So Abram went up out of Egypt, he and his wife and all that he had, and Lot [his nephew] with him, into the Negev (the South country of Judah).

He journeyed on from the Negev as far as Bethel, to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai,

She conceived again, and bore a son. She said, "This time will I praise the LORD." Therefore she named him Judah. Then she stopped bearing.

The sons of Leah: Reuben (Jacob's firstborn), Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun.

Judah said to his brothers, "What profit is it if we kill our brother and conceal 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.

It happened at that time, that Judah went down from his brothers, and visited a certain Adullamite, whose name was Hirah.

There Judah saw the daughter of a Canaanite man named Shua. Judah acquired her as a wife and had marital relations with her.

She became pregnant and had a son. Judah named him Er.

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

Judah took a wife for Er, his firstborn, and her name was Tamar.

Er, Judah's firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the LORD. The LORD killed him.

Judah said to Onan, "Go in to your brother's wife, and perform the duty of a husband's brother to her, and raise up seed to your brother."

Then Judah said to Tamar, his daughter-in-law, "Remain a widow in your father's house, until Shelah, my son, is grown up;" for he said, "Lest he also die, like his brothers." Tamar went and lived in her father's house.

After many days, Shua's daughter, the wife of Judah, died. Judah was comforted, and went up to his sheepshearers to Timnah, he and his friend Hirah, the Adullamite.

When Judah saw her, he thought that she was a prostitute, for she had covered her face.

Judah sent the kid of the goats by the hand of his friend, the Adullamite, to receive the pledge from the woman's hand, but he did not find her.

He returned to Judah, and said, "I haven't found her; and also the men of the place said, 'There has been no prostitute here.'"

Judah said, "Let her keep it, lest we be shamed. Behold, I sent this kid, and you haven't found her."

It happened about three months later, that it was told Judah, saying, "Tamar, your daughter-in-law, has played the prostitute; and moreover, behold, she is with child by prostitution." Judah said, "Bring her forth, and let her be burnt."

Judah acknowledged them, and said, "She is more righteous than I, because I did not give her to Shelah, my son." He knew her again no more.

Judah spoke to him, saying, "The man solemnly warned us, saying, 'You shall not see my face, unless your brother is with you.'

Judah said to Israel, his father, "Send the boy with me, and we'll get up and go, so that we may live, and not die, both we, and you, and also our little ones.

Judah and his brothers came to Joseph's house, and he was still there. They fell on the ground before him.

Judah said, "What will we tell my lord? What will we speak? Or how will we clear ourselves? God has found out the iniquity of your servants. Behold, we are my lord's bondservants, both we, and he also in whose hand the cup is found."

Then Judah came near to him, and said, "Oh, my lord, please let your servant speak a word in my lord's ears, and do not let your anger burn against your servant; for you are even as Pharaoh.

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

He sent Judah before him to Joseph, to show the way before him to Goshen, and they came into the land of Goshen.

"Judah, your brothers will praise you. Your hand will be on the neck of your enemies. Your father's sons will bow down before you.

Judah is a lion's cub. From the prey, my son, you have gone up. He stooped down, he crouched as a lion, as a lioness. Who will rouse him up?

The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until Shiloh comes. To him will the obedience of the peoples be.

Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah,

"Behold, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah:

Moses said to the children of Israel, "Behold, the LORD has called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah.

Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, made all that the LORD commanded Moses.

Of Judah: Nahshon the son of Amminadab.

Of the children of Judah, their generations, by their families, by their fathers' houses, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go out to war;

those who were numbered of them, of the tribe of Judah, were sixty-four thousand six hundred.

Those who encamp on the east side toward the sunrise shall be of the standard of the camp of Judah, according to their divisions: and the prince of the children of Judah shall be Nahshon the son of Amminadab.

and his army as numbered totaled 74,600.

Next to Judah [on the east side] the tribe of Issachar shall encamp; and Nethanel the son of Zuar shall lead the sons of Issachar,

All who were numbered of the camp of Judah were one hundred eighty-six thousand four hundred, according to their divisions. They shall set out first.

He who offered his offering the first day was Nahshon the son of Amminadab, of the tribe of Judah,

The military divisions of the camp of Judah with their banner set out first, and Nahshon son of Amminadab was over Judah’s divisions.

Of the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh.

The sons of Judah: Er and Onan; and Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan.

The sons of Judah after their families were: of Shelah, the family of the Shelanites; of Perez, the family of the Perezites; of Zerah, the family of the Zerahites.

These are the families of Judah according to those who were numbered of them, seventy-six thousand five hundred.

These are the names of the men: Of the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh.

“When you have crossed the Jordan, these tribes will stand on Mount Gerizim to bless the people: Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph, and Benjamin.

Reuben shall live and shall not die: but his people shall be few in number. This is the blessing of Judah."

He said this about Judah:

Lord, hear Judah’s cry and bring him to his people.
He fights for his cause with his own hands,
but may You be a help against his foes.

all of Naphtali, the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the Mediterranean Sea,

The Israelites, however, were unfaithful regarding the things set apart for destruction. Achan son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took some of what was set apart, and the Lord’s anger burned against the Israelites.

Joshua got up early the next morning. He had Israel come forward tribe by tribe, and the tribe of Judah was selected.

He had the clans of Judah come forward, and the Zerahite clan was selected. He had the Zerahite clan come forward by heads of families, and Zabdi was selected.

He then had Zabdi’s family come forward man by man, and Achan son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was selected.

At that time Joshua proceeded to exterminate the Anakim from the hill country—Hebron, Debir, Anab—all the hill country of Judah and of Israel. Joshua completely destroyed them with their cities.

The descendants of Judah approached Joshua at Gilgal, and Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him, “You know what the Lord promised Moses the man of God at Kadesh-barnea about you and me.

Now the allotment for the tribe of the descendants of Judah by their clans was in the southernmost region, south to the Wilderness of Zin and over to the border of Edom.

Now the western border was the coastline of the Mediterranean Sea.

This was the boundary of the descendants of Judah around their clans.

He gave Caleb son of Jephunneh the following portion among the descendants of Judah based on the Lord’s instruction to Joshua: Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron; Arba was the father of Anak).

This was the inheritance of the tribe of the descendants of Judah by their clans.

These were the outermost cities of the tribe of the descendants of Judah toward the border of Edom in the Negev: Kabzeel, Eder, Jagur,

But the descendants of Judah could not drive out the Jebusites who lived in Jerusalem. So the Jebusites live in Jerusalem among the descendants of Judah to this day.

Then they are to divide it into seven portions. Judah is to remain in its territory in the south and Joseph’s family in their territory in the north.

The lot came up for the tribe of Benjamin’s descendants by their clans, and their allotted territory lay between Judah’s descendants and Joseph’s descendants.

On the west side, from the hill facing Beth-horon on the south, the border curved, turning southward, and ended at Kiriath-baal (that is, Kiriath-jearim), a city of the descendants of Judah. This was the west side of their border.

The second lot came out for Simeon, for the tribe of his descendants by their clans, but their inheritance was within the portion of Judah’s descendants.

The inheritance of Simeon’s descendants was within the territory of Judah’s descendants, because the share for Judah’s descendants was too large for them. So Simeon’s descendants received an inheritance within Judah’s portion.

To the west, the boundary turned to Aznoth-tabor and went from there to Hukkok, reaching Zebulun on the south, Asher on the west, and Judah at the Jordan on the east.

So they designated Kedesh in the hill country of Naphtali in Galilee, Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the hill country of Judah.

The lot came out for the Kohathite clans: The Levites who were the descendants of Aaron the priest received 13 cities by lot from the tribes of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin.

The Israelites gave these cities by name from the tribes of the descendants of Judah and Simeon

They gave them Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) with its surrounding pasturelands in the hill country of Judah. Arba was the father of Anak.

The Lord answered, “Judah is to go. I have handed the land over to him.”

But the tribe of Judah told the tribe of Simeon, the descendants of Judah's brother, "Come with us into our territory, and we'll both fight the Canaanites. In return, we'll go with you when you fight in your territory." So the army of the tribe of Simeon accompanied the army of the tribe of Judah.

When Judah attacked, the Lord handed the Canaanites and Perizzites over to them. They struck down 10,000 men in Bezek.

The men of Judah fought against Jerusalem and captured it. They put the city to the sword and set it on fire.

Afterward, the men of Judah marched down to fight against the Canaanites who were living in the hill country, the Negev, and the Judean foothills.

Judah also marched against the Canaanites who were living in Hebron (Hebron was formerly named Kiriath-arba). They struck down Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai.

The army of Judah then proceeded to attack the inhabitants of Debir, which used to be known as Kiriath-sepher.

The descendants of the Kenite, Moses’ father-in-law, had gone up with the men of Judah from the City of Palms to the Wilderness of Judah, which was in the Negev of Arad. They went to live among the people.

The army of Judah accompanied the army of Simeon, Judah's brother, as they attacked the Canaanites who were living in Zephath, and they completely destroyed it. Then they renamed the city Hormah.

Judah captured Gaza and its territory, Ashkelon and its territory, and Ekron and its territory.

The Lord was with Judah, and [the tribe of] Judah took possession of the hill country, but they could not dispossess and drive out those inhabiting the valley because they had iron chariots.

Judah gave Hebron to Caleb, just as Moses had promised. Then Caleb drove out the three sons of Anak who lived there.

And the children of Judah did not make the Jebusites who were living in Jerusalem go out; the Jebusites are still living with the children of Benjamin in Jerusalem.

The Ammonites also crossed the Jordan to fight against Judah, Benjamin, and the house of Ephraim. Israel was greatly oppressed,

The Philistines went up, camped in Judah, and raided Lehi.

So the men of Judah said, “Why have you attacked us?”

They replied, “We have come to arrest Samson and pay him back for what he did to us.”

Then 3,000 men of Judah went to the cave at the rock of Etam, and they asked Samson, “Don’t you realize that the Philistines rule over us? What have you done to us?”

“I have done to them what they did to me,” he answered.

There was a young man, a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah, who resided within the clan of Judah.

The man left the town of Bethlehem in Judah to settle wherever he could find a place. On his way he came to Micah’s home in the hill country of Ephraim.

“Where do you come from?” Micah asked him.

He answered him, “I am a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah, and I’m going to settle wherever I can find a place.”

They went up and camped at Kiriath-jearim in Judah. This is why the place is called the Camp of Dan to this day; it is west of Kiriath-jearim.

In those days, when there was no king in Israel, a Levite living in a remote part of the hill country of Ephraim acquired a woman from Bethlehem in Judah as his concubine.

But she was unfaithful to him and left him for her father’s house in Bethlehem in Judah. She was there for a period of four months.

He answered him, “We’re traveling from Bethlehem in Judah to the remote hill country of Ephraim, where I am from. I went to Bethlehem in Judah, and now I’m going to the house of the Lord. No one has taken me into his home,

They set out, went to Bethel, and inquired of God. The Israelites asked, “Who is to go first to fight for us against the Benjaminites?”

And the Lord answered, “Judah will be first.”