Judah, the fourth son of Jacob and Leah, played a pivotal role within the lineage of Israelite history and is prominently regarded in the Book of Mormon. Acknowledged for the blessing of kingship prophesied in his lineage (Genesis 49:10), this blessing was historically fulfilled by the reigns of David and his descendants and ultimately in the messianic kingship of Jesus Christ.
As an ancestor of the Israelites, Judah’s name became associated with both a tribe and a geographical territory. The tribe of Judah, descending from him, settled in the region south of Jerusalem and Jericho, delineated on the east by the Dead Sea and flanking the Philistine-occupied Mediterranean plain to the west. When the unified kingdom of Israel fractured after Solomon’s death, the southern kingdom assumed the designation of Judah (1 Kings 12), attributable to Judah’s predominant tribe.
The capital of the united kingdom, Jerusalem, remained a pivotal religious and political hub for the kingdom of Judah following the nation’s split. Throughout its history, Judah experienced times of vassalage to larger powers such as Assyria and then Babylon, stretching from approximately 732 to 586 B.C. The end of the Judean kingdom was marked by the Babylonian destruction of the temple and significant parts of Jerusalem, leading to the exile of many Israelites and ushering in the designation of the remnants as the Jews (2 Kings 25).
In the Book of Mormon, the term “Judah” surfaces in various manifestations. It often references the southern kingdom in a historical context, such as in the association with the kings of Judah, including “Zedekiah, king of Judah” (1 Nephi 1:4; 5:12; Omni 1:15) and “Ahaz, king of Judah” (2 Nephi 17:1). “Judah” also denotes the Lord’s covenant people of various tribes residing within the borders of the kingdom of Judah, a concept found in conjunction with “Jerusalem” in scriptural passages (2 Nephi 12:1; 13:1; 15:3). References to the “fruit of the loins of Judah” (2 Nephi 3:12) highlight the prophetic lineage and scriptural contributions of Judah’s descendants. Distinctly, the phrase “out of the waters of Judah” (1 Nephi 20:1; Isaiah 48:1) is interpreted prophetically as symbolizing “out of the waters of baptism,” underscoring Judah’s connection to sacred covenants and practices.
The narrative of Judah thereby weaves through temporal kingdoms and spiritual promises, serving as a genealogical and symbolic underpinning for the peoples and prophetic writings central to the Book of Mormon and the restoration of the Gospel in the latter days.