Back سبط يهوذا Arabic سبط يهوذا ARZ Іудзіна пакаленне Byelorussian Юдава пакаленьне BE-X-OLD Meuriad Yehouda Breton Juda (stamme) Danish Juda (Bibel) German Tribo de Jehuda Esperanto Tribu de Judá Spanish Tribu de Juda French
 Map of the twelve tribes of Israel, before the move of Dan to the North. (The text is partially in German.) | |
| Geographical range | West Asia |
|---|---|
| Major sites | Hebron, Bethlehem |
| Preceded by | New Kingdom of Egypt |
| Followed by | Kingdom of Israel (united monarchy) |
| Tribes of Israel |
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According to the Hebrew Bible, the tribe of Judah (שֵׁבֶט יְהוּדָה, Shevet Yehudah) was one of the twelve Tribes of Israel, named after Judah, the son of Jacob. Judah was the first tribe to take its place in the Land of Israel, occupying the southern part of the territory. Jesse and his sons, including King David, belonged to this tribe.
The tribe of Judah played a central role in the Deuteronomistic history, which encompasses the books of Deuteronomy through II Kings. After the death of King Solomon, the tribe of Judah, along with the tribe of Benjamin, formed the southern Kingdom of Judah, with Jerusalem as its capital. The kingdom lasted until its conquest by Babylon in c. 586 BCE.
The tribe's symbol was the lion, and it was often represented in Jewish art. After the Babylonian captivity, the distinction between the tribes was largely lost, but the term "Judah" gave rise to the identity of the Jews. In later traditions, including Christianity and Ethiopian Judaism, the "Lion of the Tribe of Judah" became a messianic symbol.