Notes on Judges 18:30. This Is From The Companion Bible. Judges 18:30    30.  And the children of °Dan °set up the graven image: and Jonathan, the son of Gershom, the son of °Manasseh, he and his sons were priests to the tribe of Dan until the day of the captivity of the land.    30. Dan = a serpent. 'Beguiling to idolatry. The first tribe to do so. Hence omitted in Revelation 7:4 (compare Deuteronomy 29:18 -21. Leviticus 24:10 - 16. 1 Kings 12:30. 2 Kings 10:29). [Brought forward from the note in Genesis 49:16]    set up. On account of this, Dan is not named in Revelation 7, and Ephraim is there merged in Joseph.    Manasseh. This word is one of the four that has a suspended letter. Here the letter , nun (n), is written partly in the line and partly above the line, to show that originally it formed no part of the word, but was put in to make it spell "Manasseh" instead of "Moses". Jonathan was the grandson of Moses, (his contemporary Phinehas, the grandson of Aaron, being mentioned in 20:28). This was done for two reasons: (1) to spare the honour of Moses' memory and name; (2) to put sin upon one who committed so gross a sin. The Talmud gives this latter as the reason. Jonathan's name is omitted in 1 Chronicles 23:15, 16, and 26:24. The Chaldee paraphrase says that "Shebuel", there substituted, is meant for Jonathan after his repentance and restoration. Shebuel = "he returned to God". The Authorized Version follows Septuagint and Chaldee by putting "Manasseh" in the text; Revised Version follows Vulgate, and those codices and early editions which have "n" suspended, by putting "Moses" in the text and "Manasseh" in the margin. Return to Appendix 21