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Judea

Judea, the southern region of Israel, was the center of Jewish life and culture in biblical times, with Jerusalem as its capital.

Also known as Judah · Judean · Galilee

Judea, also known as Judah, was the southern region of ancient Israel, located between Samaria to the north and Idumea to the south. The area was named after the tribe of Judah, which settled there after the Israelites conquered Canaan. Judea was known for its hilly terrain and its capital, Jerusalem, which served as the religious and political center of the Jewish people. The region played a significant role throughout biblical history, from the time of the judges to the New Testament era. Many important events took place in Judea, including the reigns of King David and King Solomon, the construction of the First and Second Temples in Jerusalem, and the ministries of Jesus and the early church. Judea was the birthplace of John the Baptist (Luke 1:5, 65) and Jesus (Matthew 2:1, 5). During the New Testament period, Judea was a Roman province, and it was the scene of Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection (Luke 23:5; Jhn.19.19-20). The early Christian church began in Jerusalem and spread throughout Judea (Act.1.8; 2:9). The region's history, culture, and religious significance made it a central focus of both the Old and New Testaments.

Approximate location: 31.777, 35.235 · view on a map · on the Bible atlas

Connections

Judas Iscariot: the only Judean?

HometownDebated

Iscariot is often read as Hebrew "man of Kerioth", a place in Judah, which would make Judas the only apostle from Judea. The Gospels never explain the word.

JudasAn apostleJudeaThe southern region of Israel, centered around JerusalemKerioth-hezronA town in the Negev region of Judah
Where the text shows it: John 6:71 — Judas son of Simon Iscariot.John 13:26 — Iscariot also attached to the father.Joshua 15:25 — Kerioth listed among the towns of Judah.Jeremiah 48:24 — Another Kerioth in Moab.
Ways people read this (4)
  • Ish-Kerioth: "man of Kerioth" in Judah, most widely held.
  • Sicarius: from Latin for a dagger-man, implying a link with violent nationalists.
  • Other derivations are proposed (Aramaic for "liar" or "deliverer"). Since Iscariot also stands after the father's name, it may be a family name.
  • "Only non-Galilean" also assumes the origins of Thomas, Thaddaeus, James of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot are Galilean, which is not stated.

Sources: John 6:71 · Joshua 15:25

Bible dictionary

Judea Easton Easton’s Bible Dictionary (1897)

After the Captivity this name was applied to the whole of the country west of the Jordan (Hag. 1:1, 14; 2:2). But under the Romans, in the time of Christ, it denoted the southernmost of the three divisions of Palestine (Matt. 2:1, 5; 3:1; 4:25), although it was also sometimes used for Palestine generally (Acts 28:21). The province of Judea, as distinguished from Galilee and Samaria, included the territories of the tribes of Judah, Benjamin, Dan, Simeon, and part of Ephraim. Under the Romans it was a part of the province of Syria, and was governed by a procurator.

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Judaea, Or Judea Smith Smith’s Bible Dictionary (1863)

(from Judah), a territorial division which succeeded to the overthrow of the ancient landmarks of the tribes of Israel and Judah in their respective captivities. The word first occurs (Daniel 5:13) Authorized Version “Jewry,” and the first mention of the “province of Judea” is in the book of Ezra, (Ezra 5:8) It is alluded to in (Nehemiah 11:3) (Authorized Version “Judah”). In the apocryphal books the word “province” is dropped, and throughout them and the New Testament the expressions are “the land of Judea,” “Judea.” In a wide and more improper sense, the term Judea was sometimes extended to the whole country of the Canaanites, its ancient inhabitants; and even in the Gospels we read of the coasts of Judea “beyond Jordan.” (Matthew 19:1; Mark 10:1) Judea was, in strict language, the name of the third district, west of the Jordan and south of Samaria. It was made a portion of the Roman province of Syria upon the deposition of Archelaus, the ethnarch of Judea, in A.D. 6, and was governed by a procurator, who was subject to the governor of Syria.

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Easton (1897), Smith (1863), Hitchcock (1869), Hastings (1898) and Schaff are in the public domain. Parsed text: neuu-org/bible-dictionary-dataset (CC BY 4.0). Headwords and whitespace normalised for this site.

Where Judea appears

52 verses in 11 books · English text: BSB (change it from the menu at the top) · Strong’s H3063

Ezra4
Daniel3
Matthew8
Mark4
Luke10
John7
Acts12
Romans1
2 Corinthians1
Galatians1
1 Thessalonians1

Names, family links and references: STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). Short descriptions were drafted with AI assistance by STEPBible. Family links follow STEPBible’s scholarly decisions where genealogies are ambiguous.