Meaning of JUDAH KINGDOM

"may He (God) be praised."
When the ten tribes separated (see ISRAEL), Judah and Benjamin formed a kingdom under the name of Judah. Because Benjamin was a small tribe, the kingdom of Judah is often spoken of as a single tribe.

Undoubtedly, Simeon's territory was also included in that of Judah, as his territory was completely surrounded by that of Judah. He is not named in Moses' blessing of the tribes (Deut. 33; cf. Gen. 49:7). Bethel, originally belonging to Benjamin, remained in the power of the kingdom of Israel.

With the Temple in Jerusalem, with the priests and Levites, Judah represented the people of God and his government on the earth, while the kingdom of Israel quickly gave way to idolatry.

Following his promises, God made David's lamp continue to shine in Jerusalem. Many of his kings served God from the heart, although others embraced idolatry.

(For the succession of kings, see KING.) The kingdom of Judah lasted from 931 to 605 BC, when many of its nobles and artisans were taken to Babylon, although Jerusalem was not destroyed until 586 BC.

Jeremiah had predicted seventy years of captivity (Jer. 25:11, 12; 29:10); These began in the year 605 BC. and they ended in 536 when, under Cyrus, the Jews returned to Jerusalem to rebuild the house of Jehovah; However, the Temple was not finished and dedicated until 516 BC. (Ezra 6:15).

Ezra received permission to beautify the Temple and conduct services (Ezra 7:12-26) in 457 BC. It was Nehemiah who, in 444 BC, was ordered to rebuild the “city” of Jerusalem (Neh. 2:1-9).

However, the territory could no longer be called "kingdom of Judah." Only a remnant of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin returned, first subject to the empire of Persia, then to Alexander the Great and his successors, and, after a brief period of independence under Judas Maccabeus and his successors (see MACCABEES), subject to scent.