Dathan (died 1491 BC) was the Governor of Goshen from 1531 to 1491 BC. A Jewish Israelite, he was employed by Pharaoh Seti I as an overseer of the Hebrew slaves, and he became the archenemy of Moses and Joshua (whose lover Lilia he took as his concubine). Dathan was among the nonbelievers to be killed by God after building a golden calf idol during the Exodus.
Biography[]
Dathan was born to a family of enslaved Hebrews in Egypt, the son of Eliab and the brother of Abiram, and he served as an overseer for fellow slaves and as an informant for the Egyptians. He intimidated the workers, especially the water girl Lilia, and he later discovered Moses' Jewish ancestry and reported him to Pharaoh Seti I, who expelled him. Dathan then became Governor of Goshen, with his brother Abiram as his second-in-command, and, although he attempted to dissuade the Israelites from listening to Moses during the plagues in Egypt, he was later forced into exile by the Pharaoh along with the rest of the Jews. He encouraged the Israelites to blame Moses when the Egyptians came after them at the Red Sea, and he led the Israelites in their worship of the golden calf. He was killed when Moses threw the Ten Commandments tablets at the calf, causing an explosion and earthquake which killed the worshippers.
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