Genesis 35:23

35:23 The sons of Leah were Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn, as well as Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun.

Genesis 49:8-10

49:8 Judah, ¹  your brothers will praise you.

Your hand will be on the neck of your enemies,

your father’s sons will bow down before you.

49:9 You are a lion’s cub, Judah,

from the prey, my son, you have gone up.

He crouches and lies down like a lion;

like a lioness – who will rouse him?

49:10 The scepter will not depart from Judah,

nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, ² 

until he comes to whom it belongs; ³ 

the nations will obey him. ⁴ 

Numbers 2:3

The Tribes on the East

2:3 “Now those who will be camping ⁵  on the east, toward the sunrise, ⁶  are the divisions ⁷  of the camp of Judah under their standard. The leader of the people of Judah is ⁸  Nahshon son of Amminadab.

Numbers 7:12

The Tribal Offerings

7:12 The one who presented his offering on the first day was Nahshon son of Amminadab, from the tribe of Judah. ⁹ 

Joshua 14:6

14:6 The men of Judah approached Joshua in Gilgal, and Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him, “You know what the Lord said about you and me to Moses, the man of God, at Kadesh Barnea. ¹⁰ 

Jude 1:2

1:2 May mercy, peace, and love be lavished on you! ¹¹ 

Psalms 60:7

60:7 Gilead belongs to me,

as does Manasseh! ¹² 

Ephraim is my helmet, ¹³ 

Judah my royal scepter. ¹⁴ 

Psalms 108:8

108:8 Gilead belongs to me,

as does Manasseh! ¹⁵ 

Ephraim is my helmet, ¹⁶ 

Judah my royal scepter. ¹⁷ 

Micah 5:2

A King Will Come and a Remnant Will Prosper

5:2 (5:1) As for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, ¹⁸ 

seemingly insignificant ¹⁹  among the clans of Judah –

from you a king will emerge who will rule over Israel on my behalf, ²⁰ 

one whose origins ²¹  are in the distant past. ²² 

Matthew 2:6

2:6 ‘And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,

are in no way least among the rulers of Judah,

for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’” ²³ 

Hebrews 7:14

7:14 For it is clear that our Lord is descended from Judah, yet Moses said nothing about priests in connection with that tribe.

Revelation 5:5

5:5 Then ²⁴  one of the elders said ²⁵  to me, “Stop weeping! ²⁶  Look, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, has conquered; ²⁷  thus he can open ²⁸  the scroll and its seven seals.”

[49:8]  ¹ sn There is a wordplay here; the name Judah (יְהוּדָה, yÿhudah) sounds in Hebrew like the verb translated praise (יוֹדוּךָ, yodukha). The wordplay serves to draw attention to the statement as having special significance.

[49:10]  ² tn Or perhaps “from his descendants,” taking the expression “from between his feet” as a euphemism referring to the genitals. In this case the phrase refers by metonymy to those who come forth from his genitals, i.e., his descendants.

[49:10]  ³ tn The Hebrew form שִׁילֹה (shiloh) is a major interpretive problem. There are at least four major options (with many variations and less likely alternatives): (1) Some prefer to leave the text as it is, reading “Shiloh” and understanding it as the place where the ark rested for a while in the time of the Judges. (2) By repointing the text others arrive at the translation “until the [or “his”] ruler comes,” a reference to a Davidic ruler or the Messiah. (3) Another possibility that does not require emendation of the consonantal text, but only repointing, is “until tribute is brought to him” (so NEB, JPS, NRSV), which has the advantage of providing good parallelism with the following line, “the nations will obey him.” (4) The interpretation followed in the present translation, “to whom it [belongs]” (so RSV, NIV, REB), is based on the ancient versions. Again, this would refer to the Davidic dynasty or, ultimately, to the Messiah.

[49:10]  ⁴ tn “and to him [will be] the obedience of the nations.” For discussion of this verse see J. Blenkinsopp, “The Oracle of Judah and the Messianic Entry,” JBL 80 (1961): 55-64; and E. M. Good, “The ‘Blessing’ on Judah,” JBL 82 (1963): 427-32.

[2:3]  ⁵ tn The sentence begins with a vav (ו) on a word that is not a finite verb, indicating a new section begins here. The verbal form is a participle with the article used substantivally, with the meaning “and/now those camping.” Many English versions employ a finite verb; cf. KJV “on the east side…shall they of the standard of the camp of Judah pitch.”

[2:3]  ⁶ tc The two synonyms might seem to be tautological, but this is fairly common and therefore acceptable in Hebrew prose (cf. Exod 26:18; 38:13; etc.).

[2:3]  ⁷ tn The sentence actually has “[those camping…are] the standard of the camp of Judah according to their divisions.”

[2:3]  ⁸ tn Or “will be.”

[7:12]  ⁹ sn The tribe of Judah is listed first. It seems that it had already achieved a place of prominence based on the patriarchal promise of the Messiahship in Judah (Gen 49:10).

[14:6]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “You know the word which the Lord spoke to Moses, the man of God, because of me and because of you in Kadesh Barnea.”

[1:2]  ¹¹ tn Grk “may mercy and peace and love be multiplied to you.”

[60:7]  ¹² sn Gilead was located east of the Jordan. Half of the tribe of Manasseh lived east of the Jordan in the region of Bashan.

[60:7]  ¹³ tn Heb “the protection of my head.”

[60:7]  ¹⁴ sn Judah, like Ephraim, was the other major tribe west of the Jordan. The Davidic king, symbolized here by the royal scepter, came from this tribe.

[108:8]  ¹⁵ tn Gilead was located east of the Jordan River. Half of the tribe of Manasseh lived east of the Jordan in the region of Bashan.

[108:8]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “the protection of my head.”

[108:8]  ¹⁷ sn Judah, like Ephraim, was the other major tribe west of the Jordan River. The Davidic king, symbolized here by the royal scepter, came from this tribe.

[5:2]  ¹⁸ sn Ephrathah is either an alternate name for Bethlehem or the name of the district in which Bethlehem was located. See Ruth 4:11.

[5:2]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “being small.” Some omit לִהְיוֹת (lihyot, “being”) because it fits awkwardly and appears again in the next line.

[5:2]  ²⁰ tn Heb “from you for me one will go out to be a ruler over Israel.”

[5:2]  ²¹ tn Heb “his goings out.” The term may refer to the ruler’s origins (cf. NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT) or to his activities.

[5:2]  ²² tn Heb “from the past, from the days of antiquity.” Elsewhere both phrases refer to the early periods in the history of the world or of the nation of Israel. For מִקֶּדֶם (miqqedem, “from the past”) see Neh 12:46; Pss 74:12; 77:11; Isa 45:21; 46:10. For מִימֵי עוֹלָם (mimey ’olam, “from the days of antiquity”) see Isa 63:9, 11; Amos 9:11; Mic 7:14; Mal 3:4. In Neh 12:46 and Amos 9:11 the Davidic era is in view.

[2:6]  ²³ sn A quotation from Mic 5:2.

[5:5]  ²⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

[5:5]  ²⁵ tn Grk “says” (a historical present).

[5:5]  ²⁶ tn The present imperative with μή (mh) is used here to command cessation of an action in progress (ExSyn 724 lists this verse as an example).

[5:5]  ²⁷ tn Or “has been victorious”; traditionally, “has overcome.”

[5:5]  ²⁸ tn The infinitive has been translated as an infinitive of result here.