straits of Hercules; and that alone, unaccompanied by any of his
neighbors, he had sailed to Egypt, and from thence into Greece, taking
with him a colony of his own people; and that these Danai are said to have
been among the first settlers in Greece. (See "Wanderings of Israel," by
Oxouian.)
It is farther stated, that Dan was engaged in
the sacking of Troy; that afterwards he conquered Macedonia, and that
Alexander seems to have descended from this very tribe of Israel. It is
furthermore stated, that Dan settled, after the sacking of Troy, in that
very region, where he built twelve cities.
Josephus says that the Lacedemonians were the
very kindred of the Jews. (See Antiq. XII, IV, 10 and XIII, V, 8.)
Now, with these historic data before us, is it
strange that Dan and Simeon, having been left by Shalmaneser, undisturbed
in their own lot, yet cut off from all connection with the Kingdom of
Israel, to which they belonged, from which they were now separated
eternally, so far as they knew -- that they should flee to some far
distant land beyond the reach of their oppressors, where they might form
for themselves a kingdom of their own, beyond all fear, and beyond all
knowledge of their enemies?
Accordingly, we find this
the very resolution they adopted. Having been long acquainted with the (to
them) far-western lands, and having ships of' their own, it is found that,
having embarked with whatever of their effects they could carry, they set
sail, (B. C. about 720) and going westward, by the way of Tarshish, now
Tartessus; thence through the straits of' Hercules, and around into the
great Atlantic, northward.
What their ultimate destination was is not now
known, but being far out at sea, they were driven by a storm far to the
north, and landed somewhere upon the coast of Norway. But here they did
not remain; sailing away from here, they directed their course south
towards the sun, and finally landed on the northern coast of Ireland;
where Dan made his camp, placing Simeon, the meantime, directly over on
the coast of Scotland, where it is said he remained a while, and then
migrated down south into Wales, where he is today. But Dan established
himself, permanently, in the north of Ireland, where we shall find him
hereafter, with a regularly organized government.
It has been stated that the colony of Dan,
which settled in the extreme north of Canaan, was carried off by
Shalmancser, with the rest of his brethren. What now shall he do? It would
seem that the perpetual separation from the parental stock of his own
tribe was far from agreeable to him. What shall he do, therefore? Whether
he may have learned of Dan's and Simeon's escape to the islands far west,
is not known.
But Dan being naturally a kind of pioneer, soon
starts off' in his wanderings to find his brother Dan, yet not knowing
whither he should direct his course; but some unseen guide points his way
westward. On and on he goes, following his unknown guide, yet leaving his
track behind him, and that, too, so permanent that it is seen today
bearing his own name.
This is found at his encampments, ill crossing
rivers, and in his finial resting place. His first course, located as lie
was between the Caspian and Black seas, was northward, for if he went
south of the Black Sea he would expose himself to the Assyrians, and thus
his flight be cut off: To the north then he goes, and the first
river he crossed he gave his own name, Dan, (now the Don.) The next he
called Demiester, (now Dniester.) The next he crossed he named
Danieper, (now Dnieper.) The next great river was Daube, which name the
philologists tell us means the settlements of Dan. Here he
seems to have made a longer tarry than at any former encampment.
But that unseen hand still beckoned him onward,
for this was not his rest. On he goes, therefore, up the Danube, making no
known settlement till he reaches the very source of the great river. Here,
it is said, he made a circuit in search of a place to rest, but finding
none, he was led by the same unseen Guide northward, whither he directed
his steps, wandering hither and thither like Israel of old in the
wilderness, till finally his Guide marked his camping ground in
Danemarsch, (Denmark.)
Here Dan fixed his camp, from which he spread
out into Holland, into Norway and Sweden, peopling all that country by the
help of some other tribes, which came hence afterwards.
In reviewing the ground now gone over we find
that Dan and Simeon have both been located -- Simeon in Wales, where he
made his permanent abode, and Dan, the elder, on the north coast of
Ireland, while Dan, the younger, is fixed in Denmark. (Eldad, an eminent
Jewish writer, says: "In Jeroboam's day, 975 B. C., Dan refused to shed
his brother's blood; and rather than go to war with Judah, he left the
country and went in a body to Greece, to Juvan and to Denmark.")