Judah in the Bible

Meaning: the praise of the Lord; confessionpar

Exact Match

[to] whom the word of Yahweh came in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, the king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign.

Verse ConceptsLordship, Human And DivineProphecy, Inspiration Of OtTimes Of People

It came also in the days of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, the king of Judah, until the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah, the son of Josiah, the king of Judah, until the exile of Jerusalem in the fifth month.

Verse ConceptsMonth 5Exile Of Judah To BabylonYears Of ZedekiahTimes Of People

For, look, I [am] calling to all [the] clans of [the] kingdoms of [the] north," {declares} Yahweh, "and they will come and set each one his throne [at] the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, and against all its surrounding walls, and against all the cities of Judah.

Verse ConceptsGatesThroneSitting In The GatewayAttacks On Jerusalem Foretold

In this way I will pass sentence on the people of Jerusalem and Judah because of all their wickedness. For they rejected me and offered sacrifices to other gods, worshiping what they made with their own hands."

Verse ConceptsGod, As JudgeForsaking GodMonotheismRejection Of God, Results OfUnfaithfulness, To GodIdol WorshipDifferent GodsIdolatry

Now look, I have made you {today} as a fortified city and as an iron pillar and a bronze wall against all the land, against the kings of Judah, against its princes, against its priests, and against the people of the land.

Verse ConceptsBronzeCityIronPillarsWallsBrassMetaphorical PillarsFigurative WallsThings Like BronzeThings Like IronKings of judahFamily Conflictpriests

But where [are] your gods that you made for yourself? Let them arise if they can save you in the time of your trouble. For [according to] the number of your towns are your gods, Judah.

Verse ConceptsGod, As SaviorMany Spiritual BeingsSalvation By Other Things

When Josiah was king of Judah, the Lord said to me, "Jeremiah, you have no doubt seen what wayward Israel has done. You have seen how she went up to every high hill and under every green tree to give herself like a prostitute to other gods.

Verse ConceptsLicentiousnessSpiritual HarlotryHarlotsWantonnessSacrificing On The High PlacesTimes Of PeopleWorship At Trees

And I thought, 'After her doing all these [things] to me she will return,' but she did not return. And her treacherous sister Judah saw [it].

Verse ConceptsNot Returning To GodRelated Nations

And I saw that {for this very reason, that} on account of apostate Israel committing adultery I divorced her and gave the letter of divorce to her. Yet her treacherous sister Judah was not afraid and she went and prostituted [herself] also.

Verse ConceptsAdultery and Divorcedivorce, amongst believersCertificate of divorceSpiritual HarlotryBills Of DivorceRelated NationsNo Fear Of GodBackslidingBackslidersInfidelitywhores

Yet even in all this her treacherous sister Judah did not return to me with all her heart, {but only} in pretense," {declares} Yahweh.

Verse ConceptsNot Whole HeartedPretenceRepentance, Nature OfHalf HeartednessNot Returning To GodRelated Nations

In those days the house of Judah will walk along with the house of Israel and they will come together from [the] land of [the] north to the land that I gave as an inheritance [to] your ancestors.

Verse ConceptsFellowship, In The GospelMessianic AgeNorthReturn From The Northreuniting

Circumcise yourselves to Yahweh, and remove the foreskins of your hearts, men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, lest my wrath goes forth like the fire and burns, and there is no [one who] extinguishes [it], because of the evil of your deeds."

Verse ConceptsForeskinsCircumcision, spiritualFire Of God's AngerTrue CircumcisionLake Of Fire

Declare in Judah and proclaim in Jerusalem and say, "Blow a horn through the land, {call with a loud voice} and say, 'Be gathered and let us go into the fortified cities.'

Verse ConceptsFortificationsCityHeraldTrumpetTrumpets For Signalling

In response to all this I said, "Ah, Lord God, you have surely allowed the people of Judah and Jerusalem to be deceived by those who say, 'You will be safe!' But in fact a sword is already at our throats."

Verse ConceptsGod DeceivingNo Peace

"At that time the people of Judah and Jerusalem will be told, 'A scorching wind will sweep down from the hilltops in the desert on my dear people. It will not be a gentle breeze for winnowing the grain and blowing away the chaff.

Verse ConceptseastWeather, As God's JudgmentWinnowingHot WeatherClean ObjectsDirection

"Report to the nations, 'Here they are!' Proclaim against Jerusalem, 'Besiegers [are] coming {from a distant land}, and they raise their voice against the cities of Judah.'

Verse ConceptsVoicesAttacks On Jerusalem ForetoldPeople From Far AwayTelling Of MovementsNations Attacking Israel

The Lord commanded the enemy, "March through the vineyards of Israel and Judah and ruin them. But do not destroy them completely. Strip off their branches for these people do not belong to the Lord.

Verse ConceptsDestroying VineyardsBattlementsDestruction Of PlantsNot Destroyed

For the house of Israel and the house of Judah have dealt utterly treacherously with me," {declares} Yahweh.

Verse ConceptsUnfaithfulness, To GodUnfaithful

"Something horrible and shocking is going on in the land of Judah:

Verse ConceptsPeople Appalled

“Run for safety, you children of Benjamin,
Out of the midst of Jerusalem!
And blow a trumpet in Tekoa [in Judah]
And raise a signal-fire in Beth-haccherem [near Jerusalem];
For evil is looking down [with eager anticipation] from the north,
And great destruction.

Verse ConceptsSafetyTrumpetBeaconsOut Of The NorthTrumpets For BattleNatural Disasters

"Stand in the gate of the house of Yahweh and proclaim there this word, and say, 'Hear the word of Yahweh, all of Judah, [those who] enter through these gates to bow in worship to Yahweh.

Verse ConceptsHearingProphecy, Methods Of OtWorship, Acceptable AttitudesStanding In The Gateway

“Therefore, do not pray for this people [of Judah] or lift up a cry or entreaty for them or make intercession to Me, for I do not hear you.

Verse ConceptsPrayer, For OthersReprobatesNot PrayingPraying For OthersPrayingsupplicationpetition

[Do] you not see what they [are] doing in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem?

The Lord said to the people of Judah, "The Lord God of Israel who rules over all says: 'You might as well go ahead and add the meat of your burnt offerings to that of the other sacrifices and eat it, too!

Verse ConceptsEating Meat

For the people of Judah have done evil in my eyes," {declares} Yahweh, "They have set their abominations in the house that is called {by my name}, to defile it.

Verse ConceptsIrreverenceAbominations, Idolatry IsAbominations, Sin IsPollutions

And I will cause to disappear from the towns of Judah and from the streets of Jerusalem [the] sound of jubilation, and [the] sound of joy, [the] voice of [the] bridegroom, and [the] voice of [the] bride, for the land will become a site of ruins.

Verse ConceptsBridegroomBridesMarriage, Customs ConcerningVoicesWeddingsCessationStopping RejoicingLack Of Rejoicing

"At that time," {declares} Yahweh, "they shall bring out the bones of the kings of Judah, and the bones of its officials, and the bones of the priests, and the bones of the prophets, and the bones of the inhabitants of Judah from their graves.

Verse ConceptsBones

And I will make Jerusalem as heaps [of ruins], a lair of jackals, and the towns of Judah I will make a desolation, {without inhabitants}.

Verse ConceptsRuinsArchaeologyTearsDestruction Of JerusalemEmpty Citiesjerusalem

Egypt, Judah, and Edom, and the {Ammonites}, and Moab, and all those who are trimmed to [the] side, those who live in the desert, for all the nations [are] uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel [are] uncircumcised of heart."

Verse ConceptsCharacter Of WickedLiving In The WildernessCutting HairUncircumcised In Heart

Listen, news: Look, [it is] coming, a great roar from [the] land of [the] north, to make the cities of Judah a desolation, a lair of jackals.

Verse ConceptsCities Under AttackOut Of The North

"Hear the words of this covenant, and speak to the {people} of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem,

Verse ConceptsCovenant Made At Sinai

And Yahweh said to me, "Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, {saying}, 'Hear the words of this covenant and do them,

Verse ConceptsCovenant Made At Sinai

And Yahweh said to me, "A conspiracy is found among the {people} of Judah and among the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

Verse ConceptsConspiraciesConspiracy

They have turned back to the iniquities of their former ancestors, who refused to obey my words, and they have gone after other gods, to serve them. The house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken my covenant that I {made} with their ancestors."

Verse ConceptsServanthood, And Worship Of GodRefusing To HearDifferent GodsReturning to the oldBreaking The Covenant

Then the cities of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem will go and cry out to the gods [to] whom they [are] making smoke offerings, but they will certainly not save them in the time of their trouble.

Verse ConceptsGod, As SaviorFalse ReligionemptinessIncense Offered AmissIdolatryThings Which Cannot SaveServing One's Own GodsNo Help In Other Gods

For the number of your towns are your gods, Judah, and the number of the streets of Jerusalem [are the] altars you have set up to the shameful things, to make smoke offerings to Baal.

Verse ConceptsBaal Worship, HistoryAltars, PaganIncense Offered AmissMany Spiritual Beings

About Judah. What have you to do in my house? is it your thought that oaths and holy flesh will get you out of your trouble? will you make yourself safe in this way?

Verse ConceptsAmbivalence

And Yahweh of hosts, the [one who] planted you, has spoken evil against you, because of the evil of the house of Israel and the house of Judah, that they have done to themselves, to provoke me to anger by making smoke offerings to Baal."

Verse ConceptsMetaphorical PlantingGod Will Bring Harm

Thus says Yahweh concerning all of the evil neighbors who touch the inheritance that I gave as an inheritance [to] my people Israel: "Look, I [am] about to drive them out from their land, and the house of Judah I will drive out from among them.

Verse ConceptsPlucking Out

For as the loincloth clings to [the] loins of a person, so I caused to cling to me all the house of Israel and all the house of Judah,' {declares} Yahweh, 'to be for me a people, and a name, and a praise, and a glory, but they would not listen.'

Verse ConceptsListeningWaistsPraise, Reasons ForClinging To GodThings Stuck TogetherRefusing To HearElect

Then I said to the people of Judah, "Listen and pay attention! Do not be arrogant! For the Lord has spoken.

Verse ConceptsPride, Results InArrogance, Rejection OfDo Not Be Proud

The towns of the Negev are shut up, and there is no [one who] opens [them]. All of Judah is deported; it is deported [in] completeness.

Verse ConceptsExile Of Judah To BabylonLocks And Bars

"Judah mourns, and her gates languish, they are in mourning on the ground, and the cry of lament of Jerusalem goes up.

Verse ConceptsSorrow

Thus says the Lord to this people [Judah], “In the manner and to the degree [already pointed out] they have loved to wander; they have not restrained their feet. Therefore the Lord does not accept them; He will now remember [in detail] their wickedness and punish them for their sins.”

Verse ConceptsIniquity, God's Attitude TowardRestlessnessRestraintSelf ControlWhy Prayer Is UnansweredUnanswered PrayerWanderersGod Remembering SinLoving Evil

Have you completely rejected Judah? Or has your soul loathed Zion? Why have you struck us so that there is no healing for us? We hope for peace, but there is no good, and for a time of healing, but look, there is terror.

Verse ConceptsHealingHope, In GodHope, Nature OfPeace, Human Search ForZion, As A SymbolSmitten CheeksFear Will ComeGod Hating PeopleNo HealingNo PeaceHope And Healing

Then the Lord said to me, “Even though Moses and Samuel were to stand before Me [interceding for them], My heart would still not be [turned with favor] toward this people [Judah]. Send them away from My presence and out of My sight and let them go!

Verse ConceptsCalling upon GodRejection Of God, Results OfReprobates

And I will make them a terror to all of the kingdoms of the earth because of Manasseh, the son of Hezekiah, the king of Judah, because of what he did in Jerusalem.

Verse ConceptsMade A Horror

Therefore I will hurl you out of this land [of Judah] into the land [of the Babylonians] which neither you nor your fathers have known, and there you will serve other gods day and night, for I will show you no compassion.’

Verse ConceptsAffliction Day And NightLand, As A Divine GiftThrowing PeopleUnknown ThingsDifferent Gods

"The sin of Judah [is] written with an iron stylus, with a point of diamond [it is] engraved on the tablet of their heart, and on the horns of their altars.

Verse ConceptsFlintengravingDiamondsArtHornsInscriptionsIronMind, The HumanTabletsToolsWritingPrecious StonesWriting On PeopleIron Objects

Thus said Yahweh to me, "Go, and you must stand in the {People's Gate} through which the kings of Judah enter, and through which they go out, and in all the gates of Jerusalem.

Verse ConceptsGoing Out And Coming In

And you must say to them, 'Hear the word of Yahweh, kings of Judah, and all Judah, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem who enter through these gates.

then kings and officials who sit on the throne of David will enter through the gates of this city riding in chariots and on horses, they, and their officials, the people of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and this city will be inhabited {forever}.

Verse ConceptsChariotsThe Dynasty Of David

And they will come from the towns of Judah, and from all around Jerusalem, and from the land of Benjamin, and from the Shephelah, and from the hill country, and from the Negev, bringing burnt offerings, and sacrifices, and grain offerings, and frankincense, and bringing thank offerings [to] the house of Yahweh.

Verse ConceptsThank OfferingThe Shephelah

"So now then, say, please, to the {people} of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, {saying}, 'Thus says Yahweh, "Look, I [am] preparing evil against you, and [I am] planning a plan against you. Please turn back, each one from his evil way, and walk rightly [in] your ways and your deeds." '

Verse ConceptsConversion, nature ofPlansReformationGod Will Bring Harm

And you shall say, 'Hear the word of Yahweh, O kings of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem. Thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel: "Look, I [am] about to bring disaster upon this place so that {everyone who hears it}, his ears will ring.

Verse ConceptsGroups TremblingGod Will Bring HarmKings of judah

Because they have forsaken me, and they have defaced this place, and they have made smoke offerings in it to other gods whom they have not known, they, nor their ancestors, nor the kings of Judah, and they have filled up this place [with the] blood of [the] innocent,

Verse ConceptsMonotheismSacrifice, In OtKilling The InnocentUnknown GodsDifferent Gods

And I will lay waste the plans of Judah and Jerusalem in this place, and I will bring them to ruin by the sword {before} their enemies, and by the hand of those who seek their life, and I will give their dead bodies as food to the birds of heaven and to the animals of the earth.

Verse ConceptsGuidance, Need For God'sPlansAnimals Eating PeopleEating CorpsesKilling Israelites

And the houses of Jerusalem and the houses of the kings of Judah will be unclean like the place of Topheth, all the houses where they made smoke offerings upon their roofs to all the host of heaven, and [where] they poured out libations to other gods." '"

Verse ConceptsFalse Religiondrink offeringHost Of HeavenRoofAltars, PaganRooftopDifferent Gods

For thus says Yahweh, 'Look, I [am] making you a terror to yourself and to all your friends, and they will fall by the sword of their enemies, and your eyes [will be] seeing [it]. And all Judah I will give into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he will deport them [to] Babylon, and he will strike them with the sword.

Verse ConceptsSpectatorsExile In ProspectMade A HorrorGod Will Cause Defeatrelentlessterrorism

And I will give all the wealth of this city, and all its acquisitions, and all its precious items, and all of the treasures of the kings of Judah I will give into the hand of their enemies, and they will plunder them, and they will seize them, and they will bring them [to] Babylon.

Verse ConceptsPossessions Taken To BabylonTreasure

And {afterward}," {declares} Yahweh, "I will give Zedekiah, the king of Judah, and his servants, and the people, and those who remain in this city from the plague, from the sword, and from the famine, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, and into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of those who seek their lives, and he will strike them with [the] {edge} of [the] sword. He will not take pity on them, and he will not have compassion, nor will he show compassion." '

Verse ConceptsCruelty, examples ofdefeatMercy, HumanNot SparingGod Will Cause DefeatPeople Without Mercy

"And to the house of the king of Judah, 'Hear the word of Yahweh,

Thus says Yahweh: "Go down [to] the house of the king of Judah and you must speak this word there.

Verse ConceptsRoyal HousesKings of judah

And you must say, 'Hear the word of Yahweh, O king of Judah, who sits on the throne of David, you, and your servants, and your people who enter through these gates.

Verse ConceptsThroneThe Dynasty Of David

For thus says Yahweh concerning the house of the king of Judah, "You [are like] Gilead to me, [like] the head of the Lebanon. {Surely} I will make you a desert, [like] cities [that] are not inhabited.

Verse ConceptsEmpty CitiesWeed

For thus says Yahweh concerning Shallum, the son of Josiah, the king of Judah, who reigned as king in place of Josiah his father, who went out from this place: "He will not return here again.

Verse ConceptsNo return from exileKings Of All Israel Or JudahKings of judah

He upheld the cause of the poor and needy. So things went well for Judah.' The Lord says, 'That is a good example of what it means to know me.'

Verse ConceptsThe NeedyKnowing God, Nature OfPoverty, Remedies ForMan DefendingHelping The PoorHelping Those In NeedHelping Others In NeedFeeding The Poor

{Therefore} thus says Yahweh concerning Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, the king of Judah: "They will not lament for him, 'Alas, my brother,' or 'Alas, sister.' They will not lament for him, 'Alas, lord,' or 'alas, his majesty.'

Verse ConceptsNot Mourning

"As I live," {declares} Yahweh, "surely if Coniah, the son of Jehoiakim, the king of Judah, were [the] seal on my right hand, surely from there I would wrench you off.

Verse ConceptsRingsSealsEvil For The Right HandTaking Other People

Thus says Yahweh: "Record this man [as] childless, a man [who] will not succeed in his days, for no man from his offspring will succeed [him], sitting on the throne of David and ruling again in Judah."

Verse ConceptsOffspringReasons For BarrennessNot ProsperingThe Dynasty Of David

Yahweh showed me, and look, there were two baskets of figs placed {before} the temple of Yahweh--after Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had deported Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, the king of Judah, with the officials of Judah, and the craftsmen, and the smiths, from Jerusalem and had brought them [to] Babylon.

Verse ConceptsBabylon, Israel Exiled ToCarpentersCraftsmenBlacksmithsKings ExiledTwo Plant Products

"Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, 'Like these good figs, so I will regard as good the exiles of Judah whom I have sent away from this place [to the] land of [the] Chaldeans.

But like the bad figs that cannot be eaten because of [their] bad quality--for thus says Yahweh--so I will treat Zedekiah the king of Judah, and his officials, and the remnant of Jerusalem who remain in this land, and those who live in the land of Egypt.

Verse ConceptsSurvivors Of IsraelBad Items

The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, the king of Judah, that [was] the first year of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon,

Verse ConceptsKings of judah

which Jeremiah the prophet spoke to all the people of Judah and to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, {saying},

"From [the] thirteenth year of Josiah, the son of Amon, the king of Judah, even up to this day, these twenty-three years the word of Yahweh has come to me, and {I have spoken to you over and over again}, but you have not listened.

Verse ConceptsListeningWord Of God20 To 30 YearsThose Who Rose EarlySaying Repeatedly

Jerusalem and the towns of Judah, and its kings, [and] its officials, to make them a site of ruins, a horror, an [object of] hissing, and a curse, as [it is] this day;

Verse ConceptsHissingMade A Horror

At the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, the king of Judah, this word came from Yahweh, {saying},

"Thus says Yahweh: 'Stand in the courtyard of the house of Yahweh, and you must speak to all the cities of Judah that come to bow in worship [in] the house of Yahweh all the words that I command you to speak to them. You must not omit a word.

Verse ConceptsCourtyardCommands, in OTScripture, Sufficiency OfSubtracting From God

When the officials of Judah heard these things, they came up from the house of the king [to] the temple of Yahweh, and they sat in the entrance of the New Gate of Yahweh's [temple].

Verse ConceptsSitting In The GatewayNamed Gates

Then some of the elders of Judah stepped forward and spoke to all the people gathered there. They said,

"Micah the Morashtite was prophesying in the days of Hezekiah, the king of Judah, and he said to all the people of Judah, {saying}: 'Thus says Yahweh of hosts, "Zion will be plowed, and Jerusalem will become a heap of ruins, and the mountain of the {temple} as high places of wood." '

Verse ConceptsForestsProphecy, Methods Of OtZion, As A SymbolArchaeologyProphesyingDestruction Of JerusalemMetaphorical PloughingNamed Prophets Of The Lord

[Did] Hezekiah, the king of Judah, and all Judah actually put him to death? [Was he] not in fear of Yahweh? And he entreated the face of Yahweh, and Yahweh relented of the disaster that he had spoken against them. But we [are] about to do great disaster to ourselves."

Verse ConceptsGod Changing His MindSeeking The Favour Of God

In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, the king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from Yahweh, {saying}--

Verse ConceptsYears Of Zedekiah

and send them to the king of Edom, and to the king of Moab, and to the king of the {Ammonites}, and to the king of Tyre, and to the king of Sidon in [the] hand of [the] envoys who have come [to] Jerusalem, to Zedekiah, the king of Judah.

Verse ConceptsenvoyVisitingMessengers Sent Out

And I spoke words like these to Zedekiah, the king of Judah, {saying}, "Bring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him and his people, and live.

Verse ConceptsKeeping Oneself AliveServing Kings

But if they [are] prophets, and if there is with them the word of Yahweh, let them please plead with Yahweh of hosts, that the vessels that are left over in the {temple} of Yahweh, and the house of the king of Judah, and in Jerusalem, must not go [to] Babylon.'

Verse ConceptsPossessions Taken To BabylonWord Of GodWicked Prophetsprophets

which Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, did not take when he deported Jeconiah, the son of Jehoiakim, the king of Judah, from Jerusalem [to] Babylon, {along with} all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem.

Verse ConceptsNoblesKings ExiledKings of judah

For thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning the vessels that are left [in] the house of Yahweh, and [in] the house of the king of Judah, and [in] Jerusalem:

Verse ConceptsTemple Utensils Removed

And it was in that [same] year, at the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah, the king of Judah, in the fourth year, in the fifth month, that Hananiah, the son of Azzur, the prophet who [was] from Gibeon, said to me in the house of Yahweh before the eyes of the priests and all the people, {saying},

Verse ConceptsMonth 5Years Of ZedekiahNamed Prophets Of The Lord

And Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, the king of Judah, and all the exiles from Judah who went [to] Babylon, I [will] bring back to this place,' {declares} Yahweh, 'For I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.'"

after the going out of Jeconiah the king, and the queen mother, and the court officials, the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem, and the artisans, and the smiths from Jerusalem,

Verse Conceptsdriving outCarpentersCraftsmenQueensBlacksmithsKings Exiledcraftsmanshipmistress

by the hand of Elasah, the son of Shaphan, and Gemariah, the son of Hilkiah, whom Zedekiah, the king of Judah, sent to Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, [to] Babylon, {saying},

And a curse will be taken [up] because of them by all the exiles of Judah who [are] in Babylon, {saying}, "May Yahweh make you like Zedekiah and like Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire,"

Verse ConceptsBurning PeopleLike Bad PeopleCursing The Ungodly

Thematic Bible



At that time Judah withdrew from his brothers and went to [lodge with] a certain Adullamite named Hirah. There Judah saw and met a daughter of Shuah, a Canaanite; he took her as wife and lived with her. And she became pregnant and bore a son, and he called him Er. read more.
And she conceived again and bore a son and named him Onan. Again she conceived and bore a son and named him Shelah. [They were living] at Chezib when she bore him. Now Judah took a wife for Er, his firstborn; her name was Tamar. And Er, Judah's firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord slew him. Then Judah told Onan, Marry your brother's widow; live with her and raise offspring for your brother. But Onan knew that the family would not be his, so when he cohabited with his brother's widow, he prevented conception, lest he should raise up a child for his brother. And the thing which he did displeased the Lord; therefore He slew him also. Then Judah said to Tamar, his daughter-in-law, Remain a widow at your father's house till Shelah my [youngest] son is grown; for he thought, Lest perhaps [if Shelah should marry her] he would die also, as his brothers did. So Tamar went and lived in her father's house. But later Judah's wife, the daughter of Shuah, died; and when Judah was comforted, he went up to his sheepshearers at Timnath with his friend Hirah the Adullamite. Then it was told Tamar, Listen, your father-in-law is going up to Timnath to shear his sheep. So she put off her widow's garments and covered herself with a veil, wrapped herself up [in disguise], and sat in the entrance of Enaim, which is by the road to Timnath; for she saw that Shelah was grown and she was not given to him as his wife. When Judah saw her, he thought she was a harlot or devoted prostitute [under a vow to her goddess], for she had covered her face [as such women did]. He turned to her by the road and said, Come, let me have intercourse with you; for he did not know that she was his daughter-in-law. And she said, What will you give me that you may have intercourse with me? He answered, I will send you a kid from the flock. And she said, Will you give me a pledge (deposit) until you send it? And he said, What pledge shall I give you? She said, Your signet [seal], your [signet] cord, and your staff that is in your hand. And he gave them to her and came in to her, and she became pregnant by him. And she arose and went away and laid aside her veil and put on the garments of her widowhood. And Judah sent the kid by the hand of his friend the Adullamite, to receive his pledge from the woman's hand; but he was unable to find her. He asked the men of that place, Where is the harlot or cult prostitute who was openly by the roadside? They said, There was no harlot or temple prostitute here. So he returned to Judah and said, I cannot find her; and also the local men said, There was no harlot or temple prostitute around here. And Judah said, Let her keep [the pledge articles] for herself, lest we be made ashamed. I sent this kid, but you have not found her. But about three months later Judah was told, Tamar your daughter-in-law has played the harlot, and also she is with child by her lewdness. And Judah said, Bring her forth and let her be burned!


and next to him Amasiah the son of Zichri, who volunteered for the Lord, and with him 200,000 courageous men;


and Janum and Beth-tappuah and Aphekah,


Uzzia the Ashterathite, Shama and Jeiel the sons of Hotham the Aroerite,


Aroer, Siphmoth, Eshtemoa,


In his days, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his servant for three years; then he turned and rebelled against him. The Lord sent against Jehoiakim bands of Chaldeans, of Syrians, of Moabites, and of Ammonites. And He sent them against Judah to destroy it, according to the word of the Lord which He spoke by His servants the prophets. Surely this came upon Judah at the command of the Lord, to remove them out of His sight because of the sins of Manasseh according to all he had done, read more.
And also for the innocent blood that he shed. For he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, and the Lord would not pardon. The rest of the acts of Jehoiakim, all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of Judah's Kings? So Jehoiakim slept with his fathers. Jehoiachin his son reigned in his stead. The king of Egypt came no more out of his land, for the king of Babylon had taken all that belonged to Egypt's king, from the River of Egypt to the river Euphrates. Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he began his three-month reign in Jerusalem. His mother was Nehushta daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem. And he did evil in the sight of the Lord, in keeping with all his father had done. At that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up to Jerusalem, and the city was besieged. Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to the city while his servants were besieging it. Jehoiachin king of Judah surrendered to the king of Babylon, he, his mother, his servants, princes, and palace officials. The king of Babylon took him prisoner in the eighth year of Nebuchadnezzar's reign. He carried off all the treasures of the Lord's house and the king's house, and cut in pieces all the vessels of gold in the temple of the Lord, which Solomon king of Israel had made, as the Lord had said. He carried away all Jerusalem, all the princes, all the mighty men of valor, 10,000 captives, and all the craftsmen and smiths. None remained except the poorest of the land. Nebuchadnezzar took captive to Babylon King Jehoiachin; his mother, his wives, his officials, and the chief and mighty men of the land [the prophet Ezekiel included] he took from Jerusalem to Babylon into exile. And the king of Babylon brought captive to Babylon all the men of valor, 7,000, and craftsmen and smiths, 1,000, all strong and fit for war.


and Maarath and Beth-anoth and Eltekon; six cities with their villages.


and Hazar-gaddah and Heshmon and Beth-pelet,


Then Judah came close to [Joseph] and said, O my lord, let your servant, I pray you, speak a word to you in private, and let not your anger blaze against your servant, for you are as Pharaoh [so I will speak as if directly to him]. My lord asked his servants, saying, Have you a father or a brother? And we said to my lord, We have a father -- "an old man -- "and a young [brother, the] child of his old age; and his brother is dead, and he alone is left of his mother's [offspring], and his father loves him. read more.
And you said to your servants, Bring him down to me, that I may set my eyes on him. And we said to my lord, The lad cannot leave his father; for if he should do so, his father would die. And you told your servants, Unless your youngest brother comes with you, you shall not see my face again. And when we went back to your servant my father, we told him what my lord had said. And our father said, Go again and buy us a little food. But we said, We cannot go down. If our youngest brother is with us, then we will go down; for we may not see the man's face except our youngest brother is with us. And your servant my father said to us, You know that [Rachel] my wife bore me two sons: And the one went out from me, and I said, Surely he is torn to pieces, and I have never seen him since. And if you take this son also from me, and harm or accident should befall him, you will bring down my gray hairs with sorrow and evil to Sheol (the place of the dead). Now therefore, when I come to your servant my father and the lad is not with us, since his life is bound up in the lad's life and his soul knit with the lad's soul, When he sees that the lad is not with us, he will die; and your servants will be responsible for his death and will bring down the gray hairs of your servant our father with sorrow to Sheol. For your servant became security for the lad to my father, saying, If I do not bring him to you, then I will bear the blame to my father forever. Now therefore, I pray you, let your servant remain instead of the youth [to be] a slave to my lord, and let the young man go home with his [half] brothers. For how can I go up to my father if the lad is not with me? -- "lest I witness the woe and the evil that will come upon my father.


and Dannah and Kiriath-sannah (that is, Debir),


So it happened, when they had come, he looked at Eliab [the eldest son] and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed is before Him.”

of Judah, Elihu, one of David’s brothers; of Issachar, Omri the son of Michael;


Arab and Dumah and Eshan,


He built Bethlehem, Etam, Tekoa,


Then it proceeded southward to the ascent of Akrabbim and continued along to Zin, and then went by the south of Kadesh-barnea and continued along to Hezron, and went up to Addar and turned about to Karka.

Then the border went up to Beth-hoglah, and continued along north of Beth-arabah, and the border went up to the [landmark of the] stone of Bohan the son of Reuben.


Halhul, Beth-zur and Gedor,


Then the Ziphites came to Saul at Gibeah, saying, “Is David not hiding with us in strongholds of Horesh, on the hill of Hachilah, which is south of Jeshimon?

Saul camped on the hill of Hachilah, which is beside the road east of Jeshimon, but David stayed in the wilderness. When he saw that Saul came into the wilderness after him,


For [as many as] the number of your cities are your gods, O Judah; and [as many as] the number of the streets of Jerusalem are the altars you have set up to the shameful thing, altars to burn incense to Baal.


He turned to her by the road and said, Come, let me have intercourse with you; for he did not know that she was his daughter-in-law. And she said, What will you give me that you may have intercourse with me? He answered, I will send you a kid from the flock. And she said, Will you give me a pledge (deposit) until you send it? And he said, What pledge shall I give you? She said, Your signet [seal], your [signet] cord, and your staff that is in your hand. And he gave them to her and came in to her, and she became pregnant by him.

Tamar, Judah’s daughter-in-law, bore him Perez and Zerah. Judah’s sons were five in all.


In the second year of Jehoash son of Jehoahaz king of Israel, Amaziah son of Joash king of Judah reigned. He was twenty-five years old when he began his twenty-nine-year reign in Jerusalem. His mother was Jehoaddin of Jerusalem. He did right in the sight of the Lord, yet not like David his [forefather]. He did all things as Joash his father did. read more.
But the high places were not removed; the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places. As soon as the kingdom was established in Amaziah's hand, he slew his servants who had slain the king his father. But he did not slay the children of the murderers, in compliance with what is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, in which the Lord commanded, The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, nor the children for the fathers; but every man shall die for his own sin only. Amaziah slew of Edom in the Valley of Salt 10,000, and took Sela (Greek petra [rock]) by war, and called it Joktheel, which is the name of it to this day. Then Amaziah sent messengers to Jehoash son of Jehoahaz, the son of Jehu, king of Israel, saying, Come, let us look one another in the face and test each other. Jehoash king of Israel replied to Amaziah king of Judah, The thistle in Lebanon sent to the cedar in Lebanon, saying, Give your daughter to my son as wife. And a wild beast of Lebanon passed by and trampled the thistle [leaving the cedar unharmed]. You have indeed smitten Edom, and your heart has lifted you up. Glory in that, and stay at home; for why should you meddle to your hurt and provoke calamity, causing you to fall, you and Judah with you? But Amaziah would not hear. So Jehoash king of Israel went up; and he and Amaziah king of Judah measured swords at Beth-shemesh, which belongs to Judah. But Judah was defeated by Israel, and every man fled home. And Jehoash king of Israel captured Amaziah king of Judah, son of Joash, the son of Ahaziah, at Beth-shemesh, and came to Jerusalem and broke down the wall of Jerusalem from the Ephraim Gate to the Corner Gate, 400 cubits. He seized all the gold and silver and all the vessels found in the Lord's house and in the treasuries of the king's house, also hostages, and returned to Samaria. The rest of the acts of Jehoash, his might, and how he fought with Amaziah king of Judah, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of Israel's Kings? Jehoash slept with his fathers, and was buried in Samaria with Israel's kings. Jeroboam [II] reigned in his stead. Amaziah son of Joash king of Judah lived after the death of Jehoash son of Jehoahaz king of Israel fifteen years. The rest of the acts of Amaziah, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? Now a conspiracy was made against him in Jerusalem, and Amaziah fled to Lachish, but they sent after him to Lachish and slew him there. They brought him on horses and he was buried at Jerusalem with his fathers in the City of David.


In the fourth year of King Hezekiah, which was the seventh of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up against Samaria and besieged it. After three years it was taken; in the sixth year of Hezekiah, which was the ninth year of Hoshea king of Israel, Samaria was taken. The king of Assyria carried Israel away to Assyria, and put them in Halah, and on the Habor, the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes, read more.
Because they did not obey the voice of the Lord their God, but transgressed His covenant, even all that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded, and would not hear it or do it. In the fourteenth year of Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah and took them. Then Hezekiah king of Judah sent to the king of Assyria at Lachish, saying, I have done wrong. Depart from me; what you put on me I will bear. And the king of Assyria exacted of Hezekiah king of Judah 300 talents of silver and thirty talents of gold. And Hezekiah gave him all the silver that was found in the house of the Lord and in the treasuries of the king's house. Then Hezekiah stripped off the gold from the doors of the temple of the Lord and from the doorposts which he as king of Judah had overlaid, and gave it to the king of Assyria. And the king of Assyria sent the Tartan, the Rabsaris, and the Rabshakeh [the high officials] from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem with a great army. They went up to Jerusalem, and when they arrived, they came and stood by the canal of the Upper Pool, which is on the highway to the Fuller's Field. When they called for the king, there came out to them Eliakim son of Hilkiah, who was over the king's household, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah son of Asaph the recorder. The Rabshakeh told them, Say to Hezekiah, Thus says the great king of Assyria: What justifies this confidence of yours? You say -- "but they are empty words -- "There is counsel and strength for war. Now on whom do you rely, that you rebel against me? Behold, you are relying on Egypt, that broken reed of a staff; if a man leans on it, it will pierce his hand. So is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who trust and rely on him. But if you tell me, We trust in and rely on the Lord our God, is it not He Whose high places and altars Hezekiah has removed, saying to Judah and Jerusalem, You shall worship before this altar in Jerusalem? So now, make a wager and give pledges to my lord the king of Assyria: I will deliver you 2,000 horses -- "if you can on your part put riders on them. How then can you beat back one captain among the least of my master's servants, when your trust is put in Egypt for chariots and horsemen? Have I come up without the Lord against this place to destroy it? The Lord said to me, Go up against this land and destroy it. Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah and Shebna and Joah said to the Rabshakeh, We pray you, speak to your servants in the Aramaic (Syrian) language, for we understand it; and do not speak to us in the Jews' language in the hearing of the people on the wall. But the Rabshakeh said to them, Has my master sent me to your master and you only to say these things? Has he not sent me to the men who sit on the wall [whom Hezekiah has doomed to be forced] to eat their own dung and drink their own urine along with you? Then the Rabshakeh stood and cried with a loud voice in the Jews' language, Hear the word of the great king of Assyria! Thus says the king: Let not Hezekiah deceive you. For he will not be able to deliver you out of my hand. Nor let Hezekiah make you trust in and rely on the Lord, saying, The Lord will surely deliver us, and this city will not be given into the hand of Assyria's king. Hearken not to Hezekiah, for thus says the king of Assyria: Make your peace with me and come out to me, and eat every man from his own vine and fig tree and drink every man the waters of his own cistern, Until I come and take you away to a land like your own, a land of grain and vintage fruit, of bread and vineyards, of olive trees and honey, that you may live and not die. Do not listen to Hezekiah when he urges you, saying, The Lord will deliver us. Has any one of the gods of the nations ever delivered his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria? Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad [in Syria]? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah [in the Euphrates Valley]? Have they delivered Samaria [Israel's capital] out of my hand? Who of all the gods of the countries has delivered his country out of my hand, that the Lord should deliver Jerusalem out of my hand? But the people were silent and answered him not a word, for Hezekiah had commanded, Do not answer him. Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah, who was over the royal household, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah son of Asaph the recorder came to Hezekiah with their clothes rent, and told him what the Rabshakeh had said.


Then Rezin king of Syria and Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel came up to Jerusalem to wage war; they besieged Ahaz, but could not conquer him. At that time, Rezin king of Syria got back Elath [in Edom] for Syria and drove the Jews from [it]. The Syrians came to Elath and dwell there to this day. So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, saying, I am your servant and son. Come up and save me out of the hands of the kings of Syria and of Israel, who are attacking me. read more.
And Ahaz took the silver and gold in the house of the Lord and in the treasuries of the king's house and sent a present to the king of Assyria. Assyria's king hearkened to him; he went up against Damascus, took it, carried its people captive to Kir, and slew Rezin.


In those days the Lord began sending Rezin the king of Aram (Syria) and [Israel’s king] Pekah the son of Remaliah against Judah.



And He will lift up a signal for the nations
And assemble the outcasts of Israel,
And will gather the dispersed of Judah
From the four corners of the earth.


Judah, you are the one whom your brothers shall praise; your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; your father's sons shall bow down to you. Judah, a lion's cub! With the prey, my son, you have gone high up [the mountain]. He stooped down, he crouched like a lion, and like a lioness -- "who dares provoke and rouse him? The scepter or leadership shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until Shiloh [the Messiah, the Peaceful One] comes to Whom it belongs, and to Him shall be the obedience of the people. read more.
Binding His foal to the vine and His donkey's colt to the choice vine, He washes His garments in wine and His clothes in the blood of grapes. His eyes are darker and more sparkling than wine, and His teeth whiter than milk.


Now at that time, Judah left his brothers and went down to [stay with] a certain Adullamite named Hirah.

The sons of Judah: Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez, and Zerah—but Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan. And the sons of Perez were Hezron and Hamul.

The sons of Judah were Er and Onan, but Er and Onan [were judged by God and] died in the land of Canaan.


“Judah, you are the one whom your brothers shall praise;
Your hand will be on the neck of your enemies;
Your father’s sons shall bow down to you.

Now Jacob (Israel) sent Judah ahead of him to Joseph, to direct him to Goshen; and they came into the land of Goshen.

Judah said to his brothers, “What do we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood (murder)?

Again she conceived and gave birth to a [fourth] son, and she said, “Now I will praise the Lord.” So she named him Judah; then [for a time] she stopped bearing [children].

The sons of Leah: Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn, then Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun;

But Judah said to him, “The man [representing Pharaoh] solemnly and sternly warned us, saying, ‘You will not see my face [again] unless your brother is with you.’

When Judah and his brothers came to Joseph’s house, he was still there; and they fell to the ground before him.


Then one of the [twenty-four] elders said to me, “Stop weeping! Look closely, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome and conquered! He can open the scroll and [break] its seven seals.”

Now when Rehoboam arrived in Jerusalem, he assembled all the [fighting men from the] house of Judah, with the tribe of Benjamin, 180,000 chosen warriors, to fight against the house of Israel to bring the kingdom back to Rehoboam the son of Solomon.

For it is evident that our Lord descended from [the tribe of] Judah, and Moses mentioned nothing about priests in connection with that tribe.

Then King David sent word to Zadok and to Abiathar the priests, saying, “Say to the elders of Judah, ‘Why are you the last to bring the king back to his house [in Jerusalem], since the word of all Israel has come to the king, and to his house?

And [Moses said] this of Judah:

“Hear, O Lord, the voice of Judah,
And bring him to his people.
With his hands he contended for them,
And may You be a help against his enemies.”

And [the tribe of the sons of] Judah said to [the tribe of the sons of] Simeon his brother, “Come up with me into my allotted territory, so that we may fight against the Canaanites; and I likewise will go with you into your allotted territory.” So Simeon went with him.

Ish-bosheth, Saul’s son, was forty years old when he became king over Israel, and he reigned for two years. But the house of Judah followed David.


“No one sews a patch of unshrunk (new) cloth on an old garment; otherwise the patch pulls away from it, the new from the old, and the tear becomes worse.

For [if we are] in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything, but only faith activated and expressed and working through love.

For, on the one hand, a former commandment is cancelled because of its weakness and uselessness [because of its inability to justify the sinner before God]

When God speaks of “A new covenant,” He makes the first one obsolete. And whatever is becoming obsolete (out of use, annulled) and growing old is ready to disappear.

Therefore let no one judge you in regard to food and drink or in regard to [the observance of] a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day.


Now Jacob (Israel) sent Judah ahead of him to Joseph, to direct him to Goshen; and they came into the land of Goshen.

But the hunger and destitution and starvation were very severe and extremely distressing in the land [Canaan]. And when [the families of Jacob's sons] had eaten up the grain which the men had brought from Egypt, their father said to them, Go again; buy us a little food. But Judah said to him, The man solemnly and sternly warned us, saying, You shall not see my face again unless your brother is with you. read more.
If you will send our brother with us, we will go down [to Egypt] and buy you food; But if you will not send him, we will not go down; for the man said to us, You shall not see my face unless your brother is with you. And Israel said, Why did you do me such a wrong and suffer this evil to come upon me by telling the man that you had another brother? And they said, The man asked us straightforward questions about ourselves and our relatives. He said, Is your father still alive? Have you another brother? And we answered him accordingly. How could we know that he would say, Bring your brother down here? And Judah said to Israel his father, Send the lad with me and we will arise and go, that we may live and not die, both we and you and also our little ones. I will be security for him; you shall require him of me [personally]; if I do not bring him back to you and put him before you, then let me bear the blame forever. For if we had not lingered like this, surely by now we would have returned the second time.

Judah and his brethren came to Joseph's house, for he was still there; and they fell prostrate before him. Joseph said to them, What is this thing that you have done? Do you not realize that such a man as I can certainly detect and know by divination [everything you do without other knowledge of it]? And Judah said, What shall we say to my lord? What shall we reply? Or how shall we clear ourselves, since God has found out and exposed the iniquity of your servants? Behold, we are my lord's slaves, the rest of us as well as he with whom the cup is found. read more.
But [Joseph] said, God forbid that I should do that; but the man in whose hand the cup is found, he shall be my servant; and as for [the rest of] you, arise and go in peace to your father. Then Judah came close to [Joseph] and said, O my lord, let your servant, I pray you, speak a word to you in private, and let not your anger blaze against your servant, for you are as Pharaoh [so I will speak as if directly to him]. My lord asked his servants, saying, Have you a father or a brother? And we said to my lord, We have a father -- "an old man -- "and a young [brother, the] child of his old age; and his brother is dead, and he alone is left of his mother's [offspring], and his father loves him. And you said to your servants, Bring him down to me, that I may set my eyes on him. And we said to my lord, The lad cannot leave his father; for if he should do so, his father would die. And you told your servants, Unless your youngest brother comes with you, you shall not see my face again. And when we went back to your servant my father, we told him what my lord had said. And our father said, Go again and buy us a little food. But we said, We cannot go down. If our youngest brother is with us, then we will go down; for we may not see the man's face except our youngest brother is with us. And your servant my father said to us, You know that [Rachel] my wife bore me two sons: And the one went out from me, and I said, Surely he is torn to pieces, and I have never seen him since. And if you take this son also from me, and harm or accident should befall him, you will bring down my gray hairs with sorrow and evil to Sheol (the place of the dead). Now therefore, when I come to your servant my father and the lad is not with us, since his life is bound up in the lad's life and his soul knit with the lad's soul, When he sees that the lad is not with us, he will die; and your servants will be responsible for his death and will bring down the gray hairs of your servant our father with sorrow to Sheol. For your servant became security for the lad to my father, saying, If I do not bring him to you, then I will bear the blame to my father forever. Now therefore, I pray you, let your servant remain instead of the youth [to be] a slave to my lord, and let the young man go home with his [half] brothers. For how can I go up to my father if the lad is not with me? -- "lest I witness the woe and the evil that will come upon my father.


After the death of Joshua, the Israelites asked the Lord, Who shall go up first for us against the Canaanites to fight against them? And the Lord said, Judah shall go up; behold, I have delivered the land into his hand. And Judah [the tribe] said to [the tribe of] Simeon his brother, Come up with me into my allotted territory, so that we may fight against the Canaanites; and I likewise will go with you into your territory. So Simeon went with him.

Then Judah went up and the Lord delivered the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hand, and they smote 10,000 of them in Bezek. And they found Adoni-bezek in Bezek and fought against him, and they smote the Canaanites and the Perizzites. Adoni-bezek fled, but they pursued him and caught him and cut off his thumbs and his big toes. read more.
Adoni-bezek said, Seventy kings with their thumbs and big toes cut off had to gather their food under my table. As I have done, so God has repaid me. And they brought him to Jerusalem, and there he died. And the men of Judah fought against [Jebusite] Jerusalem and took it, and smote it with the edge of the sword and set the city on fire. Afterward the men of Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites who dwelt in the hill country, in the South (the Negeb), and in the lowland. And Judah went against the Canaanites who dwelt in Hebron. The name of Hebron before was Kiriath-arba. And they defeated Sheshai and Ahiman and Talmai. From there [Judah] went against the inhabitants of Debir. The name of Debir before was Kiriath-sepher [city of books and scribes]. And Caleb said, Whoever attacks Kiriath-sepher and takes it, to him will I give Achsah, my daughter, as wife. And Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother, took it; and he gave him Achsah, his daughter, as wife. And when she came to [Othniel], she got his consent to ask her father for a [sloping] field. And she alighted off her donkey, and Caleb said to her, What do you want? And she said to him, Give me a present; since you have set me in the land of the South (the Negeb), give me also springs of water. And Caleb gave her the upper and lower springs. And the descendants of the Kenite, Moses' father-in-law, went up with the Judahites from the City of Palms (Jericho) into the Wilderness of Judah, which lies in the South (the Negeb) near Arad; and they went and dwelt with the people. And [the tribe of] Judah went with Simeon his brother, and they slew the Canaanites who inhabited Zephath and utterly destroyed it. So the city was called Hormah [destruction]. Also Judah took Gaza, Askelon, and Ekron -- "each with its territory. The Lord was with Judah, and [Judah] drove out the inhabitants of the hill country, but he could not drive out those inhabiting the [difficult] valley basin because they had chariots of iron. Hebron was given to Caleb as Moses said, and he expelled from there the three sons of Anak. But the Benjamites did not drive out the Jebusites who inhabited Jerusalem; the Jebusites dwell with the Benjamites in Jerusalem to this day.


Now [we come to] the sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel. For [Reuben] was the eldest, but because he polluted his father's couch [with Bilhah his father's concubine] his birthright was given to the sons of Joseph [favorite] son of Israel; so the genealogy is not to be reckoned according to the birthright. Judah prevailed above his brethren, and from him came the prince and leader [and eventually the Messiah]; yet the birthright was Joseph's.


“Gilead is Mine, and Manasseh is Mine;
Ephraim is My helmet;
Judah is My scepter.

However, the Lord, the God of Israel, chose me from all in my father’s house to be king over Israel forever. For He has chosen Judah to be the leader; and in the house (tribe) of Judah he chose the house of my father; and among the sons of my father He was pleased to make me king over all Israel.


The inheritance of the sons of Simeon was taken from the portion of the sons of Judah, for the share of the sons of Judah was too large for them; so the sons of Simeon received an inheritance within Judah’s inheritance.

Then the second lot fell to Simeon, to the tribe of the sons of Simeon according to their families (clans), and their inheritance was within the inheritance of the sons of Judah.

You shall describe the land in seven divisions, and bring the description here to me. I will cast lots for you here before the Lord our God.


He assembled and counted them at Bezek; and the sons of Israel numbered 300,000, and the men of Judah 30,000.

And Joab gave the sum of the census of the people to the king. In Israel there were 800,000 valiant men who drew the sword, and the men of Judah were 500,000.


The Levites were Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel, Sherebiah, Judah, and Mattaniah who was in charge of the songs of thanksgiving and praise, he and his brothers.

Of the Levites: Jozabad, Shimei, Kelaiah, that is, Kelita, Pethahiah, Judah, and Eliezer.


David was thirty years old when he began his forty-year reign. In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months, and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty-three years over all Israel and Judah.

After this, David inquired of the Lord, saying, Shall I go up into any of the cities of Judah? And the Lord said to him, Go up. David said, To which shall I go up? And He said, To Hebron. So David went up there with his two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess and Abigail, the widow of Nabal of Carmel. And David brought up his men who were with him, each one with his household, and they dwelt in the towns of Hebron. read more.
And the men of Judah came and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah. They told David, The men of Jabesh-gilead buried Saul. And David sent messengers to the men of Jabesh-gilead, saying, May the Lord bless you because you showed kindness and loyalty to Saul your king and buried him. And now may the Lord show loving-kindness and faithfulness to you. I also will do well by you because you have done this. So now, let your hands be strengthened and be valiant, for your master Saul is dead, and the house of Judah has anointed me king over them. Now Abner son of Ner, commander of Saul's army, took Ish-bosheth son of Saul and brought him over to Mahanaim. And he made him king over Gilead, the Ashurites, Jezreel, Ephraim, Benjamin, and all Israel. Ish-bosheth, Saul's son, was forty years old when he began his two-year reign over Israel. But the house of Judah followed David. And David was king in Hebron over the house of Judah for seven years and six months.


Then one of the [twenty-four] elders said to me, “Stop weeping! Look closely, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome and conquered! He can open the scroll and [break] its seven seals.”

Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar, Perez the father of Hezron, Hezron the father of Aram,


The total of the numbered men [in the three tribes on the east side] in the camp of Judah was 186,400, by their armies. They shall move out first [on the march].

The standard of the camp of the sons of Judah, according to their armies, moved out first, Nahshon the son of Amminadab was [commander] over its army,

Those who camp on the east side toward the sunrise shall be of the standard of the camp of Judah, by their armies; and Nahshon the son of Amminadab shall lead the sons of Judah,


Of the sons of Judah, their generations, by their families, by their fathers' houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, all able to go to war: Those of the tribe of Judah numbered 74,600.

and his army as numbered totaled 74,600.


And King David sent to Zadok and to Abiathar the priests, saying, Say to the elders of Judah, Why are you the last to bring the king back to his house, when the word of all Israel has come to the king, to bring him to his house? You are my kinsmen; you are my bone and my flesh. Why then are you the last to bring back the king? And say to Amasa, Are you not of my bone and of my flesh? May God do so to me, and more also, if you are not commander of my army hereafter in place of Joab. read more.
He inclined the hearts of all the men of Judah as one man, so they sent word to [him], Return, you and all your servants. So [David] returned and came to the Jordan. And Judah came to Gilgal to meet the king, to conduct him over the Jordan.


And all the men of Israel came to the king and said to him, Why have our kinsmen, the men of Judah, stolen you away and have brought the king and his household over the Jordan, and all David's men with him? But all the men of Judah answered the men of Israel, Because the king is near of kin to us. Why then be angry about it? Have we eaten at all at the king's expense? Or has he given us any gift? Then the men of Israel answered the men of Judah, We have ten [tribes'] shares in the king; and we have more right to David than you have. Why then did you despise and ignore us? Were we not the first to speak of our bringing back our king? But the words of the men of Judah were more violent than the charges of the men of Israel.


And Judah said to his brothers, What do we gain if we slay our brother and conceal his blood? Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites [and Midianites, these mixed Arabians who are approaching], and let not our hand be upon him, for he is our brother and our flesh. And his brothers consented.


But later Judah's wife, the daughter of Shuah, died; and when Judah was comforted, he went up to his sheepshearers at Timnath with his friend Hirah the Adullamite. Then it was told Tamar, Listen, your father-in-law is going up to Timnath to shear his sheep. So she put off her widow's garments and covered herself with a veil, wrapped herself up [in disguise], and sat in the entrance of Enaim, which is by the road to Timnath; for she saw that Shelah was grown and she was not given to him as his wife. read more.
When Judah saw her, he thought she was a harlot or devoted prostitute [under a vow to her goddess], for she had covered her face [as such women did]. He turned to her by the road and said, Come, let me have intercourse with you; for he did not know that she was his daughter-in-law. And she said, What will you give me that you may have intercourse with me? He answered, I will send you a kid from the flock. And she said, Will you give me a pledge (deposit) until you send it? And he said, What pledge shall I give you? She said, Your signet [seal], your [signet] cord, and your staff that is in your hand. And he gave them to her and came in to her, and she became pregnant by him. And she arose and went away and laid aside her veil and put on the garments of her widowhood. And Judah sent the kid by the hand of his friend the Adullamite, to receive his pledge from the woman's hand; but he was unable to find her. He asked the men of that place, Where is the harlot or cult prostitute who was openly by the roadside? They said, There was no harlot or temple prostitute here. So he returned to Judah and said, I cannot find her; and also the local men said, There was no harlot or temple prostitute around here. And Judah said, Let her keep [the pledge articles] for herself, lest we be made ashamed. I sent this kid, but you have not found her. But about three months later Judah was told, Tamar your daughter-in-law has played the harlot, and also she is with child by her lewdness. And Judah said, Bring her forth and let her be burned! When she was brought forth, she [took the things he had given her in pledge and] sent [them] to her father-in-law, saying, I am with child by the man to whom these articles belong. Then she added, Make out clearly, I pray you, to whom these belong, the signet [seal], [signet] cord, and staff. And Judah acknowledged them and said, She has been more righteous and just than I, because I did not give her to Shelah my son. And he did not cohabit with her again.


and his brothers, Shemaiah, Azarel, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethanel, Judah, and Hanani, with the musical instruments of David the man of God. And Ezra the scribe went in front of them.

Judah, Benjamin, Shemaiah, and Jeremiah,


Judah, you are the one whom your brothers shall praise; your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; your father's sons shall bow down to you. Judah, a lion's cub! With the prey, my son, you have gone high up [the mountain]. He stooped down, he crouched like a lion, and like a lioness -- "who dares provoke and rouse him? The scepter or leadership shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until Shiloh [the Messiah, the Peaceful One] comes to Whom it belongs, and to Him shall be the obedience of the people. read more.
Binding His foal to the vine and His donkey's colt to the choice vine, He washes His garments in wine and His clothes in the blood of grapes. His eyes are darker and more sparkling than wine, and His teeth whiter than milk.


There happened to be there a base and contemptible fellow named Sheba son of Bichri, a Benjamite. He blew a trumpet and said, We have no portion in David and no inheritance in the son of Jesse! Every man to his tents, O Israel! So all the men of Israel withdrew from David and followed Sheba son of Bichri; but the men of Judah stayed faithfully with their king, from the Jordan to Jerusalem.


At that time Judah withdrew from his brothers and went to [lodge with] a certain Adullamite named Hirah. There Judah saw and met a daughter of Shuah, a Canaanite; he took her as wife and lived with her. And she became pregnant and bore a son, and he called him Er. read more.
And she conceived again and bore a son and named him Onan. Again she conceived and bore a son and named him Shelah. [They were living] at Chezib when she bore him. Now Judah took a wife for Er, his firstborn; her name was Tamar.


It came about when all Israel heard that Jeroboam had returned, that they sent word and called him to the assembly and made him king over all Israel. None followed the house of David except the tribe of Judah [including Benjamin].


These are the families (clans) of Judah according to those who were numbered, 76,500.



“The scepter [of royalty] shall not depart from Judah,
Nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet,
Until Shiloh [the Messiah, the Peaceful One] comes,
And to Him shall be the obedience of the peoples.


Again she conceived and gave birth to still another son and named him Shelah. It was at Chezib that she gave birth to him.


And [Moses said] this of Judah:

“Hear, O Lord, the voice of Judah,
And bring him to his people.
With his hands he contended for them,
And may You be a help against his enemies.”


Joel the son of Zichri was their overseer, and Judah the son of Hassenuah was second in command of the city.


Those who camp on the east side toward the sunrise shall be of the standard of the camp of Judah, by their armies; and Nahshon the son of Amminadab shall lead the sons of Judah,


When Judah saw her, he thought she was a harlot or devoted prostitute [under a vow to her goddess], for she had covered her face [as such women did]. He turned to her by the road and said, Come, let me have intercourse with you; for he did not know that she was his daughter-in-law. And she said, What will you give me that you may have intercourse with me?


And all the princes and people rejoiced and brought their tax and dropped it into the chest until they had finished. When the Levites brought the chest to the king's office, and whenever they saw that there was much money, the king's secretary and the high priest's officer came and emptied the chest and carried it to its place again. Thus they did day by day and collected money in abundance.


and Dilean and Mizpeh and Joktheel,


“Thus says the Lord, ‘In this same way I shall destroy the pride of Judah and the great pride of Jerusalem.


About three months later Judah was told, “Tamar your daughter-in-law has played the [role of a] prostitute, and she is with child because of her immorality.” So Judah said, “Bring her out and let her be burned [to death as punishment]!”


Yet in spite of all this her treacherous sister Judah did not return to Me with her whole heart, but rather in [blatant] deception [she merely pretended obedience to King Josiah’s reforms],” declares the Lord.


In the hill country: Shamir and Jattir and Socoh,


The sons of Judah: Er, Onan, and Shelah; the three were born to him by Shua’s daughter the Canaanitess. Er, Judah’s eldest, was evil in the Lord’s sight, and He put him to death.


In the hill country: Shamir and Jattir and Socoh,


Kain, Gibeah and Timnah; ten cities with their villages.


Now therefore, I pray you, let your servant remain instead of the youth [to be] a slave to my lord, and let the young man go home with his [half] brothers. For how can I go up to my father if the lad is not with me? -- "lest I witness the woe and the evil that will come upon my father.


And Judah said to his brothers, What do we gain if we slay our brother and conceal his blood? Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites [and Midianites, these mixed Arabians who are approaching], and let not our hand be upon him, for he is our brother and our flesh. And his brothers consented.