VI. =The Tribe of Benjamin= (Josh. 18:11-28) was located between Judah and Ephraim, having the Jordan on the east, and Dan on the west. It was a small country, 25 miles long by 12 wide, yet rich in natural advantages; and many events of Bible history took place within its borders. It included 26 cities, of which the most important were: Gilgal, the military capital during the conquest; Jericho, the first town taken on the west of the Jordan; Jerusalem, long held by the Jebusites, but from the time of David the capital of the country; Bethel, connected with many events; Ramah, the home of Samuel; Gibeah, the residence of King Saul; Michmash, Gibeon and Mizpeh, the places of famous battles. No portion of the land contains more of Jewish history than Benjamin, the smallest of all the tribes of Israel. [Illustration: COMPARATIVE POPULATION OF THE TWELVE TRIBES AT THE ENTRANCE INTO CANAAN.] Judah, 306,000. Dan, 257,600. Issachar, 257,200. Zebulon, 242,000. Asher, 213,600. Manasseh, 210,800. Benjamin, 182,400. Naphtali, 181,600. Reuben, 174,920. Gad, 162,000. Ephraim, 130,000. Simeon, 88,800. Levi, 46,000. VII. =The Tribe of Dan= (Josh. 19:40-48; Judges 18) was situated between Benjamin and the sea, and, though apparently large, was in reality very small, since nearly all its territory was held by the original inhabitants, the Canaanites. Its southernmost town was Timnath, a small village not on the map, but two miles west of Beth-shemesh; its northern limit was a brook just north of Joppa. The original inhabitants proved too strong for the Danites, who were compelled to maintain a sort of fortified camp in and between the villages of Zorah and Eshtaol, called "the camp of Dan." (Judges 13:25.) A part of the tribe migrated northward, as related in the interesting account in Judges 17, 18; and, by a surprise, seized the Phoenician village of Laish, or Leshem, in the far north of Palestine, changed its name to Dan, and made it a new rallying centre for the tribe. This place, with Beersheba on the south, was named, in the expression "from Dan to Beersheba," as one of the limits of the land. It remained for centuries the place of an idolatrous worship, perpetuated under all the changes of government, down to the final captivity of the land.