JUDAH (Tribe)
“may He (God) be praised.”
The tribe of Judah had a preeminent position. In the journeys of the Israelites, Judah was ahead, and in the first and second censuses their numbers were 74,600 and 76,500 respectively.
The territory assigned to them was large. Its eastern boundary encompassed the entire Dead Sea, and extended to Gath and the land of the Philistines to the west.
Its northern limit was around 31° 48′ N, and in the south it extended to the Paran desert. Jerusalem was near the border between Judah and Benjamin; in Joseph 18:28 is among the cities assigned to Benjamin; but in Joseph 15:63 and on Thu. 1:8 is mentioned as belonging to Judah.
David and his successors, from this last tribe, made Jerusalem their capital.