Judah

3 definitions found

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  Judah
       n 1: (Old Testament) the fourth son of Jacob who was forebear of
            one of the tribes of Israel; one of his descendants was
            to be the Messiah
       2: an ancient kingdom of southern Palestine with Jerusalem as
          its center [syn: {Juda}]



From Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary [easton]:

  Judah
     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}; {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).
     

From Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary (late 1800's) [hitchcock]:

  Judah, the praise of the Lord; confession