Kommentar zu Bereschit 49:17

שפיפן is another name for a נחש. I am of opinion that it is thus called because it hisses (נושף) when biting. Similarly we have, (Genesis 3:15) “and thou shalt bite (תשיפנו) at their heel” (cf. Rashi thereon).

SH’PHIPHON (SERPENT)¹⁹²Verse 17 here: Dan shall be a serpent by the way, a ‘sh’phiphon’ on the path, that biteth the horse in the heels, so that his rider falleth backward. is the name of a snake which bites at the heel, with the second root-letter¹⁹³Namely, the pei. being doubled.¹⁹⁴Ramban is suggesting that the root of sh’phipon is shapha which means “hissing while biting,” except that the letter pei is here doubled. In the Jerusalem Talmud, Tractate Terumoth¹⁹⁵8:3. the Rabbis said, “It is a small kind of serpent, its name is sh’phiphon, and it is as thin as a hair,” with the earth being permitted to crack before it. Samson is compared to a snake because Samson did not wage war against his enemies as did the other judges and kings. Rather he alone went out against them, just as the viper which leaves his hole to attack travellers on the road, or the small species of serpent of which the traveller is not at all aware.

יהי דן נחש, a reference to a poisonous snake, one commonly called tzifoni, in Biblical literature. Arab physicians usually call such venomous snakes chorman. The name for such snakes implies that a single snake can kill numerous people at once, using both its stare, and it voice (hiss) which is heard and seen by many people. It is a fitting comparison to Shimshon who, all on his own, killed many people almost simultaneously.

יהי דן, Yaakov compared Dan to different kinds of serpents which do not travel (hunt) in packs, but rely on their wits, killing many. Shimshon, the most prominent warrior of the tribe of Dan, was a loner, never involving others when he faced danger. Compare Judges 15,8 ויך אותם שוק על ירך וכלחי חמור הכה אלף איש, “he struck them leg as well as thigh, and with the jawbone of a donkey he killed one thousand men.” He saved the Israelites from the constant incursions of the Philistines before he engaged in his acts of daring. This is what prompted Yaakov to wish him success with the words: 'לישועתך קויתי ה, “your type of salvation for Israel, orchestrated by a single individual, is something that normally, only G’d Himself can orchestrate.” Some commentators (Rashi) view these words of Yaakov as his reaction when he foresaw with prophetic vision how Shimshon had his eyes blinded by the Philistines. The words לישועתך וגו' then are Yaakov’s prayer that G’d Himself would avenge what was done to Shimshon. This prophecy/prayer was also fulfilled, as we are told in Judges 16,30 that Shimshon killed more Philistines in dying than he had killed cumulatively while alive.

ויפול רוכבו אחור, “and its rider falls backwards.” When the snake bites the heel of the horse, it rears up with its head , throwing off its rider in the process.

It is so named because it hisses... נושף is a sort of whistling. So did Rashi explain before on 3:15.

Es heißt nicht: דן נחש וגוי, wie נפתלי אילה וגוי, sondern: יהי דן נחש וגו׳: iwerden wird Dan eine Schlange am Wege. דרך: die offene große Heerstraße, auf der man offen einander entgegenzieht, im Gegensatz zu ארח, das auch den Privatweg bezeichnet, der von einem Menschen zum andern führt. שפיפון, von שפף, gleichbedeutend mit שוף, von der Stelle schlüpfen (שף מדוכתי). Dan wird keine furchtgebietende Macht entfalten, sondern die Kraft des Schwachen: die Klugheit, und zwar עלי דרך und עלי אורח. Wenn Israel von Heeresmacht angegriffen ist, wird er es verteidigen, allein nicht durch Juda gleiche Löwenmacht, sondern durch Schlauheit. Kann Israel im menschengesellschaftlichen Verkehr — אורח — sich vor fanatischer Feindseligkeit nicht retten, so ist Dan die schlüpfende Natter am Pfade, die dem Rosse in die Ferse beißt, so dass sofort der Reiter rückwärts fällt. Es heißt, wie bemerkt, nicht דן נחש עלי דרך — bewahre Gott, dass dies je dauernder Charakterzug eines jüdischen Stammes seil — יהי דן werden wird Dan etc. d. h. sich nicht anders zu helfen wissen, als durch Schlangenklugheit, und darum denn auch wahrscheinlich:

יהי דן נחש, “may Dan be like a snake lying in ambush on the way” to kill potential attackers of the gentile nations; his bravery will use the most unlikely weapons, such as when Samson used a jawbone to kill 1000 Philistines (Judges 15,16.)

הנשך עקבי סוס THAT BITETH THE HORSE’S HEELS — this is the manner of the serpent. Scripture compares him to a serpent that bites the horse’s heels ויפל רכבו אחור THAT HIS RIDER FALLETH BACKWARD without it (the serpent) having touched him at all. We find the analogy to this in the case of Samson with reference to whom this prophecy was made (Judges 16:29): “And Samson look fast hold of the two middle pillars etc.” — and those on the roof died though not directly attacked. Onkelos translates נחש by כחיוי חורמן, like the serpent “Churman”, which is the name of a kind of serpent the bite of which is incurable. It is the serpent which in Hebrew is called צפעוני. It is called a חורמן because it destroys (חרם) everything. The word וכפיתנא in the Targum means “and like a פתן” (like an asp). יכמון in the Targum means יארוב “he lies in wait”.

THAT BITETH THE HORSE’s HEEL.¹⁹²Verse 17 here: Dan shall be a serpent by the way, a ‘sh’phiphon’ on the path, that biteth the horse in the heels, so that his rider falleth backward. This alludes to the two pillars¹⁹⁶Judges 16:29. upon which the house of Dagan, the Philistine god, rested, whereas the three thousand people who were upon its roof¹⁹⁷Ibid., Verse 27. are “the rider that falleth backward,”¹⁹⁸See Note 192. for when the snake bites the horse’s heels, the horse lifts its head and his forefeet, causing the rider to fall backward.

יהי, may the domain of Dan act like a snake barring the way, i.e. may he be the one killing nations hostile to the Jewish people

שפיפון, name of a slim snake; our sages use this when wanting to illustrate something extremely thin, “as the width of a hair.” Physicians claim that these types of snakes hide in the trees, their sting being felt as if one had been shot by an arrow. Shimshon’s mode of operation, an individual lying in wait, in ambush, is compared by Yaakov to this snake.

שפיפון, “a viper;” closely related to the expression: in Genesis 3,15: הוא ישופך ראש, “man will crush the serpent’s head;” (in response to the serpent attacking his heel)ויפול רכבו אחור, “so that its rider will fall off backwards.”

ויפול רוכבו אחור, may his enemies fall before him (off their horses.)