Judah

Jacob’s fourth son by his wife Leah. In his deathbed prophecy, Jacob foretold that a great and lasting ruler would come from Judah’s family line. Jesus, in his human existence, descended from Judah. The name Judah also refers to the tribe and later to the kingdom named after Judah. Described as the southern kingdom, Judah was made up of the Israelite tribes of Judah and Benjamin and included the priests and Levites. Judah occupied the southern part of the country that included Jerusalem and the temple.​—Ge 29:35; 49:10; 1Ki 4:20; Heb 7:14.