Judah

[joo-duh] /ˈdʒu də/

noun
1.
the fourth son of Jacob and Leah. Gen. 29:35.
2.
one of the 12 tribes of Israel traditionally descended from him.
3.
the Biblical kingdom of the Hebrews in S Palestine, including the tribes of Judah and Benjamin.
Compare (def 3).
4.
a male given name: from a Hebrew word meaning “praised.”.
/ˈdʒuːdə/
noun (Old Testament)
1.
the fourth son of Jacob, one of whose descendants was to be the Messiah (Genesis 29:35; 49:8–12)
2.
the tribe descended from him
3.
the tribal territory of his descendants which became the nucleus of David’s kingdom and, after the kingdom had been divided into Israel and Judah, the southern kingdom of Judah, with Jerusalem as its centre

masc. proper name, biblical son of Jacob by Leah, also the name of a tribe of Israel, from Hebrew Yehudah, from stem of y-d-h, literally “praised.”

praise, the fourth son of Jacob by Leah. The name originated in Leah’s words of praise to the Lord on account of his birth: “Now will I praise [Heb. odeh] Jehovah, and she called his name Yehudah” (Gen. 29:35). It was Judah that interposed in behalf of Joseph, so that his life was spared (Gen. 37:26, 27). He took a lead in the affairs of the family, and “prevailed above his brethren” (Gen. 43:3-10; 44:14, 16-34; 46:28; 1 Chr. 5:2). Soon after the sale of Joseph to the Ishmaelites, Judah went to reside at Adullam, where he married a woman of Canaan. (See ONAN ØT0002787; TAMAR.) After the death of his wife Shuah, he returned to his father’s house, and there exercised much influence over the patriarch, taking a principal part in the events which led to the whole family at length going down into Egypt. We hear nothing more of him till he received his father’s blessing (Gen. 49:8-12).