>The Song of Deborah, found in Judges 5, indicates that a certain remnant of Dan remained near the original allotment of cities found in Joshua 19.
>The depiction of Dan's migration in Judges 18 speaks of a time previous to the Song of Deborah. It is a further development of the brief mention in Joshua 19:47-48 of the Danite migration.
The accusation of Dan in the Song of Deborah is of staying in their ships, and not coming to help the other tribes of Israel engaged in conflict against Jabin, king of Hazor.
"Gilead remained across the Jordan; And why did Dan stay in ships? Asher sat at the seashore, and remained by its landings."
>Perhaps their refusal to join in could be traced to their struggle with the Philistines, in which no tribe was mentioned as coming to their aid. As a result, a portion of the tribe of Dan set out to seek new land. Judges 18:2 depicts the men of Dan sending out scouts to search for new land.
"So the sons of Dan sent from their family five men out of their whole number, valiant men from Zorah and Eshtaol, to spy out the land and to search it; and they said to them, 'Go, search the land'. And they came to the hill country of Ephraim, to the house of Micah, and lodged there."
