Joshua 19:40-48

Joshua 19:40-48

[40] And the seventh  lot  came out  for the tribe  of the children  of Dan  according to their families.  [41] And the coast  of their inheritance  was Zorah,  and Eshtaol,  and Irshemesh,  [42] And Shaalabbin,  and Ajalon,  and Jethlah,  [43] And Elon,  and Thimnathah,  and Ekron,  [44] And Eltekeh,  and Gibbethon,  and Baalath,  [45] And Jehud,  and Beneberak,  and Gathrimmon,  [46] And Mejarkon,  and Rakkon,  with the border  before  Japho.  [47] And the coast  of the children  of Dan  went out  too little for them: therefore the children  of Dan  went up  to fight  against Leshem,  and took  it, and smote  it with the edge  of the sword,  and possessed  it, and dwelt  therein, and called  Leshem,  Dan,  after the name  of Dan  their father.  [48] This is the inheritance  of the tribe  of the children  of Dan  according to their families,  these cities  with their villages. 

What does Joshua 19:40-48 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

Dan received territory primarily in the Shephelah and Coastal Plain west of Benjamin, between Judah and Ephraim. Its land was extremely fruitful.
"The Amorites, who settled portions of the Philistine plain ( Judges 1:34), drove the Danites out of the plains and into the hills. This led to a migration of part of the tribe of Dan northward to Leshem near the northern part of Naphtali (cf. Judges 17-18)." [1]
Dan possessed19 towns ( Joshua 19:41-47). The record of the conquest of Leshem ( Joshua 19:47, also called Laish and later Dan) is in Judges 18. [2]