יְהִי־דָן֙ נָחָ֣שׁ עֲלֵי־דֶ֔רֶךְ שְׁפִיפֹ֖ן עֲלֵי־אֹ֑רַח הַנֹּשֵׁךְ֙ עִקְּבֵי־ס֔וּס וַיִּפֹּ֥ל רֹכְב֖וֹ אָחֽוֹר׃
Dan será uma serpente na estrada, uma víbora na vereda, que morde os calcanhares do cavalo, fazendo com que seu cavaleiro caia para trás.
On Husbandry
A glance at the prayer of Moses in Gen. 49:17 f. will shew how different the “horseman” is from the “rider.” To understand that prayer we must note that “Dan” means “judgement,” and that the “dragon,” which he is or has, is Moses’ serpent of brass. (Of course neither Moses’ serpent nor Eve’s can be literal. Serpents do not talk, tempt, or heal.) So Moses prays that Dan (or his serpent) may be on the road ready to assail Pleasure, and “bite the horse’s heel,” i.e. attack and overturn the supports which hold up Passion (94–106).
On Husbandry
[94] Does not Moses, then, when celebrating the destruction of the riders, naturally pray for complete salvation for the horsemen? For these are able by applying bit and bridle to the irrational faculties to curb the excessive violence of their movement. We must say, then, what his prayer is: “Let Dan,” he says, “be a serpent on the road, seated upon the track, biting the heel of the horse; and the horseman shall fall backwards, waiting for the salvation of the Lord” (Gen. 49:17 f.).
Allegorical Interpretation of Genesis
[103] But we must inquire why, whereas Jacob says, “the horseman shall fall backwards” (Gen. 49:17), Moses sings of the drowning of horse and rider. We must remark then, that, whereas he that is to perish by drowning is the Egyptian character, which, even if it flees, flees under the water, that is, under the current of the passions; the horseman who falls backwards does not belong to the lovers of the passions. A proof of this is that he is called “horseman,” whereas the other is called “rider.”