Joshua 19:47

“And the coast of the children of Dan went out [too little] for them, etc.] Being a very numerous tribe, the cities allotted them were not sufficient for them; or rather, leaving out the supplement “too little”, the words will run, it “went out from them”; they lost part of it, being driven out of the valley into the mountain by the Amorites, (<070134>Judges 1:34,35); which obliged them to seek out elsewhere for habitations: therefore the children of Dan went out to fight against Leshem; called Laish, (<071801>Judges 18:1-31), where the whole story is related of their lighting against this place and taking it; which, though some time after the death of Joshua, is here recorded to give at once…”

“the children of Dan went up to fight against Leshem--The Danites, finding their inheritance too small, decided to enlarge its boundaries by the sword; and, having conquered Leshem (Laish), they planted a colony there, calling the new settlement by the name of Dan (see on Jdg 18:7).”

“The words “too little” are an insertion of the King James Version Render rather, “the border of the children of Dan was extended.” The Hebrew appears to mean “the children of Dan enlarged their border because they had not room enough.” The reason of this was that the Danites, a numerous tribe (Numbers 26:5 note), found themselves Judges 1:34-35 cooped up among the hills by the powerful and warlike Amorites. Hence, the Danite expedition (see the marginal reference), which surprised the Sidonion inhabitants of Leshem, an unwarlike and peaceable race, exterminated them, and annexed their city and territory to the portion of Dan. return to 'Top of Page'”

“Went up to fight - This was done after Joshua's death, and seems to be here inserted, that all the chief places where the Danites dwelt, tho' far distant, might be mentioned together; and to give an account of this strange accident, why they removed from their appointed portion to so remote a place; which may be this, that being much molested by their bad neighbours, they thought fit to go to some place remote from them, which also they were in a manner constrained to do, because otherwise they must have taken some part of the portions of other tribes, whereas now going to the very utmost northern point of the land, they took that which did not belong to any other tribe. Joshua 19:49”

“19:47 The tribe of Dan had trouble taking possession of their land because of the Philistines, so a group of Danites later moved northward to Laish (see Judg 18), which they renamed Dan, on the northern border of Israel’s territory.”

“the coast: Jdg 1:34, Jdg 1:35, 18:1-29 called Leshem: Jdg 18:7, Jdg 18:27, Jdg 18:29, Laish Joshua 19:49”