They shall divide it into seven portions: Judah shall abide in his border on the south, and the house of Joseph shall abide in their border on the north.
Dan’s original position was on the Philistine coast between the tribes of Judah and Ephraim. Squeezed between Israel’s two most powerful tribes, and pushed back from the coast by the Philistines and the Amorites, the tribe of Dan later moved and settled in the far north (40-48; Judges 1:34; Judges 18:1-31). Finally, Joshua received his special inheritance, which, by God’s command, he himself chose. It was in the area of his own tribe, Ephraim (49-51).