GIUDA. — Fourth son of Giacobbe, born of Lia, called Jéhâdhâh, “praise, acclaim” (Gen. 29:35; 49:8). Together with Ruben, he sought to save Giuseppe (Gen. 37:26 ff.). From Thamar he had Phares (Gen. 38; cf. Revue biblique, 34 [1925], pp. 524–46), ancestor of Gesù (Mt. 1:3 ff.). A strong and faithful character; through his eloquence and the nobility of his sentiments, he occupies a pre-eminent place in the family of Giacobbe (Gen. 43:3–10; 44:14–34; 46:28), a position that also passed to the tribe which originated from him (Gen. 49:8–12).
The tribe of G. is the most numerous (Num. 1:26 f.; 26:19–21); its principal families are listed in Num. 26:19–21; I Par. 2. In the wilderness it occupies the first place in the arrangement of the camp and in the march (Num. 2:3–9; 10:14), and in the offering of sacrifices (Num. 7:12–17). It receives the first and most important allotment in the division of the Promised Land (Ios. 15; cf. 14:6–15). After the death of Giosuè, it is chosen to lead the attack against the Canaanites (Iud. 1:1–19) and against Gabaa-Beniamin (Iud. 20:18).
The territory assigned to it bordered on the north with Dan and Beniamin (Ios. 18:15–19; 19:40–46): an irregularly curving line extending from the mouth of the Jordan to Minet Rûbîn on the sea; the Dead Sea was its eastern boundary, the Mediterranean its western boundary; to the south it extended as far as Cadesbarne (Ios. 15:1–12; F.-M. Abel, [V. BIBLICA.], II, pp. 46–50). It comprised four topographical regions: the neghebh (= dry land, scorched by the sun), the southern district stretching from the springs of the Wâdî el-Halîl to Cades; the desert of G., along the entire Dead Sea; the mountain of G., a zone parallel to the preceding one, running north–south in the direction of Hebron; and the sêphêlah, hills descending toward the plain along the Mediterranean. The neghebh was ceded to Simeone (Ios. 19:2–7). Fertile territory, famous for its vineyards (Num. 13:13, 25; Cant. 1:13; II Par. 26:10; cf. Gen. 49:11 f.), its extensive pastures, and its numerous flocks (I Sam. 25:2; Am. 1:1 f.). The Bible names a total of 134 cities of G. (Ios. 15:21–62; including those of Simeone later attached to it: Ios. 19:1–7; F.-M. Abel, II, pp. 86–93).
During the period of the Judges, G. remained in the background; because of its adaptability, it was the tribe that welcomed the greatest number of foreigners into its midst (cf. II Par. 2). But under Saul and especially under David, and thereafter, G. fills the history of the Old Testament. From this point onward, the progress of its influence and the vicissitudes of its dominion form, as it were, the background of the history of the people of God.
At the schism, after Salomone, G. remained alone with the tribe of Beniamin, which it absorbed (I Reg. 12:20). And alone it rose again after the exile (Esdra-Neemia). While the ten northern tribes, with the division, moved toward definitive disappearance, the importance of G. increased.
Its supremacy is pre-eminently religious: the Messiah must arise from G. The words of Giacobbe (Gen. 49:10) receive their illumination from prophetic teaching (Isaia, Michea, Geremia, Ezechiele), from the work of the Chronicler (Paralipomeni, Esdra-Neemia), and from the later prophets (Aggeo, Zaccaria, Gioele, Malachia).
The covenant of Sinai, centered on the Decalogue (Es. 19–20), the essence of Yahwism, made the twelve tribes the people of Yahweh, heirs of the divine promises. The northern tribes, having fallen into the crudest syncretism, were no longer part of II. The covenant of Sinai was given more precise form in God’s covenant with David and his descendants, and was restricted to the tribe of G., to which the name “Israel,” the elect, was exclusively attributed (I–II Par.). G. could not disappear, because the Messiah was to be born from the lineage of David (cf. Is. 7–12). Its infidelity would be severely punished: the destruction of Jerusalem and of the Kingdom; but a “remnant” would always be left to II. From this “remnant” (the exiles of 597: Ier. 24:5; 29; Ez. 11:14–20) the new Israel would arise,
which would finally fulfill the conditions of the covenant of Sinai and be exalted and absorbed into the Kingdom of the Messiah (Is. 40–66; Ier. 30–31, 33; Ez. 34, 40–48).
The exiles who return from exile, rebuild the Temple, resume worship, and renew the covenant belong to the tribe of G.; the new community formed by them is the elect Israel, the legitimate heir of the divine promises, the prologue and immediate preparation for the messianic kingdom (Agg. 2:6–9, 20–23; Zach. 6:12–15; 8:6–8, 20–23; Mal. 1:11; 3:1). This spiritual supremacy manifested itself tangibly in the Temple, the only place where external worship of Yahweh was permitted. Its destruction in A.D. 70 was the clearest sign that the ancient covenant had now come to an end, and that the Messiah had already arrived (Gen. 49:10). G. had lost its supremacy; henceforth there was neither Jew nor Gentile, but only those reborn in Christ (Gal. 3:26–29; Col. 3:10 f.).