From Dan to Beersheba
Preserved but no longer current.
From one end of the kingdom to the other; all over the world; everywhere. The phrase is Scriptural, Dan being the most northern and Beersheba the most southern cities of the Holy Land. We have a similar expression, "From Land's End to John o' Groats.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “From Dan to Beersheba” mean?
From one end of the kingdom to the other; all over the world; everywhere. The phrase is Scriptural, Dan being the most northern and Beersheba the most southern cities of the Holy Land. We have a similar expression, "From Land's End to John o' Groats.
Is “From Dan to Beersheba” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.