Eldad ha-Dani

Who is Eldad ha-Dani?

Eldad ha-Dani or Eldad HaDani or Eldad ben Mahli ha-Dani was a Jewish, Hebrew-writing merchant and traveler of the ninth century. He professed to be a citizen of an "independent Jewish state" in eastern Africa, probably in the Gihon region, inhabited by people claiming descent from the tribes of Dan, Asher, Gad, and Naphtali. Starting from this state, Eldad visited Babylonia, Kairouan, and Iberia, causing everywhere a great stir among the Jews by his fanciful accounts of the Ten Lost Tribes, and by the halakhot which he claimed he had brought from his native country. These halakhot, written in Hebrew, deal with the slaughtering and subsequent examination of animals. They differ in many places from the Talmudic ordinances, and are introduced in the name of Joshua ben Nun, or, according to another version, of Othniel Ben Kenaz. Eldad's accounts soon spread, and, as usual in such cases, were remolded and amplified by copyists and editors. There are no fewer than eight versions with important variations. The following is a summary of Eldad's narrative according to the most complete of these versions: