以色列人十二支派之一，雅各的第四子猶大的後代。猶大支派進入上帝所應許之地迦南，和其他以色列人逃出埃及後定居在耶路撒冷以南地區。實際上，這個支派是最有勢力的一派，相繼產生了大衛和所羅門兩位國王，並預言彌賽亞將從該支派產生。因西元前721年亞述人征服使得北部的十支派消失後，猶大支派和便雅憫支派是僅存的摩西聖約的後繼者。猶大國繁盛至西元前586年，亡於巴比倫，許多人被迫流亡。居魯士大帝於西元前538年允許猶太人返回故土，耶路撒冷聖殿得以修復。此後猶太人和猶太教的歷史基本上就是猶大支派的歷史。猶大王國後由猶太繼承。 padding-bottom: 100%;">One of the 12 tribes of Israel, descended from Judah, the fourth son of Jacob. The tribe of Judah entered Canaan with the other Israelites after the escape from Egypt and settled in the region south of Jerusalem. It eventually became the most powerful tribe, producing the kings David and Solomon, and it was prophesied that the messiah would come from among its members. After the 10 northern tribes were dispersed by the Assyrian conquest of 721 BC, the tribes of Judah and Benjamin were left as the sole inheritors of the Mosaic covenant. Judah flourished until 586 BC, when it was overrun by the Babylonians and many of its people were carried into exile. Cyrus the Great allowed them to return in 538 BC, and the Temple of Jerusalem was rebuilt. The history of Judah from that time forward is the history of the Jews and Judaism. The kingdom of Judah was succeeded by Judaea.
