They called the name of the city Dan, after the name of Dan their father, who was born to Israel: however the name of the city was Laish at the first.
The captivity referred to (Judges 18:30) may be that of the Philistines (1 Samuel 4:11; 1 Samuel 4:22) or the Arameans (2 Chronicles 28:5). [Note: Lewis, p. 93.] Some scholars believe that it was the Assyrian Captivity of Israel that began in 734 B.C. (2 Kings 15:29), [Note: Block, Judges . . ., p. 513; and Bush, p. 232.] but if so this statement was a later editorial insertion in the text. Idolatry that centered in Dan did plague Israel for over 600 years, and the Danites were initially responsible for it.