Judah, Kingdom Of
Extent.—When the disruption of Solomon’s kingdom took place at Shechem, B.C. 975, only
the tribe of Judah followed David, but almost immediately afterward the larger part of Benjamin
joined Judah. A part, if no all, of the territory of Simeon, (1 Samuel 27:6; 1 Kings 19:3) comp. Josh
19:1 And of Dan, (2 Chronicles 11:10) comp. Josh 19:41,42 Was recognized as belonging to Judah;
and in the reigns of Abijah and Asa the southern kingdom was enlarged by some additions taken
out of the territory of Ephraim. (2 Chronicles 13:19; 15:8; 17:2) It is estimated that the territory of
Judah contained about 3450 square miles. Advantages.—The kingdom of Judah possessed many
advantages which secured for it a longer continuance than that of Israel. A frontier less exposed to
powerful enemies, a soil less fertile, a population hardier and more united, a fixed and venerated
centre of administration and religion, a hereditary aristocracy in the sacerdotal caste, an army always
subordinate, a succession of kings which no revolution interrupted; so that Judah survived her more
populous and more powerful sister kingdom by 135 years, and lasted from B.C. 975 to B.C. 536.
History—The first three kings of Judah seem to have cherished the hope of re-establishing their
authority over the ten tribes; for sixty years there was war between them and the kings of Israel.
The victory achieved by the daring Abijah brought to Judah a temporary accession of territory. Asa
appears to have enlarged it still further. Hanani’s remonstrance, (2 Chronicles 16:7) prepares us
for the reversal by Jehoshaphat of the policy which Asa pursued toward Israel and Damascus. A
close alliance sprang up with strange rapidity between Judah and Israel. Jehoshaphat, active and
prosperous, commanded the respect of his neighbors; but under Amaziah Jerusalem was entered
and plundered by the Israelites. Under Uzziah and Jotham, Judah long enjoyed prosperity, till Ahaz
became the tributary and vassal of Tiglath-pileser. Already in the fatal grasp of Assyria, Judah was
yet spared for a checkered existence of almost another century and a half after the termination of
the kingdom of Israel. The consummation of the ruin came upon its people in the destruction of
the temple by the hand of Nebuzaradan, B.C. 536. There were 19 kings, all from the family of
David. (Population.—We have a gage as to the number of the people at different periods in the
number of soldiers. If we estimate the population at four times the fighting men, we will have the
following table: King...Date ... Soldiers ... Population David...B.C. 1056-1015 ... 500,000 ...
2,000,000 Rehoboam...975-957 ... 180,000 ... 720,000 Abijah...957-955 ... 400,000 ... 1,600,000
Asa...955-914 ... 500,000 ... 2,000,000 Jehoshaphat...914-889 ... 1,160,000 ... 4,640,000
Amaziah...839-810 ... 300,000 ... 1,200,000 -ED.)
Judas
surnamed Barsabas, a leading member of the apostolic church at Jerusalem, (Acts 15:22) endued
with the gift of prophesy, ver. (Acts 15:32) chosen with Silas to accompany Paul and Barnabas as
delegates to the church at Antioch. (A.D. 47.) Later, Judas went back to Jerusalem.
the Greek form of the Hebrew name Judah, occurring in the LXX, and the New Testament.
•The patriarch Judah. (Matthew 1:2,3)
•A man residing at Damascus, in “the street which is called Straight,” in whose house Saul of Tarsus
lodged after his miraculous conversion. (Acts 9:11)
Judas Iscariot
(Judas of Kerioth). He is sometimes called “the son of Simon,” (John 6:71; 13:2,26) but more
commonly ISCARIOTES. (Matthew 10:4; Mark 3:19; Luke 6:16) etc. The name Iscariot has
received many interpretations more of less conjectural. The most probable is from Ish Kerioth, i.e.
“man of Kerioth,” a town in the tribe of Judah. (Joshua 15:25) Of the life of Judas before the
frankie
(Frankie)
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