In Genesis (the first book of the Bible) Judah (יְהוּדָה "Praise", Standard Hebrew Yəhuda, Tiberian Hebrew Yəhûḏāh) is the fourth son of Jacob and Leah, born in Padan-aram (Genesis xxix. 35), and the founder of the Hebrew tribe that bears his name. Genesis (Greek: Γένεσις, having the meanings of birth, creation, cause, beginning, source and origin), also called The First Book of Moses, is the first book of Torah (five books of Moses), and is the first book of the Tanakh, part of the Hebrew Bible; it is also the first book of... The Bible (sometimes The Book, Good Book, Word of God, The Word, or Scripture), from Greek (τα) βιβλια, (ta) biblia, (the) books, plural of βιβλιον, biblion, book, originally a diminutive of βιβλος, biblos, which in turn is derived from βυβλος—byblos, meaning papyrus, from the ancient Phoenician city of Byblos which exported this writing material... The Modern Hebrew language is a Semitic language of the Afro-Asiatic language family. ... Tiberian Hebrew is an oral tradition of pronunciation for ancient forms of Hebrew, especially the Hebrew of the Bible, that was given written form by masoretic scholars in the Jewish community at Tiberias in the early middle ages, beginning in the 8th century. ... Jacob Wrestling with the Angel – Gustave Doré, 1855 Jacob or Yaakov, (יַעֲקֹב Holder of the heel, Standard Hebrew YaÊ¿aqov, Tiberian Hebrew Yaʿăqōḇ; Arabic يعقوب YaÊ¿qÅ«b), later known as Israel (יִשְׂרָאֵל Prince with God, Standard Hebrew Yisraʾel, Tiberian Hebrew YiÅ›rāʾēl; Arabic اسرائيل Isrāʾīl) is a Biblical... Look up Leah and לֵאָה in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... In the Bible, Padan-aram refers to the plain of Aram, or the plain of the highlands, (Gen. ... This is a list of the Tribes of Israel. ...

In order to save the life of his brother Joseph, it was Judah who suggested the sale of Joseph to the Ishmaelite traders. Judah becomes surety for his brother Benjamin, and prevails upon his father to let him go down to Egypt according to the request of Joseph, after Reuben has failed (Gen. xliii. 3-14). Joseph, in the Hebrew Bible appears in the Book of Genesis. ... Ishmael, son of Abraham, is mentioned in both the Torah and the Quran. ... A surety is a person who agrees to be responsible for the debt or obligation of another. ... In the Old Testament, Benjamin (בִּנְיָמִין Son of my right hand but in some Rabbinical traditions Son of the south, Standard Hebrew Binyamin, Tiberian Hebrew Binyāmîn) is the younger son of Jacob and Rachel (Gen. ... Reuben (רְאוּבֵן, Standard Hebrew Rəʾuven, Tiberian Hebrew Rəʾûḇēn) is the first-born son of Jacob and the founder of the Tribe of Reuben, as related in the Book of Genesis of the Hebrew Bible. ...

In subsequent interviews with Joseph, Judah takes a leading part among the brethren (e.g., "Judah and his brethren," Gen. xliv. 14), and makes a most touching and persuasive plea for the release of Benjamin (Gen. xliv. 16-34). In Jacob's blessing (ib. xlix.) he seems to be exalted to the position of chief of the brethren, owing apparently to the misconduct of Reuben and the treacherous violence of Simeon and Levi (see Gen. xxxiv., xxxv. 22), who thereby forfeit their birthright. Simeon or Shimon (שִׁמְעוֹן) is a Hebrew name meaning Hearkening; listening, Standard Hebrew Šimʿon, Tiberian Hebrew Šimʿôn) The Greek form of the name is Simon. ... Levi or Levy (לֵוִי Standard Hebrew Levi, Tiberian Hebrew Lēwî) was the founder of the Levite tribe of ancient Israel. ...

According to Gen. xxxviii., Judah married the daughter of the Canaanite Shuah, by whom he had three sons, Er, Onan, and Shelah. Er married Tamar, but died childless. According to custom his widow was given in marriage to his brother Onan, who was slain for misconduct; and she was then promised to the third son, Shelah. This promise not having been fulfilled, she resorted to stratagem, and became by Judah the mother of Pharez and Zarah. Pharez was ancestor of the royal house of David (Ruth iv. 12, 18-22; I Chron. ii. 3-16). Canaanite can describe anything pertaining to Canaan: in particular, its languages and inhabitants. ... First-born of Judah. ... Onan (אוֹנָן Strong, Standard Hebrew Onan, Tiberian Hebrew ʾÔnān) is a person described in the Bible (book of Genesis). ... Shelah or Shela (שֵׁלָה Petition, Standard Hebrew Šela, Tiberian Hebrew Šēlāh) is the name of two persons in the Bible: The son of Arpachshad, and thus the grandson of Shem. ... Tamar - תָּמָר Palm tree, Standard Hebrew Tamar, Tiberian Hebrew Tāmār The daughter-in-law of Judah, to whose eldest son, Er, she was married (Gen. ... In the Book of Genesis, Pharez or Péretz (פֶּרֶץ / פָּרֶץ Breach, Standard Hebrew Péreẓ / Páreẓ, Tiberian Hebrew Péreṣ / Pāreṣ) is the son of Judah by the Canaanitish woman Tamar. ... Zerah or Zérach (זֶרַח / זָרַח Sunrise, Standard Hebrew Zéraḥ / Záraḥ, Tiberian Hebrew Zéraḥ / Zāraḥ) (1. ... Michelangelos David. ...

Name

Judah's name is interpreted as a combination of "Yhwh" (given as a reward for his public confession, Gen. xxxviii. 26) with the letter "dalet," the numerical value of which is 4, Judah being the fourth son of Jacob (Talmud, Sotah 10b.) The Tetragrammaton in Phoenician (1100 BC to AD 300), Aramaic (10th century BC to 1 BC) and modern Hebrew scripts. ... The Talmud (תלמוד) is considered an authoritative record of rabbinic discussions on Jewish law, Jewish ethics, customs, legends and stories. ...

In rabbinic literature

With reference to I Chronicles v. 2, Judah is represented by the rabbis as chief over his brothers, who obeyed him and who did nothing without his approval; he is styled "the king" (Midrash Genesis Rabbah lxxxiv. 16; Test. Patr., Judah, 1). He is therefore held responsible by the rabbis for the deception that his brothers practised upon their father by sending to him Joseph's coat dipped in the blood of a young lamb (Gen. xxxvii. 31-32). Judah was punished for it in a similar manner, Tamar sending to him his pledge, saying, "Discern, I pray thee, whose are these" (Gen. xxxviii. 25; Gen. R. lxxxiv. 19, lxxxv. 12). The death of his wife and his two sons (Gen. xxxviii. 7-12) is also considered by Midrash Tanhuma (Tan., Vayiggash, 10) as a divine retribution for the suffering which he caused his father by selling Joseph. A Rabbi (Classical Hebrew רִבִּי ribbī; modern Ashkenazi and Israeli רַבִּי rabbī) is a religious Jewish scholar who is an expert in Jewish law. ... Rabbi (Classical Hebrew רִבִּי ribbÄ«;; modern Ashkenazi and Israeli רַבִּי rabbÄ«) in Judaism, means teacher, or more literally great one. The word Rabbi is derived from the Hebrew root-word RaV, which in biblical Hebrew means great or distinguished,. In the ancient Judean schools the sages were addressed as רִבִּי (Ribbi or Rebbi... Midrash (pl. ...

According to Midrash Genesis Rabbah xcv. 1 and Midrash Tanhuma, l.c., Jacob suspected Judah of having killed Joseph; Tanhuma even adds that it was Judah himself who brought Joseph's coat to Jacob. Judah's attempt to rescue Joseph (Gen. xxxvii. 26) is considered insufficient; for, as he was the chief, he should have brought Joseph on his shoulders to his father (Genesis Rabbah lxxxv. 4). His brothers, on seeing their father's grief, deposed Judah and excommunicated him, saying: "If he, our chief, had ordered us to bring Joseph home, we would have done so" (Midrash Exodus Rabbah xlii. 2; Tan., Vayesheb, 12). Judah atoned for that fault by confessing that it was he who had given Tamar the pledge; and he was rewarded for that confession by a share in the future world (Soṭah 7b). Excommunication is religious censure which is used to deprive or suspend membership in a religious community. ...

"Bat Shua'" (Gen. xxxviii. 12), according to Jubilees, xxxiv. 20, was the name of Judah's wife, while in Sefer ha-Yashar (section Vayesheb) her name is given as Illit. Sefer haYashar, Hebrew ספר הישר (also transliterated Sēper haiYāšār), Book of the Upright, often only half-translated into English as Book of Jasher or as Book of Jashar. ...

Judah as a legendary hero

In Jewish literature Judah is represented as a man of extraordinary physical strength. When he shouted his voice was heard at a distance of 400 parasangs; when he became angry the hair of his chest became so stiff that it pierced his clothes; and when he took into his mouth lumps of iron he reduced them to dust (Midrash Genesis Rabbah xciii. 6). According to others, blood flowed from his two bucklers (Midrash Genesis Rabbah xciii. 7). The parasang (Persian فرسنگ farsang) is an ancient Persian unit of itinerant distance corresponding to approximately 3. ...

He was a prominent figure in the wars between the Canaanites and his father's family after the latter had destroyed Shechem. These wars are alluded to by Pseudo-Jonathan (on Gen. xlviii. 22) and in Midrash Vayissa'u (Jellinek, "B. H." iii. 1-5), and are described at great length in Sefer ha-Yashar, section Wayishlah (see also Jubilees, xxxiv. 1-9; Test. Patr., Judah, 3-7). Shechem, Sichem or Shkhem (שְׁכֶם / שְׁכָם Shoulder, Standard Hebrew Šəḫem / Šəḫam, Tiberian Hebrew Šəḵem / Šəḵām (situated at Tell Balatah 32° 12′ 11″ N, 35° 18′ 40″ E, 2 km east of present-day Nablus) was the first capital of the Kingdom of Israel. ...

Judah's first remarkable exploit was the killing of Jashub, King of Tappuah. The latter, clad in iron armor, came riding on a horse and shooting arrows with both hands. While still at a distance of thirty cubits from him, Judah threw at Jashub a stone weighing sixty shekels, unhorsing him. Then in a hand-to-hand fight Judah killed his adversary. While he was stripping the armor from the body, he was assailed by nine of Jashub's companions, of whom he killed one and put to flight the rest. Of Jashub's army he killed 1,000 men (comp. Test. Patr., l.c.), or, according to Sefer ha-Yashar (l.c.), forty-two men. Cubit is the name for any one of many units of measure used by various ancient peoples, based on the distance between the tip of the middle finger and the elbow on an average person or a similar forearm-based measurement. ... Silver half-shekel struck in the Greek Colony of Taras, during the Punic occupation. ...

Great exploits were said to be performed by him at Hazar and Gaash, where he was the first to jump upon the wall and create havoc among the enemy. Midrash Wayissa'u describes also the battle between the children of Jacob and those of Esau, in which the chief part was taken by Judah. When Judah interfered on behalf of Benjamin (Gen. xliv. 18-34), he at first had a heated discussion with Joseph, which is given at great length in the Sefer ha-Yashar (section Wayiggash, agreeing in many points with Gen. Rab. xciii. 7). Esau (Hebrew עֵשָׂו, Standard Hebrew ʿEsav, Tiberian Hebrew ʿĒśāw) is the son of Isaac and Rebekah and the older twin brother of Jacob in the biblical Book of Genesis, whom in the Torah, was tricked by Jacob into giving up his birthright (leadership of Israel) for a mess of pottage (meal...

The following incidents may be mentioned: When Joseph retained Benjamin, Judah shouted so loudly that Hushim, the son of Dan, who was in Canaan at a distance of 400 parasangs from him, heard his voice. Hushim came immediately to Egypt, and with Judah desired to destroy the land. In the Sefer ha-Yashar it is stated that Judah lifted a stone weighing 400 shekels, threw it into the air, and finally ground it to dust with his foot. He then told Naphtali to count the districts of Egypt, and when the latter reported that there were twelve of them, he said to his brothers: "I take three for myself and let each one of you take one, and we shall destroy the whole of Egypt." It was this decision that induced Joseph to disclose himself to his brothers. The Tribe of Dan (דָּן Judge, Standard Hebrew Dan, Tiberian Hebrew Dān) is one of the Hebrew tribes, which the Bible claims was founded by Dan, son of Jacob and Bilhah, Rachels maidservant (Genesis 30:4). ... In the Book of Genesis, Naphtali (נַפְתָּלִי My wrestling, Standard Hebrew Naftali, Tiberian Hebrew Nap̄tālî) is the sixth son of Jacob and the founder of the tribe of Naphtali. ...

Because Judah had pledged himself to bring Benjamin back to his father, saying, "If I bring him not unto thee, and set him before thee, then let me bear the blame for ever" (Gen. xliii. 9), his bones were rolled about without rest in the coffin during the forty years that the children of Israel wandered in the wilderness. Moses then prayed to God, arguing that Judah's confession had induced Reuben to confess his sin with Bilhah (Soṭah 7b; B. Ḳ. 92a; Mak. 11b). Judah's name was engraved on the emerald in the high priest's breastplate (Num. Rab. ii. 6). Moses or Móshe (מֹשֶׁה, Standard Hebrew Móše, Latin Moyses, Tiberian Hebrew Mōšeh, Arabic موسى Musa), son of Amram (Imran in Arabic) and his wife, Jochebed, a Levite. ... In the Book of Genesis, Bilhah (בִּלְהָה Faltering; bashful, Standard Hebrew Bilha, Tiberian Hebrew Bilhāh) is a concubine of Jacob, and bears him two sons, Dan and Naphtali. ... The term High Priest may refer to particular individuals who hold the office of ruler-priest in local regional or ethnic contexts. ...

Preeminence of the Tribe in rabbinic literature

The tribe of Judah had the preeminence over the other tribes in that Elisheba, the mother of all the priests; Othniel, the first judge; Bezaleel, the builder of the Tabernacle; and Solomon, the builder of the First Temple in Jerusalem; and all the pious kings were of the tribe of Judah, as will be the Messiah. This distinction was given to the tribe of Judah as a reward for its zeal in glorifying God at the passage of the Red Sea. Queen Elizabeth II, of the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada etc. ... Judges (Hebrew: שֹּׁפְטִים) is a book of the Bible originally written in Hebrew. ... According to Exodus Chapter 31 verses 2-7, Bezaleel, of the tribe of Judah, was named by God to build the Ark of the Covenant along with Aholiab, of the tribe of Dan. ... The Tabernacle is known in Hebrew as the Mishkan (Place of [Divine] dwelling). It was to be a portable central place of worship for the Hebrews from the time they left ancient Egypt following the Exodus, through the time of the Book of Judges when they were engaged in conquering... Solomon (Hebrew, Shlomo from Shalom for peace, also Arabic as Suleiman or Sulyaman meaning peace) can mean any of the following: 1. ... The Temple in Jerusalem or the Holy Temple (Beit HaMikdash בית המקדש in Hebrew) was built in ancient Jerusalem and was the center of Israelite and Jewish worship, primarily for the offering of sacrifices known as the korbanot. ... In Judaism, the Messiah (מָשִׁיחַ anointed one, Standard Hebrew , Tiberian Hebrew ) initially meant any person who was anointed by God. ... Conshelf II in the Red Sea (Sudan) Location of the Red Sea The Red Sea (Arabic البحر الأحمر Baḥr al-Aḥmar, al-Baḥru l-’Aḥmar; Hebrew ים סוף Yam Suf; Tigrigna ቀይሕ ባሕሪ QeyH baHri) is a gulf or basin of the Indian Ocean between Africa and Asia. ...

When the children of Israel were about to cross, a dispute arose among the tribes, each desiring to be the first to enter the water. The tribe of Benjamin sprang in first, for which act the princes of Judah threw stones at it (Talmud Sotah 37a). In Midrash Exodus Rabbah xxiv. 1, it is stated, on the contrary, that the other tribes refused to enter the slimy bed of the sea until the tribe of Judah set them the example by plunging in. The Talmud (תלמוד) is considered an authoritative record of rabbinic discussions on Jewish law, Jewish ethics, customs, legends and stories. ...

According to R. Judah, the Temple in Jerusalem was erected on Judah's land — another reward to the tribe (Midrash Genesis Rabbah xcix. 1); but a different opinion is that only the whole eastern side of the edifice, including the courtyards and the altar, was on Judah's ground, while the Temple proper was on land belonging to Benjamin (Talmud Yoma 12a; Zeb. 53b). The Talmud (תלמוד) is considered an authoritative record of rabbinic discussions on Jewish law, Jewish ethics, customs, legends and stories. ...

The people of Judah are said to have been versed in the laws of the Torah (bene Torah), because in the wilderness the tribe was placed on the east side of the camp (Num. ii. 3), being thus near to Moses and Aaron (Midrash Numbers Rabbah xviii. 4). It seems that the soil of Judah's territory was remarkable for the excellent quality of its grain, one measure of Judean grain being worth five measures of that produced in Galilee (Talmud B. B. 122a). Torah (תורה) is a Hebrew word meaning teaching, instruction, or law. ... Moses or Móshe (מֹשֶׁה, Standard Hebrew Móše, Latin Moyses, Tiberian Hebrew Mōšeh, Arabic موسى Musa), son of Amram (Imran in Arabic) and his wife, Jochebed, a Levite. ... AARON is a program written by artist Harold Cohen that creates original artistic images. ...

Historical view

It is generally maintained by historical critical studies of the Bible that Judah is the eponymous ancestor of the tribe of that name, and that the narrative in Genesis gives the history of the tribe in the form of personal history.

See also Tribe of Judah, Kingdom of Judah. The Tribe of Judah (Hebrew: יְהוּדָה, Praise; Standard Hebrew Yəhuda, Tiberian Hebrew Yəhûḏāh) is one of the Hebrew tribes, founded by Judah, son of Jacob. ... The Kingdom of Judah (Hebrew מַלְכוּת יְהוּדָה, Standard Hebrew Malḫut Yəhuda, Tiberian Hebrew Malḵûṯ Yəhûḏāh) in the times of the Hebrew Bible, was the nation formed from the territories of the tribes of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin after the Kingdom of Israel was divided, and was named after...