Judah, Tribe of

The Tribe of Judah was the largest and most prominent of the twelve tribes of Israel, numbering 74,600 men of military age at the first Sinai census and marching at the head of Israel's camp in the wilderness. Its territory after the conquest extended across the southern highlands of Canaan, including Hebron, Bethlehem, and the Shephelah, and bordered the Dead Sea to the east and the Negev desert to the south. Caleb the faithful spy was from Judah, and the tribe was granted the privilege of leading the military campaigns after Joshua's death.

David's rise from the tribe of Judah fulfilled Jacob's deathbed prophecy, and the tribe's primacy was permanently established with the Davidic covenant. The New Testament identifies Jesus as the Lion of the tribe of Judah.