Judah was the fourth son of Jacob and Leah, and gave his name to the largest tribe of Israel. His territory, in the south of the promised land, included cities such as Bethlehem, Hebron, and Jerusalem itself.
After the death of Solomon, ten tribes broke away, and only Judah, together with Benjamin, remained loyal to David’s dynasty. This is how the kingdom of Judah was born, which survived about 135 years longer than the northern kingdom.
It was in Judah that David reigned for the first time, in Hebron, before uniting all Israel under his rule. Judah also produced kings remembered for their faithfulness, such as Hezekiah and Josiah, and kings who turned away from God and led the people into exile.
The fall of Jerusalem, in 586 BC, ended the kingdom, but not the promise. The prophets kept announcing a ruler who would come from Judah, from David’s line, who centuries later would be born in Bethlehem, in that same land.
Judah is, therefore, more than a territory: it is the stage of God’s faithfulness to an ancient promise, fulfilled in Jesus, called in Revelation “the Lion of the tribe of Judah” (Revelation 5:5).
