The first judge narrative (Othniel) presents a positive picture of conquest that is connected to the tribe of Judah. This final judge narrative by contrast is a negative portrayal of conquest, connected to Dan. Despite the patriarchal promise in Genesis 49:16–18, Dan in the book of Judges presents poorly. It never occupies its allotted land, and instead conquers a city far to the north (see Judges 18:1–31). The book’s very structure underlines this, as its movement from Judah to Dan “forms both a geographical pattern (south to north) and a moral/spiritual pattern (best to worst) that is also precisely expressed in the prologue (Judges 1:1–36). Just as the Amorites possessed the Danite allotment in Judges 1:34, so the Philistines possess the same region in chapters Judges 13:1 – 16:31."1
2 There was a certain man of Zorah, of the tribe of the Danites, whose name was Manoah. And his wife was barren and had no children.