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Judah

Illustration of Judah

The tribe of Judah, descended from Jacobโ€™s fourth son, emerged as the royal tribe of Israel through its association with King David, who established the united monarchy and received the divine promise of an eternal dynasty. Following the division of the kingdom after Solomonโ€™s reign, Judah became the dominant tribe in the southern kingdom, which adopted its name and preserved the Davidic line amid the northern tribesโ€™ secession. This tribe holds profound significance in Scripture, as prophecies such as the scepter not departing from Judah pointed to the coming Messiah, fulfilled in Jesus Christ, who is explicitly identified as descending from the line of David and the tribe of Judah.

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Details

Meaning
Praise
Patriarch
Judah
Mother
Leah
Territory
Southern Israel including Jerusalem, Bethlehem, and Hebron
Blessing
The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come.
Key Figures
David, Solomon, Jesus

Key Passages

Jacob's Blessing

Genesis 49:8-12

J8udah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies; thy fatherโ€™s children shall bow down before thee.

9 Judah is a lionโ€™s whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up? 10 The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be. 11 Binding his foal unto the vine, and his assโ€™s colt unto the choice vine; he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes: 12 His eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk.

Judah's Territory

Joshua 15:1-12

T1his then was the lot of the tribe of the children of Judah by their families; even to the border of Edom the wilderness of Zin southward was the uttermost part of the south coast.

2 And their south border was from the shore of the salt sea, from the bay that looketh southward: 3 And it went out to the south side to Maalehacrabbim, and passed along to Zin, and ascended up on the south side unto Kadeshbarnea, and passed along to Hezron, and went up to Adar, and fetched a compass to Karkaa: 4 From thence it passed toward Azmon, and went out unto the river of Egypt; and the goings out of that coast were at the sea: this shall be your south coast. 5 And the east border was the salt sea, even unto the end of Jordan. And their border in the north quarter was from the bay of the sea at the uttermost part of Jordan: 6 And the border went up to Bethhogla, and passed along by the north of Betharabah; and the border went up to the stone of Bohan the son of Reuben: 7 And the border went up toward Debir from the valley of Achor, and so northward, looking toward Gilgal, that is before the going up to Adummim, which is on the south side of the river: and the border passed toward the waters of Enshemesh, and the goings out thereof were at Enrogel: 8 And the border went up by the valley of the son of Hinnom unto the south side of the Jebusite; the same is Jerusalem: and the border went up to the top of the mountain that lieth before the valley of Hinnom westward, which is at the end of the valley of the giants northward: 9 And the border was drawn from the top of the hill unto the fountain of the water of Nephtoah, and went out to the cities of mount Ephron; and the border was drawn to Baalah, which is Kirjathjearim: 10 And the border compassed from Baalah westward unto mount Seir, and passed along unto the side of mount Jearim, which is Chesalon, on the north side, and went down to Bethshemesh, and passed on to Timnah: 11 And the border went out unto the side of Ekron northward: and the border was drawn to Shicron, and passed along to mount Baalah, and went out unto Jabneel; and the goings out of the border were at the sea. 12 And the west border was to the great sea, and the coast thereof. This is the coast of the children of Judah round about according to their families.

Lion of Judah

Revelation 5:5

A5nd one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.

Did You Know?

1

Judah means 'praise'. Leah named him this saying 'Now I will praise the Lord.'

2

Both David and Jesus came from the tribe of Judah, fulfilling Jacob's prophecy of the scepter.

3

Judah offered himself as a substitute for Benjamin. Foreshadowing Christ's substitutionary sacrifice.

4

The word 'Jew' derives from 'Judah'. The tribe's name became the identity of the entire people.