Who was Judah in the Bible?
Judah was the fourth son of Jacob, and the man whose family line runs all the way down to the kings of Israel and to Christ Himself. His story is unusually blunt about his failures, which raises the question the commentators keep returning to: why did God choose this man?
The son whose name means praise
His identity, his tribe and his place in the promise are gathered up in one summary.
Morrish Bible DictionaryThe fourth son of Jacob and Leah, and the head of the tribe bearing his name, which means "praise." It was Judah who advised selling Joseph rather than taking his life... Though he was not the eldest son, he began to take a chief place in the family. He was able to persuade his father to let Benjamin be taken to Egypt, and when appeals were to be made to Joseph it was Judah who made them. When Jacob blessed his sons, the predictions show that the royal line was centred in Judah.
A shameful record
Genesis pauses the story of Joseph to tell Judah's private history — his Canaanite marriage, and his affair with his widowed daughter-in-law Tamar, whom he condemned to death before learning he was the guilty party.
William KellyIt was not Reuben or any other of the tribal heads, but Judah who proposed the sale of Joseph, and now showed in his own house the evil which drew down curse after curse, until its head had to admit the sad shame of Tamar, who was more righteous than himself, though he had sentenced her to die by fire. Yet through this guilty Judah, and through Tamar, came the One who cleanses from all sin by His blood.
Why Judah, and not another
Later Scripture says plainly that Judah prevailed over his brothers. One writer asks what he actually did to earn it, and answers that he did nothing.
The Bible TreasuryHistorically, how did Judah prevail so as to gain this honour? He was one with his brothers in their hatred of Joseph... As to plotting against the birthright, they were all equally guilty... Judah's prevailing is simply the will of God. So he prevailed, not by his goodness. The Holy Spirit has given us a sketch of his domestic, or private, life, and his character and his sin are plainly told. No other of Jacob's sons is brought out into the light like this.
The change: from selling a brother to standing surety
Years later, famine forced the brothers back to Egypt, and Jacob had to risk his youngest son Benjamin. Reuben offered his own sons as a guarantee; Judah offered himself.
The Bible TreasuryJudah makes no large offers at the expense of his sons. What he offers is far more moderate, and at his own risk: "Send the boy with me... I will be a pledge of his safety." Jacob immediately trusts him and lets Benjamin go... for Judah nobly kept his pledge when he stood forward in Egypt and offered himself as a substitute for Benjamin.
That plea in Egypt is treated as the turning point that made room for the blessing his father later spoke over him.
L. M. GrantThough Judah had been guilty of very serious wrong too, his deeply felt repentance, evident in Genesis 44:18-34, was such that God was free to bless him greatly. His brothers would praise him (Judah means "praise")... The sceptre of kingly authority would not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver, until the coming of Shiloh, the Lord Jesus.
The tribe that marched first
In the wilderness, Judah's tribe camped on the east and led every march.
Leslie M. GrantThe standard of Judah was always in the lead when the tribes set out to march, for the spirit of praise to God is of first importance in travel or in warfare. When Jehoshaphat's army went out with singers praising the Lord, the victory was soon won.
The line that narrows to Christ
Judah matters most as a link in a chain. The promise starts wide and closes in on one person.
J. N. DarbyJudah was the one in whom the promises were centred... The general promise at the beginning was, "the seed of the woman shall bruise the serpent's head." Then everything was vested in Abraham's seed: "In your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed." The line became narrower and narrower. Judah was chosen from among his brothers, and last of all the family of David... He is called the Lion of the tribe of Judah, because it is by power that He will accomplish God's purposes.
Summary
- Praise — Judah's name means praise; Leah gave it when she stopped counting her sorrows and thanked God for a fourth son.
- Shame — his record is the ugliest of the twelve, and Scripture refuses to hide it: he sold Joseph, deceived his father, and condemned Tamar while being guilty himself.
- Grace — commentators are agreed that he prevailed by God's will, not by his goodness; the honour rests on choice, not merit.
- Surety — the mark of real change was offering himself in Benjamin's place, undoing in one act what he had done to Joseph.
- Sceptre — the praised son becomes the royal tribe that leads the march, then the throne of David, and finally the Lion of the tribe of Judah.