Kingdom of Judah Geographic Location in Ancient Israel
The Kingdom of Judah, established after the division of the united monarchy, primarily encompassed the territory originally allotted to the tribe of Judah, with the addition of the tribe of Benjamin [7]. Jerusalem became the capital of this new kingdom [7].
Geographically, the territory of Judah was situated in the southern part of ancient Israel. Its southern border extended to the wilderness of Zin, reaching the border of Edom [2]. To the west, the land of Judah stretched from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea [8]. The northern boundary of Judah was marked by the valley of Ben-Hinnom [14]. Jerusalem itself occupied a ridge rising northward from the lower end of this valley [14]. While Jerusalem was within the territory of Benjamin, neither Judah nor Benjamin initially occupied it, allowing David to establish it as the royal city for his dynasty [14].
The land of Judah included diverse geographical features. The "hill country" of Judah comprised the central highlands, extending from Jerusalem in the north to just past Debir in the south [10]. This hill country was further divided into five districts [10]. Specific cities mentioned within Judah's mountainous region include Juttah, located near Maon and Carmel [6], and Gibeah, identified as modern Jeba, west-south-west of Bethlehem [4]. The region also contained lowlands and the Arabah, which stretched eastward to the Sea of Chinneroth (Sea of Galilee) and the Salt Sea (Dead Sea) [1, 3]. The land of Goshen, a pastoral area near Gibeon, was also part of the broader region [13].
The initial allocation of land to the tribe of Judah was substantial, so much so that the tribe of Simeon later received a portion of it [15]. The boundaries of the tribal lot for Judah were detailed in the book of Joshua [9]. For instance, the king of Hormah, formerly Zephath, was associated with Judah's territory [11]. Another king, the king of Arad, was located about twenty miles south of Hebron, near what was considered the border of the land of Judah [11].
The Kingdom of Judah was relatively small in extent, comparable in size to a Scottish county [7]. Despite its size, it was considered the "glorious land of Israel" [12]. Josephus described Judea as being situated in the very middle of the country, with Jerusalem as its supreme royal city, presiding over neighboring areas [5]. The maritime places of Judea extended as far as Ptolemais [5].
Sources
- Joshua “and to the kings who were on the north, in the hill country, in the Arabah south of Chinneroth, in the lowland, and in the heights of Dor on the west, -- Joshua 11:2”
- Joshua “The lot for the tribe of the children of Judah according to their families was to the border of Edom, even to the wilderness of Zin southward, at the uttermost part of the south. -- Joshua 15:1”
- Joshua “and the Arabah to the sea of Chinneroth, eastward, and to the sea of the Arabah, even the Salt Sea, eastward, the way to Beth Jeshimoth; and on the south, under the slopes of Pisgah: -- Joshua 12:3”
- Easton's Bible Dictionary “Easton's Bible Dictionary: Gibeah of Judah — (Josh. 15:57), a city in the mountains of Judah, the modern Jeba, on a hill in the Wady Musurr, about 7 1/2 miles west-south-west of Bethlehem.”
- Project Gutenberg “Flavius Josephus, The Wars of the Jews, CHAPTER 3, section 3: situated in the very middle; on which account some have, with sagacity enough, called that city the Navel of the country. Nor indeed is Judea destitute of such delights as come from the sea, since its maritime places extend as far as Ptolemais: it was parted into eleven portions, of which the royal city Jerusalem was the supreme, and presided over all the neighboring country, as the head does over the body. As to the other cities that were inferior to it, they presided over their several toparchies; Gophna was the second of those ci”
- Smith's Bible Dictionary “Smith's Bible Dictionary: Juttah — (stretched out), a city in the mountain region of Judah, in the neighborhood of Maon and Carmel. (Joshua 15:55) The place is now known as Yutta .”
- Easton's Bible Dictionary “Easton's Bible Dictionary: Judah, Kingdom of — When the disruption took place at Shechem, at first only the tribe of Judah followed the house of David. But very soon after the tribe of Benjamin joined the tribe of Judah, and Jerusalem became the capital of the new kingdom (Josh. 18:28), which was called the kingdom of Judah. It was very small in extent, being only about the size of the Scottish county of Perth. For the first sixty years the kings of Judah aimed at re-establishing their authority over the kingdom of the other ten tribes, so that there was a state of perpetual war between them. ”
- Deuteronomy (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Deuteronomy 34:2: 34:2 The land of Naphtali was northwest of Nebo and west of the Sea of Galilee. • The land of Ephraim and Manasseh was a large area to the west-northwest of Nebo, the present West Bank area of Palestine. • The land of Judah lay to the immediate west-southwest of Nebo, from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea.”
- Joshua (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on Joshua 15 (introduction): BORDERS OF THE LOT OF JUDAH. (Jos 15:1-12) This then was the lot of the tribe of the children of Judah--In what manner the lot was drawn on this occasion the sacred historian does not say; but it is probable that the method adopted was similar to that described in Jos 18:10. Though the general survey of the country had not been completed, some rough draft or delineation of the first conquered part must have been made, and satisfactory evidence obtained that it was large enough to furnish three cantons, before all the tribes cast lots for ”
- Joshua (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Joshua 15:48: 15:48 The hill country was in the central highlands of Judah from Jerusalem in the north to just past Debir (15:15) in the south. It was divided into five districts.”
- Joshua (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Joshua 12:14: The king of Hormah, one,.... Which was formerly called Zephath, Jdg 1:17; see Jos 15:3, the king of Arad, one; perhaps the same with Arath, which, Jerom (i) says, is the border of the land of Judah, and is twenty miles distant from Hebron to the south; see Num 21:1. (i) De Loc. Heb. fol. 92. L.”
- Daniel (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Daniel 11:41: 11:41 the glorious land of Israel: Israel (cp. 8:9; 11:16) is again the center of attack by an evil king. • Moab, Edom, and Ammon were nations surrounding ancient Israel and Judah.”
- Joshua (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on Joshua 11:16: So Joshua took all that land--Here follows a general view of the conquest. The division of the country there into five parts; namely, the hills, the land of Goshen, that is, a pastoral land near Gibeon (Jos 10:41); the valley, the plains and the mountains of Israel, i. e., Carmel, rests upon a diversity of geographical positions, which is characteristic of the region.”
- Joshua (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Joshua 15:8: 15:8 The valley of Ben-Hinnom marked Judah’s northern border. Jerusalem occupied a ridge rising northward from the lower end of this valley within the tribe of Benjamin’s territory. Neither tribe occupied Jerusalem, so when David captured it, it became the royal city of his dynasty rather than just another tribal city.”
- Sefaria (Jewish (Rabbinic)) “Rashi (Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki) on Ezekiel 48:8: shall be the offering etc., Now, if you ask, how is it possible that Jerusalem should be in its place? Was not Jerusalem on the northern border of Judah, which received the south of the land of Canaan? And here it is in the middle of the tribes! [I will answer you that] this division is not like Joshua’s division, for this one is like the rows of a vineyard and all the portions are equal, whereas [in] Joshua’s division, the tribe of Judah had such a large portion that [its territory was] too much for it until Simeon took part of it as is said (Jo”