What is the Tribe of Judah? In this lesson, learn who Judah was, who was part of the Tribe of Judah, and who are the Tribe of Judah descendants today.
Updated: 11/21/2023
Tribe of Judah in the Bible | Descendants & History
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Frequently Asked Questions
Who are the descendants of the tribe of Judah?
Historical and religious figures who are descendants of the Tribe of Judah include King David, King Solomon, and Jesus of Nazareth. Additionally, most modern Jews trace their lineage back to the Tribe of Judah.
Is Jesus from the tribe of Judah?
Yes, Jesus is a descendant of Judah through David, a king who also came from the tribe of Judah. David is a descendant of Judah's son Perez, whom he had with Tamar.
What does Judah represent in the Bible?
Judah's role as the de-facto eldest son (thanks to Reuben, Simeon, and Levi being disinherited from their positions) gives him a sense of authority over his brothers. This continues as it is Judah's descendants (through David) who become kings over Israel, and then stay as kings over the Kingdom of Judah.
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ShowJudah was the fourth son of Jacob. Despite being technically born fourth, Judah ended up the inheritor of the eldest son's portion. Despite losing two sons before his time, Judah went on to father descendants who would rule over ancient Israel and, in Christianity, give birth to the Messiah.
Judah's Family
In Abrahamic religions, the lineage of Judah begins with Abraham, whose descendants God promised to build into a great nation. Abraham had two sons of note: Ishmael from Hagar and Isaac from Sarah. Isaac married Rebekah and had twin sons, Esau and Jacob.
Jacob (who would later be known as Israel) fell in love with Rachel and promised to work for her father for seven years to secure her hand in marriage. Although Rachel's father agreed, he disguised Rachel's elder sister, Leah, as Rachel on their wedding night, and wheedled another seven years out of Jacob for him to marry Rachel as well.
Leah had six sons and one daughter from Jacob:
- Reuben
- Simeon
- Levi
- Judah
- Issachar
- Zebulun
- Dinah
Rachel struggled with fertility but had two sons:
- Joseph
- Benjamin
Additionally, Jacob had two concubines: Bilhah and Zilpah.
Bilhah gave birth to two sons on behalf of Rachel prior to Rachel's conceiving Joseph and Benjamin:
- Dan
- Naphtali
Zilpah also gave birth to two sons on behalf of Leah:
- Gad
- Asher
Although Judah was himself the fourth-eldest of his brothers, he became the inheritor of the eldest son's portion after his elder three brothers were somewhat disinherited: Reuben for sleeping with Bilhah, and Simeon and Levi for slaughtering an entire city of men in revenge for the prince of said city raping their sister Dinah.
Judah and Tamar
Judah married and had three sons: Er, Onan, and Shelah. Er died soon after marrying Tamar. As was custom in the ancient Near East, since Er hadn't fathered a son, Onan had a duty to marry Tamar and conceive a son with her for Er. Onan married Tamar and slept with her, but ejaculated out of her to deny her a child. For this, God killed Onan. Judah told Tamar that Shelah was too young to marry her, but would when Shelah came of age. However, Judah had no intention of letting Tamar marry Shelah, thereby condemning Tamar to the dark fate of poverty and misery that awaited childless widows in a patriarchal society.
When Tamar finally realized Judah was tricking her, she disguised herself as a prostitute and lurked near where Judah worked. Judah slept with her, and in payment she asked for a goat from his flock; he agreed, but in the meantime gave her his staff and signet seal. But when he went to deliver her a goat, he could not find her.
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When Judah heard that Tamar was pregnant out of wedlock, he ordered her to be burned alive. Tamar produced the staff and signet seal, and Judah realized his mistake. He acknowledged that "she is more righteous than I" and provided for her, though he never slept with her again (Genesis 38:26 NIV). Tamar gave birth to twins, Perez and Zerah.
Judah and Joseph
Because Jacob loved Rachel more than Leah, he greatly favored Joseph, his eldest son by Rachel. Out of jealousy, Joseph's brothers plotted to kill him. Reuben, the eldest, tried to persuade them to merely cast him into a pit with the intention of rescuing Joseph later, but when a group of slave-traders came by, Judah suggested they sell Joseph to them as a slave. They did so, and Judah and his siblings covered it up by tricking Jacob into believing Joseph had been killed by wild animals.
In Egypt, Joseph rose to be a grand advisor of Pharaoh. During a famine, his brothers (save for Benjamin) came to Egypt for food, but did not recognize him. Joseph kept Simeon as collateral and demanded they bring back Benjamin in exchange for grain. Jacob refused to risk Benjamin's life, as Benjamin was the only son he had left with Rachel. Despite Reuben's offer to protect Benjamin, it was Judah's offer that eventually persuaded Jacob:
"I myself will guarantee his safety; you can hold me personally responsible for him. If I do not bring him back to you and set him here before you, I will bear the blame before you all my life." (Genesis 43:9, NIV).
Joseph was still not able to bring himself to reveal his identity to his brothers, and sent them away with grain; however, he planted a silver cup in Benjamin's sack to see if his brothers had really changed or if they treated Benjamin just as they had treated him.
When Joseph's servants chased them down, he told them that whoever had stolen the cup would become Joseph's slave, but the others would be free to go. After the cup was found in Benjamin's sack, the brothers returned with him to plead with Joseph. Instead of saving their own skin, Judah offered to take Benjamin's place as Joseph's slave. Joseph finally revealed his identity, and his brothers brought their father to Egypt to live for the rest of their days.
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What is the Tribe of Judah? In the Bible, the Tribe of Judah is one of twelve tribes based on the descendants of Jacob's sons. However, it is important to note that the twelve tribes are not exactly all unique descendants of each respective son of Jacob: Levi's descendants became a priestly clan and had no distinct tribe or territory, while Joseph's sons Manasseh and Ephraim were blessed as if they were direct sons of Jacob rather than mere grandchildren.
Settlement and Geography
The Bible recounts the Israelites eventually becoming slaves in Egypt, and then eventually departing Egypt for Canaan. The Book of Joshua describes their territory as reaching the Negev desert in the south, the Dead Sea in the east, the Hebron hills in the north, and the Mediterranean Sea in the west.
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The Kingdom of Judah
Judah continued to experience growth: the second king over a unified Israel was David, a member of the Tribe of Judah. David's son, Solomon, was renowned for his wisdom and wealth. However, when Solomon's own son, Rehoboam, inherited the throne, ten tribes of Israel rebelled against him. In the end, the kingdom was split: Israel to the north, and Judah to the south. The Kingdom of Judah also included the Tribe of Benjamin, which became absorbed by Judah.
The Tribe of Judah in the Bible is described as having had various kings, almost all of whom were descendants of David (the exception being the Israelite queen Athaliah, who took over in a coup and was eventually deposed by another coup). In about 721 B.C.E, Assyria conquered and destroyed the Kingdom of Israel; Judah survived by becoming a vassal of Assyria. After Assyria collapsed in on itself, Babylon conquered Judah in approximately 586 B.C.E. and forcibly exiled the people of Judah to Babylon, where they lived for many years. They were only allowed to return to the land in 539 B.C.E.
The Lion of the Tribe of Judah
The Biblical Gospels of Matthew and Luke each trace Jesus' lineage back to David and to Judah himself. Jesus came from the Roman province of Judea, or the traditional territory of Judah.
In the Christian view, Jesus is the promised Messiah. Revelation 5:5 affords Jesus the title of "Lion of the Tribe of Judah" and therefore worthy of opening scrolls and explaining God's mysteries to the narrator:
"Then one of the elders said to me, 'Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals'" (NIV).
Christian theology traces Jesus' presence back even to God's original promise to Abraham in Genesis 12:2-3:
"I will make you into a great nation... I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you" (NIV).
The idea of "all peoples" being blessed through Abraham is considered a prophecy of the Messiah coming through Abraham.
Where Is the Tribe of Judah Today?
The general consensus among scholars is that most of the northern ten tribes of Israel were absorbed into other people groups following their conquest by Assyria. They are hence known as the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel. Today, most people with Jewish lineage are considered to be descendants of the Tribe of Judah (or Benjamin, which was absorbed by Judah). The term Jew has its origins in the name Judah.
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The Tribe of Judah gets its name from Judah, the son of Jacob and the great-grandson of Abraham. Judah was the fourth son of twelve total; the sons of Jacob would become the twelve tribes of Israel. There are two major stories about Judah's life, both of which end in Judah wising up and redeeming himself. Firstly, Judah mistreated his daughter-in-law Tamar, resulting in her tricking him into hiring her as a prostitute and fathering twin boys with her. Secondly, Judah sells his brother Joseph to slavers, only to change and prove his change by later offering his own life to his father and to Joseph in exchange for Benjamin's life and freedom.
Notable descendants of Judah include:
- King David;
- King Solomon;
- Jesus of Nazareth (known as "The Lion of the Tribe of Judah"); and
- Most Jews today.
The Tribe of Judah eventually settled in Canaan, where its territory included the southern Negev desert and the Hebron Hills. After a civil war, Judah split from Israel to become its own kingdom (along with the Tribe of Benjamin). The Kingdom of Judah fell to Babylon 586 B.C.E. and thousands of its inhabitants were forcibly relocated to Babylon. They were allowed to return in 539 B.C.E. and were later conquered by other empires, including Rome.
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Video Transcript
Tribe of Judah History
Historically, there are 12 tribes of Israel, descended from the patriarch Jacob's sons and grandsons. Judah's tribe was the largest. Introduced in the biblical book of Genesis and in the Torah, the tribe of Judah is descended from Judah, the fourth son of Jacob and Leah. Judah was one of Jacob's 12 sons, and was responsible in part for placing his younger, more favored brother Joseph in a pit. It was suggested by Judah that he should be sold to enemy traders for pieces of silver. Judah and his brothers then deceived their parents into thinking Joseph was killed.
Judah left home and found a wife, producing three sons. The book of Genesis states that Judah's oldest son was put to death by God for being evil and his second born was killed for refusing to fulfill his duty of producing an heir with his brother's widow. Judah was then tricked by his son's widow, Tamar, into conceiving twins through her. The line of Judah originated with these twins.
Settlement in Canaan
After many years, the Israelites became slaves in Egypt and were eventually led to freedom in an exodus by Moses. Once they were freed, they wandered in the desert for 40 years. Upon the death of Moses, Joshua took over the leadership of the ancient Israelites and they entered the land of Canaan. After conquering the land, each tribe was given a specific section of the territory. The tribe of Judah took the area to the south of Jerusalem. Over the years, this kingdom of Judah would continue to grow and prosper in number and power until circa 586 B.C.E. when it was conquered by the Babylonians. Many of the inhabitants were captured and carried off with the army. But, when Cyrus the Great conquered Babylonia in 538 B.C.E. with his Persian army, he allowed all the Jewish citizens to return to Israel.
Upon the Israelites' return to their homeland, the tribe of Judah continued to grow and eventually would become one of the two tribes of Israel that was not destroyed and/or scattered by the Assyrian takeover of Israel in 721 B.C.E. Jewish lore refers to the ten tribes of the north that were dismantled and eventually absorbed by other cultures as the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel.
Tribe of Judah Descendants
As a result of the dissolution of the Ten Lost Tribes, most modern Jews trace their heritage to the tribe of Judah (which had absorbed the tribe of Benjamin), and the Levites, or the tribe of Levi, one of Judah's brothers. The tribe of Judah boasts several noteworthy descendants including King Solomon and King David. David was a mighty king of Israel who not only conquered and retook Jerusalem but also brought the Ark of the Covenant to the city. Solomon was his son, also King of Israel, the builder of the first temple in Jerusalem, and a mighty prophet mentioned in the Bible, the Talmud, and the Quran.
The largest impact of the Tribe of Judah can be seen in the promise given by God to Abraham in Genesis 12:3, ''And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed'' that was to be completed through the descendants of Perez, one of Judah and Tamar's twins. This prophecy was significant to the Jewish faith as they believe this meant the Messiah will come from the tribe of Judah. The Christian Messiah, Jesus Christ, was a descendant from the tribe of Judah.
Lesson Summary
All right, let's take a moment to review what we've learned. The 12 tribes of Israel were formed from the sons and grandsons of Jacob. In this lesson, we looked at Jacob and Leah's fourth son, Judah, and his tribe. Out of these tribes, his tribe, the tribe of Judah, emerged as one of the most powerful, being only one of two tribes that wasn't conquered or scattered. This tribe gave birth to both King David and King Solomon and most notably the messiah of the Christian faith, Jesus Christ. Furthermore, the tribes of Judah and Levi are the common genealogical root of most modern day people of Jewish descent.
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