KINGLY TRIBE OF JUDAH

STRAIGHT FROM THE BIBLE
Jacobs Blessing - Gen. 49:8-12
"Judah, your brothers will praise you; your hand will be on the neck of your enemies; your father's sons will bow down to you. You are a lion's cub, O Judah; you return from the prey, my son. Like a lion he crouches and lies down, like a lioness - who dares to rouse him? The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs and the obedience of the nations is his. He will tether his donkey to a vine, his colt to the choicest branch; he will wash his garments in wine, his robes in the blood of grapes. His eyes will be darker than wine, his teeth whiter than milk."
Moses Blessing - Deut. 33:7
"And this he said about Judah: 'Hear, O Lord, the cry of Judah; bring him to his people. With his own hands he defends his cause. Oh, be his help against his foes."

God's choice in the allotment for the tribe of Judah would play a significant role in the longevity shown by the Davidic Dynasty. The geography of Judah's allotment isolated the tribe, and later the southern kingdom, from its neighbors. The only vulnerable region lay to the north. To the east, south, and west Judah was protected by geographical barriers.
The Shephelah protected the tribe of Judah to the west. This region guarded the main arteries of traffic leading to important cities. Judah controlled this region at times, though never fully controlled the coastal region. The Judean Wilderness protected Judah from the south and east.
This region was often home to castaways, bandits, thieves, outlaws, and runaways. Jesus Christ may have been tempted in this desolate region. This geographical isolation protected and enabled Judah to stave off would be conquerors, and allowed for the southern kingdom of Judah to outlast its northern counterpart by 135 years.
 Joseph Samuel Christian Frederick Frey was an American-Jewish author. Born in Germany, in 1773, he became one of the most influential writers of his time. In 1798 Frey converted from Judaism to Christianity.