- GreatGrandson of Patriarch Abraham
- One of the Twelve Tribes of Israel
- 23rd of the Ancient Genesis Patriarchs
Biography
Judah (Hebrew: יְהוּדָה, Standard Yəhuda Tiberian Yehuḏā) was, according to the Book of Genesis, the fourth son of Jacob and Leah, the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Judah. By extension, he is indirectly eponymous of the Kingdom of Judah, the land of Judea and the word "Jew".
According to the narrative in Genesis, Judah with Tamar is the patrilinear ancestor of the Davidic line. The Tribe of Judah figures prominently in the Deuteronomistic history, which most scholars agree was reduced to written form, although subject to exilic and post-exilic alterations and emendations, during the reign of the Judahist reformer Josiah from 641-609 BC.[2]
Fourth son of Jacob and Leah (Gen. 29:35; 37:26–27; 43:3, 8; 44:16; 49:8–12; Deut. 33:7). From these passages we see that he was a natural leader among the sons of Jacob, and the tribe descended from him took the lead after the settlement in Canaan, its chief rival being Ephraim.
Family
Genesis 38
Judah has three sons by a Canaanite woman—Er and Onan are slain by the Lord—Tamar, disguised as a harlot, bears twins by Judah. (See Genesis Ch 38).
Genesis 46 Narrative
12 And the sons of Judah; Er, and Onan, and Shelah, and Pharez, and Zerah: but Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan. And the sons of Pharez were Hezron and Hamul.
Genesis 46:12 - KJV translation
1st Chronicles 2 Narrative
3 ¶ The sons of Judah; Er, and Onan, and Shelah: which three were born unto him of the daughter of Shua the Canaanitess. And Er, the firstborn of Judah, was evil in the sight of the Lord; and he slew him.
4 And Tamar his daughter in law bare him Pharez and Zerah. All the sons of Judah were five.
5 The sons of Pharez; Hezron, and Hamul.
6 And the sons of Zerah; Zimri, and Ethan, and Heman, and Calcol, and Dara: five of them in all.
7 And the sons of Carmi; Achar, the troubler of Israel, who transgressed in the thing accursed.
8 And the sons of Ethan; Azariah.
9 The sons also of Hezron, that were born unto him; Jerahmeel, and Ram, and Chelubai.
10 And Ram begat Amminadab; and Amminadab begat Nahshon, prince of the children of Judah;
11 And Nahshon begat Salma, and Salma begat Boaz,
12 And Boaz begat Obed, and Obed begat Jesse,
1 Chr 2:3-12
Children
| Name | Birth | Death | Joined with |
| Er ben Judah | |||
| Onan ben Judah | |||
| Shelah ben Judah | |||
| Name | Birth | Death | Joined with |
| Perez ben Judah | Egypt | Egypt | |
| Zerah ben Judah | Egypt | Egypt | |
Siblings
| Name | Birth | Death | Joined with |
| Reuben ben Jacob | Land of Canaan | Land of Canaan | Eliuram, daughter of Ewi the Canaanite |
| Simeon ben Jacob | Land of Canaan | Land of Canaan | Bonah of Shechem |
| Levi ben Jacob | Land of Canaan | Land of Canaan | Milkah, daughter of Aram. |
| Judah ben Jacob | Land of Canaan | Land of Canaan | Daughter of Shau Tamar |
| Issachar ben Jacob | Land of Canaan | Land of Canaan | Aridah bat Jobab |
| Zebulun ben Jacob | Land of Canaan | Land of Canaan | |
| Dinah, daughter of Jacob | Land of Canaan | Land of Canaan | |
| Name | Birth | Death | Joined with |
| Dan ben Jacob | Land of Canaan | Land of Canaan | |
| Naphtali ben Jacob | Land of Canaan | Land of Canaan | |
| Name | Birth | Death | Joined with |
| Gad ben Jacob | Land of Canaan | Land of Canaan | Uzith bat Amuram |
| Asher ben Jacob | Land of Canaan | Land of Canaan | Hadurah |
| Name | Birth | Death | Joined with |
| Joseph ben Jacob | Land of Canaan | Egypt | Asenath the daughter of Poti-pherah |
| Benjamin ben Jacob | Land of Canaan | Land of Canaan | |
References
- Book of Genesis 11-25
- Abraham's Family Tree - ReligionWikia
- 1 Chronicles 1:21-25
- Judah - LDS Bible Dictionary
- Judah - Wikipedia
- Abraham - Family tree on JewAge (another Semantic MediaWiki site)
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