Then she conceived yet again, bore a son, and said, "This time I'll praise the LORD." So she named him Judah. Then she stopped bearing children.

Leah's sons were Reuben (Jacob's first-born), Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun.

Then Judah suggested to his brothers, "Where's the profit in just killing our brother and shedding his blood?

So Judah's brothers listened to him. As the Midianite merchants were passing through, they extracted Joseph from the cistern and sold Joseph for 20 pieces of silver to the Ishmaelites, who then took Joseph down to Egypt.

Right about then, Judah left his brothers and went to live with an Adullamite man named Hirah.

There Judah met the daughter of a Canaanite man named Shua. He married her, had sexual relations with her,

Then she bore yet another son and named him Shelah. Judah was living in Kezib when she bore him.

Judah found a wife for his oldest son Er. Her name was Tamar.

But the LORD considered Er, Judah's oldest son, to be wicked so he put him to death.

So Judah instructed Onan, "You are to have sexual relations with your dead brother's wife, performing the duty of a brother-in-law with her, and have offspring for your brother."

After this, Judah told his daughter-in-law Tamar, "Go live as a widow in your father's house until my son Shelah grows up." But he was really thinking, ""otherwise, Shelah might die like his brothers." So Tamar left and lived in her father's house.

Some years later, Shua's daughter (that is, Judah's wife) died. As Judah was grieving, he visited the shearers of his flock in Timnah, accompanied by his Adullamite friend Hirah.

When Judah saw her, he thought she was a prostitute, since she had concealed her face.

Later on, Judah sent his Adullamite friend to take her a young goat, intending to retrieve what he had put up as security from the woman, but he could not find her.

So he returned to Judah and said, "I haven't found her. Also, the men who are from there said, "There's been no prostitute here.'"

Then Judah said, "Let her have those things. Otherwise, we'll become contemptible. I sent this young goat, but you didn't find her."

Three months later, it was reported to Judah, "Your daughter-in-law Tamar has turned to prostitution! And look! She's pregnant because of it!" "Bring her out," Judah responded. "Let's burn her to death!"

When Judah recognized them, he admitted, "She is more upright than I, because I never did give her my son Shelah." And he never had sex with her again.

But Judah reminded him, "The man distinctly warned us: "You'll never see my face unless your brother comes with you.'

"Send the young man with me," Judah told his father Israel, "and we'll get up and go so we can survive and not die and that includes all of us, you and our families.

"What can we say, Your Excellency?" Judah replied. "How can we explain this or justify ourselves? God has discovered the sin of your servants, and now we've become slaves to you, Your Excellency, both we and the one in whose possession the cup has been discovered."

But Judah approached him and begged him, "Your Excellency, please allow your servant to speak to you privately. Please don't be angry with your servant, since you are equal to Pharaoh.

and Judah's sons Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez, and Zerah. (Technically, Er and Onan had died in the land of Canaan.) Perez's sons were Hezron and Hamul.

Jacob sent Judah ahead of them to meet with Joseph, who would be guiding them to Goshen, and so they arrived.

"Your brothers will praise you, Judah. Your hand will be at the throat of your enemies, and your father's children will bow down to you.

Judah is a lion cub. My son, you have gone up from the prey. Crouching like a lion, he lies down, Like a lioness, who would dare rouse him?

The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor a ruler's staff from between his feet, until the one comes, who owns them both, and to him will belong the allegiance of nations.