Tribe of Judah

In the Bible

The tribe of Judah descended from Judah, the fourth son of Jacob and Leah, and was one of the twelve tribes of Israel. When Leah bore him, she said, "Now will I praise the LORD," and named him Judah (Genesis 29:35).

Before his death, Jacob blessed Judah, likening him to "a lion's whelp." The blessing also includes the words "The sceptre shall not depart from Judah"; a scepter is the staff held by a king (Genesis 49:8-12).

The records from the wilderness period include the following:

• The tribe of Judah camped on the east side of the encampment and marched at the front when Israel set out (Numbers 2:3-9; 10:14).
• In the first census it numbered 74,600, the largest of the tribes (Numbers 1:27).
• The spy Caleb, the craftsman Bezalel who built the tabernacle, and Achan, who stole devoted things at Jericho, belonged to this tribe.

Background

After entering the land of Canaan, the tribe of Judah received as its inheritance (the portion of land passed down from one's ancestors) the southern hill country west of the Dead Sea and the Negev region (Joshua 15). Hebron and Bethlehem lay within this territory. Jerusalem straddled the border between the tribes of Judah and Benjamin (Joshua 15:8, 63).

The book of Judges records that when Israel went to fight the Canaanites, God answered, "Judah shall go up" (Judges 1:1-2). The first judge, Othniel, was Caleb's nephew.

Significance in the Bible as a Whole

David, a native of Bethlehem, was first made king over Judah at Hebron (2 Samuel 2:4) and afterward ruled over all Israel. Judah thus became the royal tribe. God promised that David's throne would endure forever; this promise is known as the Davidic covenant (2 Samuel 7).

After Solomon's death, the kingdom was divided. The tribes of Judah and Benjamin followed Rehoboam and formed the southern kingdom of Judah (1 Kings 12:21). After the Babylonian exile, the term "men of Judah" came to be used broadly for the people of Israel as a whole. The word "Jew" is also understood to derive from this term.

The New Testament presents Jesus as a descendant of this tribe.

• The genealogy in Matthew 1 traces the line through Judah and David to Jesus.
• Hebrews states, "For it is evident that our Lord sprang out of Juda" (Hebrews 7:14).
• Revelation calls Christ "the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David" (Revelation 5:5). It also places Judah first in the list of the tribes of those who were sealed (Revelation 7:5).

Interpretation and Debate

• "Until Shiloh come" (Genesis 49:10): Ancient Jewish interpretation and Christian tradition have long read this verse as a messianic prophecy. Some scholars, however, take "Shiloh" as a place name, while others render the phrase "until he comes to whom it belongs."
• The 144,000 of Revelation 7: This chapter records that 12,000 from each tribe, 144,000 in all, were sealed. Various denominations read this number as a symbol of the whole people of God. Some dispensational interpreters hold that it refers to the actual nation of Israel. Jehovah's Witnesses interpret it as a literal number of people.
• Homiletical applications based on the name's meaning: Some sermons point out that "Judah" means "praise" and apply Judges 1:2 to mean that "praise goes first." In this passage, however, "Judah" is the name of a tribe, and the text itself does not connect it with the meaning of the name.

In the Korean Church

The expression "the Lion of the tribe of Judah" is used in preaching and in praise songs to express Christ's victory and kingship.