Together with the Tribe of Benjamin, descendants of Judah eventually formed the southern kingdom of Judah in the ancient land of Israel, when the kingdom of Israel was divided. These two tribes were thus not carried into captivity with the ten tribes of the northern kingdom of Israel when it fell. This started the tradition (some say myth) of the ten lost tribes of Israel.

As the Tribe of Benjamin was always very much the minor partner, in time the tribe of Judah became identified with the entire Israelite nation, and even the entire Hebrew nation, and gave their name to the Jews.

Judah and his three surviving sons went down with Jacob into Ancient Egypt (Gen. 46:12; Ex. 1:2). At the time of the Exodus, when we meet with the family of Judah again, they have increased to the number of 74,600 males (Num. 1:26-27).

Its number increased in the wilderness (26:22). Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, represented the tribe as one of the spies (13:6; 34:19). This tribe marched at the van on the east of the Tabernacle (Num. 2:3-9; 10:14), its standard, as is supposed, being a lion's whelp. Under Caleb, during the wars of conquest, they conquered that portion of the country which was afterwards assigned to them as their inheritance. This was the only case in which any tribe had its inheritance thus determined (Josh. 14:6-15; 15:13-19).

The inheritance of the tribe of Judah was at first fully one-third of the whole country west of the Jordan River, in all about 2,300 square miles (Josh. 15). But there was a second distribution, when Simeon received an allotment, about 1,000 square miles, out of the portion of Judah (Josh. 19:9). That which remained to Judah was still very large in proportion to the inheritance of the other tribes. The boundaries of the territory are described in Josh. 15:20-63.

This territory given to Judah was divided into four sections.

1. The south (Heb. negeb), the undulating pasture-ground between the hills and the desert to the south (Josh. 15:21). This extent of pasture-land became famous as the favourite camping-ground of the old patriarchs.
2. The "foothills" (Josh. 15:33-47) or lowland (Heb. shephelah), a broad strip lying between the central highlands and the Mediterranean. This tract was the garden as well as the granary of the tribe.
3. The "hill-country," or the mountains of Judah, an elevated plateau stretching from below Hebron northward to Jerusalem. "The towns and villages were generally perched on the tops of hills or on rocky slopes. The resources of the soil were great. The country was rich in corn, wine, oil, and fruit; and the daring shepherds were able to lead their flocks far out over the neighbouring plains and through the mountains." The number of towns in this district was thirty eight (Josh. 15:48-60).
4. The "wilderness," the sunken district next to the Dead Sea (Josh. 15:61-62), "averaging 10 miles in breadth, a wild, barren, uninhabitable region, fit only to afford scanty pasturage for sheep and goats, and a secure home for leopards, bears, wild goats, and outlaws" (1 Sam. 17:34; 1 Sam. 22:1; Gospel of Mark 1:13). It was divided into the "wilderness of Ein Gedi" (1 Sam. 24:1), the "wilderness of Judah" (Judg. 1:16; Matthew 3:1), between the Hebron mountain range and the Dead Sea, and the "wilderness of Maon" (1 Sam. 23:24). It contained only six cities.

Nine of the cities of Judah were assigned to the priests (Josh. 21:9-19).

Modern Descendants

¹⁰ The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs and the obedience of the nations is his.
(-Genesis 49:10)

¹⁴ For it is clear that our Lord descended from Judah, and in regard to that tribe Moses said nothing about priests.
(Hebrews 7:14)

References

• Kitchen, Kenneth A. (2003), "On the Reliability of the Old Testament" (Grand Rapids, Michigan. William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company)(ISBN 0-8028-4960-1)
• 1 Samuel 24:1
• Judges 1:16; Matthew 3:1
• 1 Samuel 23:24
• Peake's commentary on the Bible
• Jewish Encyclopedia
• Israel Finkelstein, the Bible Unearthed
• Genesis 49:10
• Glossary of terms related to Judaism (religious studies dept., university of California - Davis)
• Who Is a Jew? Origins of the Words "Jew" and "Judaism" (jewfaq.org)
• Where does the word "Jew" come from? by Rabbi Naftali Silberberg (askmoses.com)
• Biography of Judah (Chabad.org)

Biblical References

• Exdodus 31:2 "See, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah,
• Exdodus 35:30 Then Moses said to the people of Israel, "See, the Lord has called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah;
• Exdodus 38:22 Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, made all that the Lord commanded Moses;
• Numbers 1:27 those listed of the tribe of Judah were 74,600.
• Numbers 7:12 He who offered his offering the first day was Nahshon the son of Amminadab, of the tribe of Judah.
• Numbers 13:6 from the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh;
• Numbers 34:19 "These are the names of the men: Of the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh.
• Joshua 7:1 But the people of Israel broke faith in regard to the devoted things, for Achan the son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took some of the devoted things. And the anger of the Lord burned against the people of Israel.
• Joshua 7:16 So Joshua rose early in the morning and brought Israel near tribe by tribe, and the tribe of Judah was taken.
• Joshua 7:18 And he brought near his household man by man, and Achan the son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was taken.
• Joshua 15:1 The allotment for the tribe of the people of Judah according to their clans reached southward to the boundary of Edom, to the wilderness of Zin at the farthest south.
• Joshua 15:20 This is the inheritance of the tribe of the people of Judah according to their clans.
• Joshua 15:21 The cities belonging to the tribe of the people of Judah in the extreme south, toward the boundary of Edom, were Kabzeel, Eder, Jagur,
• Joshua 18:11 The lot of the tribe of the people of Benjamin according to its clans came up, and the territory allotted to it fell between the people of Judah and the people of Joseph.
• Joshua 19:1 The second lot came out for Simeon, for the tribe of the people of Simeon, according to their clans, and their inheritance was in the midst of the inheritance of the people of Judah.
• Joshua 21:9 Out of the tribe of the people of Judah and the tribe of the people of Simeon they gave the following cities mentioned by name,
• 1 Kings 12:20 And when all Israel heard that Jeroboam had returned, they sent and called him to the assembly and made him king over all Israel. There was none that followed the house of David but the tribe of Judah only.
• 1 Kings 12:21 When Rehoboam came to Jerusalem, he assembled all the house of Judah and the tribe of Benjamin, 180,000 chosen warriors, to fight against the house of Israel, to restore the kingdom to Rehoboam the son of Solomon.
• 2 Kings 17:18 Therefore the Lord was very angry with Israel and removed them out of his sight. None was left but the tribe of Judah only.
• Psalms 78:68 but he chose the tribe of Judah, Mount Zion, which he loves.
• Dan 1:6 Among these were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah of the tribe of Judah.
• Revelation 5:5 And one of the elders said to me, "Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals."