Judah Sentence Examples

That Israel was the stronger may be suggested by the acquiescence of Judah in the new situation.

Two tribes only, Judah and Benjamin, with the descendants of Levi, remained faithful to Rehoboam, the son of Solomon.

Both Israel and Judah had their own annals, brief excerpts from which appear in the books of Samuel, Kings and Chronicles, and they are supplemented by fuller narratives of distinct and more popular origin.

The men of Judah and Benjamin did not succeed in getting full possession of the place, and the Jebusites still held it when David became king of Israel.

Joash, king of Israel, captured the city from Amaziah, king of Judah, and destroyed part of the fortifications, but these were rebuilt by Uzziah, the son of Amaziah, who did much to restore the city to its original prosperity.

In the reign of Hezekiah, the kingdom of Judah became tributary to the Assyrians, who attempted the capture of Jerusalem.

The traditions would seem to point to the institution of new principles in the religion of Yahweh, and would associate with it not merely Moses but those foreign elements which are subsequently found in Israel and Judah.

Judah suffered also, and it is not until a century later that any important literary activity is again manifested.

Europe, Judah Hadassi composed his Eshkol ha-Kopher, a great theological compendium in the form of a commentary on the Decalogue.

Africa were in close relation with those of Spain, and as early as the beginning of the 9th century Judah ben Quraish of Tahort had composed his Risalah (letter) to the Jews of Fez on grammatical subjects from a comparative point of view, and a dictionary now lost.

Among these was Judah IJayyuj of Cordova, the father of modern Hebrew grammar, who first established the principle of tri-literal roots.

The man, however, who shares with Ibn Gabirol the first place in Jewish poetry is Judah Ha-levi, of Toledo, who died in Jerusalem about 1140.

Somewhat earlier in the 13th century lived Judah al-IIarizi, who belongs in spirit to the time of Ibn Gabirol and Judah ha-levi.

The first of them, Judah ibn Tibbon, translated works of Bahya ibn Paqudah, Judah ha-levi, Seadiah, Abu'lwalid and Ibn Gabirol, besides writing works of his own.

The religion of the Hebrew race - properly the Jews - now enters on a new stage, for it should be observed that it was Amos, Isaiah and Micah - prophets of Judah - who laid the actual foundations.

The latter half of the 8th century, which witnessed a rapid succession of reigns in the northern kingdom accompanied by dismemberment of its territory and final overthrow, witnessed also the humiliating vassalage and religious decline of the kingdom of Judah.

In addition to this it should be noticed that the term " Jew " (originally Yehudi), in spite of its wider application, means properly " man of Judah," i.e.

The traditions which prevailed among the Hebrews concerning their origin belong to a time when Judah and Israel were regarded as a unit.

Twelve divisions or tribes, of which Judah was one, held together by a traditional sentiment, were traced back to the sons of Jacob (otherwise known as Israel), the son of Isaac and grandson of Abraham.

Judah and Israel dwelt at ease, or held the superior position of military officials, while the earlier inhabitants of the land were put to forced labour.

The accession of Solomon had not been without bloodshed, and Judah, together with David's old general Joab and his faithful priest Abiathar, were opposed to the son of a woman who had been the wife of a Hittite warrior.

These words were calculated to inflame a people whom history proves to have been haughty and high-spirited, and the great Israel renounced its union with the small district of Judah.

This inquiry is further complicated by (c), where the history of Israel and Judah, as related in Judges and I Samuel, has caused endless perplexity.

The traditions of the Ephraimite Joshua and of Saul the first king of (north) Israel virtually treat Judah as part of Israel and are related to the underlying representations in (a).

The Rival Kingdoms. - The Palestine of the Hebrews was but part of a great area breathing the same atmosphere, and there was little to distinguish Judah from Israel except when they were distinct political entities.

The history of the two kingdoms is contained in Kings and the later and relatively less trustworthy Chronicles, which deals with Judah alone.

Next, the Judaean compiler regularly finds in Israel's troubles the punishment for its schismatic idolatry; nor does he spare Judah, but judges its kings by a standard which agrees with the standpoint of Deuteronomy and is scarcely earlier than the end of the 7th century B.C. (§§ 16, 20).

Judah had natural connexions with Edom and southern Palestine; Israel was more closely associated with Gilead and the Aramaeans of the north.

However, Baasha at length seized Ramah about five miles north of Jerusalem, and the very existence of Judah was threatened.

Meanwhile the Israelite army was again besieging the Philistines at Gibbethon, and the recurrence of these conflicts points to a critical situation in a Danite locality in which Judah itself (although ignored by the writers), must have been vitally concerned.

A massacre ensued in which the royal families of Israel and Judah perished.

The descendants of the detested Phoenician marriage were rooted out, and unless the close intercourse between Israel and Judah had been suddenly broken, it would be supposed that the new king at least laid claim to the south.

With these perplexing data the position of Judah is inextricably involved.

Moreover, the account of the joint undertaking by Judah (under Jehoshaphat) and Israel against Syria at Ramoth-Gilead at the time of Ahab's death, and again (under Ahaziah) when Jehoram was wounded, shortly before the accession of Jehu, are historical doublets, and they can hardly be harmonized either with the known events of 854 and 842 or with the course of the intervening years.

It is a new source which is here suddenly introduced, belonging apparently to a history of the Temple; it throws no light upon the relations between Judah with its priests and Israel with its prophets, the circumstances of the regency under the priest Jehoiada are ignored, and the Temple reforms occupy the first place in the compiler's interest.

Jehoash, it is said, turned away from Yahweh after the death of Jehoiada and gave heed to the Judaean nobles, " wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem for their guilt," prophets were sent to bring them back but they turned a deaf ear.

Soon after, a small band of Syrians entered Judah, destroyed its.

But the absence of Judah is surprising.

So, on the one hand, the year of the disaster sees the death of the Israelite king, and Amaziah survives for fifteen years, while, on the other, twenty-seven years elapse between the battle and the accession of Uzziah, the next king of Judah.'

The importance of the historical questions regarding relations between Damascus, Israel and Judah is clear.

Moab was probably tributary; the position of Judah and Edom is involved with the chronological problems. According to the Judaean annals, the " people of Judah " set Azariah (Uzziah) upon his father's throne; and to his long reign of fifty-two years are ascribed conquests over Philistia and Edom, the fortification of Jerusalem and the reorganization of the army.

All that can be recognized from the biblical records, however, is the period of internal prosperity which Israel and Judah enjoyed under Jeroboam and Uzziah (qq.v.) respectively.

It is at least probable that when Israel was supreme an independent Judah would centre around a more southerly site than Jerusalem.

The Hebrews of Israel and Judah were, political history apart, men of the same general stamp, with the same cult and custom; for the study of religion and social usages, therefore, they can be treated as a single people.

Judah was probably holding aloof.

It is suggestive to find Judah the centre of attack.'

The disorganized state of Egypt and the uncertain allegiance of the desert tribes left Judah without direct aid; on the other hand, opposition to Assyria among the conflicting interests of Palestine and Syria was rarely unanimous.

Assyrian officers were placed in the land and Judah thus gained its deliverance at the expense of Israel.

A number of petty peoples, of whom little definite is known, fringed Palestine from the south of Judah and the Delta to the Syrian desert.

Although no evidence is at hand, it is probable that Ahaz of Judah rendered service to Assyria by keeping the allies in check; possible, also, that the former enemies of Jerusalem had now been induced to turn against Samaria.

In both Judah and Philistia the anti-Assyrian party was not without opposition, and those who adhered or favoured adherence to the great power were justified by the result.

The small kings who had remained faithful were rewarded by an extension of their territories, and Ashdod, Ekron and Gaza were enriched at Judah's expense.

It is uncertain whether Sennacherib invaded Judah again shortly before his death, never,- theless the land was practically under the control of Assyria.

If Judah was compelled to take part in the Assyrian campaigns against Egypt, Arabia (the Syrian desert) and Tyre, this would only be in accordance with a vassal's duty.

The fall of Samaria, Sennacherib's devastation of Judah, and the growth of Jerusalem as the capital, had tended to raise the position of the Temple, although Israel itself, as also Judah, had famous sanctuaries of its own.

The book of Kings gives the standpoint of a later Judaean writer, but Josiah's authority over a much larger area than Judah alone is suggested by xxiii.

But the relations between Egypt and Judah were not broken off.

Throughout these stormy years the prophet Jeremiah (q.v.) had realized that Judah's only hope lay in submission to Babylonia.

The period under review, with its relations between Judah and Egypt, can be illustrated by prophecies ascribed to a similar situation in the time of Hezekiah.

The agriculturists and herdsmen who had been left in Palestine formed, as always, the staple population, and it is impossible to imagine either Judah or Israel as denuded of its inhabitants.

It is possible that some had escaped by taking timely refuge among their brethren in Judah; indeed, if national tradition availed, there were doubtless times when Judah cast its eye upon the land with which it had been so intimately connected.

It would certainly be unwise to draw a sharp boundary line between the two districts; kings of Judah could be tempted to restore the kingdom of their traditional founder, or Assyria might be complaisant towards a faithful Judaean vassal.

But Israel after the fall of Samaria is artificially excluded from the Judaean horizon, and lies as a foreign land, although Judah itself had suffered from the intrusion of foreigners in the preceding centuries of war and turmoil, and strangers had settled in her midst, had formed part of the royal guard, or had even served as janissaries (§ 15, end).

In Israel as in Judah the political disasters not only meant a shifting of population, they also brought into prominence the old popular and non-official religion, the character of which is not to be condemned because of the attitude of lofty prophets in advance of their age.

But the history which the Judaean writers have handed down is influenced by the later hostility between Judah and Samaria.

An outburst of Jewish religious feeling is dated in the second year of Darius (520), but whether Judah was making a bold bid for independence or had received special favour for abstaining from the above revolts, external evidence alone can decide.

Babylonia was politically unsettled, the representative of the Davidic dynasty had descendants; if Babylon was assured of the allegiance of Judah further acts of clemency may well have followed.

Although Judah was always closely connected with the south, these " southern " features (once clearly more extensive and complete) are found in the Deuteronomic and priestly compilations, and their presence in the historical records can hardly be severed from the prominence of " southern " families in the vicinity of Jerusalem, some time after the fall of Jerusalem.

It was insinuated that Nehemiah had his prophets to proclaim that Judah had again its own king; it was even suggested that he was intending to rebel against Persia!

Nevertheless the undaunted Judaean pressed on unmoved by the threatening letters which were sent around, and succeeded in completing the walls within fifty-two days.2 In the next place, Nehemiah appears as governor of the small district of Judah and Benjamin.

It is from this narrower standpoint of an exclusive and confined Judah (and Benjamin) that the traditions as incorporated in the late recensions gain fresh force, and in Israel's renunciation of the Judaean yoke the later hostility between the two may be read between the lines.

Judah was now a religious community whose representative was the high priest of Jerusalem.

Whatever the predominant party might think of foreign marriages, the tradition of the half-Moabite origin of David serves, in the beautiful idyll of Ruth (q.v.), to suggest the debt which Judah and Jerusalem owed to one at least of its neighbours.

Some traditions regarded the last king of Davidic descent (Jehoiachin) as the first exilarch, and all the later holders of the dignity claimed to be scions of the royal house of Judah.

He returned to the wilds of Judah, and was joined at Adullam 5 by his father's house and by a small band of outlaws, of which he became the head.

Here he occupied himself in chastening the Amalekites and other robber tribes who made raids on Judah and the Philistines without distinction (xxvii.).

If this were an attempt to steer a middle course his true actions could not have been kept secret long, and as it is implied that the Philistines subsequently acquiesced in David's sovereignty in Hebron, it is not easy to see what interest they had in embroiling him with the men of Judah.

He was no longer an outlaw with a band of wandering companions, but a petty chieftain, head of a small colony of men, allied with families of Caleb and Jezreel (in Judah), and on friendly footing with the sheikhs south of Hebron.

In response to an oracle he was bidden to move northwards to Judah and successfully occupied it with Hebron as his capital.

The embassy threw out a hint, - their lord was dead and David himself had been anointed king over Judah; but the relation between Jabesh-Gilead and Saul had been a close one, and it was not to be expected that its eyes would be turned upon the king of Judah when Saul's son was installed at the not distant Mahanaim.

But David's position in the south of Judah is clear.

The evidence has obviously some bearing upon the history of Saul, as also upon the intercourse between Judah and Benjamin which David's early history implies.

Then all the people repented except the men of Judah, who were not to be conciliated without a virtual admission of prerogative of kinship to the king.

The precedence claimed by Judah was challenged by the northern tribes even on the day of David's victorious return to his capital, and a rupture ensued, headed by Sheba, which but for the energy of Joab might have led to a second and more dangerous rebellion.

Several indications suggest that the revolt was one in which the men of Judah originally took the leading if not the only part.

His talent enabled him to weld together the mixed southern clans which became incorporated under Judah, and to build up a monarchy which represented the highest conception of national life possible under the circumstances.

The generous elevation of David's character is seen most clearly in those parts of his life where an inferior nature would have been most at fault, - in his conduct towards Saul, in the blameless reputation of himself and his band of outlaws in the wilderness of Judah, in his repentance under the rebuke of Nathan and in his noble bearing on the revolt of Absalom.

It is possible, therefore, that one early account of David was that of an entrance into the land of Judah, and that round him have gathered traditions partly individual and partly tribal or national.

This second writer singles out three of the Maccabean priest kings for attack, the first of whom he charges with every abomination; the people itself, he declares, is apostate, and chastisement will follow speedily - the temple will be laid waste, the nation carried afresh into captivity, whence, on their repentance, God will restore them again to their own land, where they shall enjoy the blessedness of God's presence and be ruled by a Messiah sprung from Judah.

The storm which shook the external states was favourable to the peace of Judah; the Assyrian power was practically broken, and that of the Chaldeans had scarcely developed into an aggressive form.

Although the character of the reforms throws remarkable light upon the condition of religion in Judah in the time of Josiah, it is to be observed that the writings of the contemporary prophets (Jeremiah, Ezekiel) make it very questionable whether the narratives are thoroughly trustworthy for the history of the king's measures.

It is of course possible that the ark was originally the sacred shrine of the clans which came direct to Judah, and that the traditions in 1 Sam.

As the chronicler rewrote the history of Israel and Judah from the basis of the Priests' Code, so our author re-edited from the Pharisaic standpoint of his time the book of Genesis and the early chapters of Exodus.

This kingdom was to be ruled over by a Messiah sprung not from Judah but from Levi, that is, from the reigning Maccabean family.

He presupposes a nation of Yahweh-worshippers, whose religion has its centre in the temple and priesthood of Zion, which is indeed conscious of sin, and needs forgiveness and an outpouring of the Spirit, but is not visibly divided, as the kingdom of Judah was.

From this time down to the last period of the Hebrew monarchy Egypt was not the enemy of Judah.

To Joel Judah and the people of Yahweh are synonyms; northern Israel has disappeared.

His campaign against Hezekiah of Judah was as much a failure as his policy in Babylonia, and in his murder by his sons on the 10th of Tebet 681 B.C. both Babylonians and Jews saw the judgment of heaven.

Haggai and Zechariah explained the delay by the failure of Judah to rebuild II.

Seventy years have passed, and Zion and the cities of Judah still mourn.

Yahweh first gives victory to the countryfolk of Judah and then they rescue the capital.

Azriyau of Jaudi, also, in inscriptions of Tiglath-Pileser (745-728 B.C.), who was for merly supposed to be Azariah (Uzziah) of Judah, is probably a king of the country in northern Syria known to us from the Zenjirli inscriptions as Ja'di.

The editorial title of the book of Micah declares that Micah prophesied "in the days of Jotham (739-734), Ahaz (733-721) and Hezekiah (720-693), kings of Judah."

But, while Samaria is summarily dismissed, the sin of Judah is analysed at length in chs.

He employed one of his sons to serve as priest, but when a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah came along he gladly installed him as "father and priest."

Alte Test., 2nd ed., 262) suspects a reference to Israel's overlordship in Judah; Burney (Heb.

The "adversaries of Judah and Benjamin" offered to assist but were repulsed, and they raised such opposition to the progress of the work that it ceased until the second year of Darius (521520 B.C.).

In the twentieth year of Artaxerxes (445 B.C.), Nehemiah the royal cup-bearer at Shushan (Susa, the royal winter palace) was visited by friends from Judah and was overcome with grief at the tidings of the miserable condition of Jerusalem and the pitiful state of the Judaean remnant which had escaped the captivity.

According to this view, Judah and Jerusalem were practically deserted until the return.

In the next chapter (v.) the seer has a vision of a roll in the hand of Him that sat on the throne which none could open or look upon, till the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the mighty one with seven horns.

For some centuries the term was applied to the northern kingdom, as distinct from Judah, although the feeling of national unity extended it so as to include both.

It was at the close of Jehoiakim's reign, apparently just before his death, that the enemy appeared at the gates of Jerusalem, and although he himself "slept with his fathers" his young son was destined to see the first captivity of the land of Judah (597 B.C.).

I) are intended is disputed; it is uncertain whether Judah suffered in 605 B.C. (Berossus in Jos.

It is necessary to realize Gaza's position and its links with trading centres, since conditions in the comparatively small and halfdesert land of Judah depended essentially upon its relations with the Edomites and Arabian tribes on the south-east and with the Philistines on the west.

Its king Hanun had fled to Musri, but was pursued and captured; Ascalon, Judah and Edom appear in a list of tributaries.

Judah, Edom and Moab were also involved, but submitted (711 B.C.).

Farther south came the turn of Ascalon, Lachish and Libnah; Judah under " Hezekiah suffered severely, and its western cities were transferred to the faithful vassals of Ekron, Ashdod and Gaza.

In the 7th century Gaza, Ascalon, Ashdod and Ekron were Assyrian vassals, together with Judah, Moab and Edom - in all, twenty-two kings of the " Hittites " - and the discovery of Assyrian contract-tablets at Gezer (c. 650) may indicate the presence of Assyrian garrisons.

If we might accept the various theories mentioned above, Balaam would appear in one source of J as an Edomite, in another as an Ammonite; in E as a native of the south of Judah or' possibly as an Aramaean; in the tradition followed by the Priestly Code probably as a Midianite.

Amos, it appears, though himself a Judahite, had been prophesying in the northern kingdom, when his activity was brought to an abrupt close by the head priest of the royal sanctuary at Bethel, Amaziah, who bade him escape to the land of Judah and get his living there.

It was far otherwise in the period of the fall of Judah.

In Daniel, c. 160 B.C., angels, usually spoken of as " men " or " princes," appear as guardians or champions of the nations; grades are implied, there are " princes " and " chief " or " great princes "; and the names of some angels are known, Gabriel, Michael; the latter is pre-eminent 26, he is the guardian of Judah.

In Daniel the princes or guardian angels of the heathen nations oppose Michael the guardian angel of Judah.

The two chief sources of the canonical book of Kings were entitled Annals (" events of the times") of the Kings of Israel and Judah respectively (see Kings).

The historical value of these lists is very unequal; a careful study of the names often proves the lateness of the source, although an appreciation of the principles of genealogies sometimes reveals important historical information; see Caleb, Genealogy, Judah.

Bathsheba, relying upon David's promise that Solomon should succeed him, vigorously advanced her son's claims with the support of Zadok the priest, the military officer Benaiah, and David's bodyguard; Adonijah, for his part, had David's old priest Abiathar, the commander Joab, and the men of Judah.

Arpad revolted soon afterwards, but after a siege was taken in 740 B.C. The following year Azariah of Judah appears among the enemies of Tiglath-Pileser, who had overthrown his Hamathite allies and annexed the nineteen districts of Hamath.

In 734 B.C. he was called to the help of Yahu-khazi (Ahaz) of Judah, who had been attacked by Pekah of Israel and Rezon (Rasun) of Damascus.

Not long, probably, after the fall of the northern kingdom in 722 B.C., a prophet of Judah conceived the plan of compiling a comprehensive history of the traditions of his people.

Here, in Judah, from the accession of Athaliah to the accession of Ahaz, tradition gives 143 years, whereas, in fact, there were but 196 years (842-736); and in Israel, from the death of Menahem to the fall of Samaria, it gives 31 years, whereas from 738 (assuming that Menahem died in that year) to 722 there are actually only 16 years.

It was therefore only as the God of Israel that the true God could be known within Israel; and so on the one hand the little society of faith - which had not in reality the least tinge of political coherence - is thought of as yet forming the true kernel of the nation qua nation, while on the other hand the state of Judah profits by the prophetic religion inasmuch as the nation must be saved from destruction in order that the prophetic faith - which is still bound up with the idea of the nation - may not be dissolved.

All Israel and Judah flocked to his side, and David, attended only by the Cherethites and Pelethites and some recent recruits from Gath, found it expedient to flee.

It never passed for long into Israelite hands, though subject for a while to Hezekiah of Judah; from him it passed to Assyria.

Nevertheless Baal submitted in the end, along with the princes of Gebal and Arvad, Manasseh of Judah, and the other Canaanite chiefs; in the island of Cyprus the Assyrians carried all before them ii.

David, who was accepted as king by Judah alone, was meanwhile reigning at Hebron, and for some time war was carried on between the two parties.

Although Moab and Ammon were "brothers," their history was usually associated with that of Judah and Israel respectively, and naturally depended to a considerable extent upon these two and their mutual relations.

Following other synchronisms, the Septuagint (Lucian's recension) names Ahaziah of Judah; from 2 Kings i.

Nor can it be sought in political history, since Israel and Judah suffered as much from external movements as Moab itself.

For a description of the natural features of the country see Palestine; for its history see Jews and Judah.

Towns of both Judah and Israel are incorporated, and it is possible that Jerusalem once stood where now the stone is mutilated.'

That the book of Ruth did not originally form part of the series of "Former Prophets" (Joshua - Kings) is further probable from the fact that it is quite untouched by the process of "prophetic" or "Deuteronomistic" editing, which helped to give that series its present shape after the fall of the kingdom of Judah.

The other important work of Ibn Gabirol is .141äh al-akhlaq (the improvement of character), a popular work in Arabic, translated into Hebrew (Tigqun middoth ha-nephesh) by Judah ibn Tibbon.

The collection of moral maxims, compiled in Arabic but best known (in the Hebrew translation of Judah ibn Tibbon) as Mibhar ha-peninim, is generally ascribed to Ibn Gabirol, though on less certain grounds.

The first stage of the journey was to Beersheba, on the southern limits of Judah.

During Ahab's reign Moab, which had been conquered by his father, remained tributary; Judah, with whose king, Jehoshaphat, he was allied by marriage, was probably his vassal; only with Damascus is he said to have had strained relations.

The numbers are comparatively large and possibly include forces from Tyre, Judah, Edom and Moab.

It lay inland and off the main line of traffic. Though included by the Israelites within the limits of the tribe of Judah, and mentioned in Judges xix.

From Assyrian inscriptions it has been gathered that Padi, king of Ekron, was for a time the vassal of Hezekiah of Judah, but regained his independence when the latter was hard pressed by Sennacherib.

Sheshonk secured Thebes, making one of his sons high priest of Ammon, and whereas Solomon appears to have dealt with a king of Egypt on something like an equal footing, Sheshonk re-established Egyptian rule in Palestine and Nubia, and his expedition in the fifth year of Rehoboam subdued Israel as well as Judah, to judge by the list of city names which he inscribed on the wall of the temple of Karnak.

Pharaoh Hophra (Apries), 589570 B.C., fomented rebellion against the Babylonian suzerainty in Judah, but accomplished little there.

On one occasion, when he delivered the army that had been brought out against Moab from a threatened dearth of water (2 Kings iii.), 2 he plainly intimates that, but for his regard to Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, who was in alliance with Israel, he would not have interfered.

He laid down seven rules for the interpretation of the Scriptures, and these became the foundation of rabbinical hermeneutics; and the ordering of the traditional doctrines into a whole, effected in the Mishna by his successor Judah I., two hundred years after Hillel's death, was probably likewise due to his instigation.

The facade, which is flanked by two square towers without spires, has three portals decorated with a profusion of statuary, the central portal having a remarkable statue of Christ of the 13th century; they are surmounted by two galleries, the upper one containing twenty-two statues of the kings of Judah in its arcades, and by a fine rose-window.

Hezekiah's time may have been selected by the author of the title (or by the tradition which he represents) as being the next great literary period in Judah after Solomon, the time of Micah and Isaiah, or the selection may have been suggested by the military glory of the period (the repulse of the Assyrian army) and by the fame of Hezekiah as a pious monarch and a vigorous reformer of the national religion.

Till the period of the Roman occupation it was subdivided into independent provinces or kingdoms, different at different times (such as Philistia, Canaan, Judah, Israel, Bashan, &c.), but never united under one collective designation.

A conspicuous feature is the difficulty of maintaining this single monarchy, which, however it originated, speedily became two rival states (Judah and Israel).

The balance of power moves now to Israel and now to Judah, and tendencies to internal disintegration are illustrated by the dynastic changes in Israel and by the revolts and intrigues in both states.

Israel at the death of Jeroboam was rent by divided factions, whereas Judah (under Uzziah) has now become a powerful kingdom, controlling both Philistia and the Edomite port of Elath on the gulf of `Akaba.

The dependence of Judaean sovereignty upon these districts was inevitable; the resources of Jerusalem obviously did not rely upon the small district of Judah alone.

It is possible that Judah (under Uzziah and Jotham) had come to an understanding with Assyria; at all events Ahaz was at once encircled by fierce attacks, and was only saved by Tiglath-Pileser's campaign against Philistia, north Israel and Damascus.

Judah itself was next involved in an anti-Assyrian league (with Edom, Moab and Philistia), but apparently submitted in time; nevertheless a decade later (70r), after the change of dynasty in Assyria, it participated in a great but unsuccessful effort from Phoenicia to Philistia to shake off the yoke, and suffered disastrously.3 With the crushing blows upon Syria and Samaria the centre of interest moves southwards and the history is influenced by Assyria's rival Babylonia (under Marduk-baladan and his successors), by north Arabia and by Egypt.

Henceforth there is little Samarian history, and of Judah, for nearly a century, few political events are recorded (JEws; § 16).

A recently published inscription of Sennacherib (of 694 B.C.) mentions enslaved peoples from Philistia and Tyre, but does not name Judah.

Judah (under Josiah) was overthrown at Megiddo, where about nine centuries previously the victory of Tethmoses (Thutmose) III.

Although Syria and Palestine now became Babylonian, this revival of the Egyptian Empire aroused hopes in Judah of deliverance and led to revolts (under Jehoiachin and Zedekiah), in which Judah was apparently not alone.'

From the description of Sennacherib's invasion it is clear that social and economic conditions must have been seriously, perhaps radically disturbed,' and the quiescence of Judah during the next few decades implies an internal weakness and a submission to Assyrian supremacy.

The land was not denuded, and the fact that " some scores of thousands of Jews remained in Judah through all the period of the exile," 3 even though they were " the poorest of the land," revolutionizes ordinary notions of this period.

But the Judaean historians have successfully concealed the course of events, although, as has long been recognized, there was some movement upwards from the south of Judah of groups closely tion of related to Edomite and kindred peoples of South New Palestine and Northern Arabia.

Its appearance has been associated with the invasion of the Israelites or with the establishment of the independent monarchy, but on very inadequate grounds; and since it has been independently placed at the latter part of the monarchy, its historical explanation may presumably be found in that break in the career of Palestine when peoples were changed and new organizations slowly grew up. 5 The great significance of these vicissitudes for the course of internal conditions in Palestine is evident when it is observed that the subsequent cleavage between Judah and Samaria, not earlier than the 5th century, presupposes an antecedent common foundation which, in view of the history of the monarchies, can hardly be earlier than the 7th century.

These centuries represent an age which the Jewish historians have partly ignored (as regards Samaria) and partly obscured (as regards the return from exile and the reconstruction of Judah); but since this age stands at the head of an historical development which leads on to Christianity and Rabbinical Judaism, it is necessary to turn from Palestine as a land in order to notice more particularly certain features of the Old Testament upon which the foregoing evidence directly bears.

The biblical history is a " canonical " history which looks back to the patriarchs, the exodus from Egypt, the law-giving and the covenant with Yahweh at Sinai, the conquest of Palestine by the Israelite tribes, the monarchy, the rival kingdoms, the fall and exile of the northern tribes, and, later, of the southern (Judah), and the reconstructions of Judah in the times of Cyrus, Darius and Artaxerxes.

But other evidence also points to an entrance from Kadesh into Judah, and associates the kin of Moses, Kenites, Calebites and others.

An enormous gap severs the pre-monarchical period from this age, and while the tribal schemes and tribal traditions can hardly be traced during the monarchies, the inclusion of Judah among the " sons " of Israel would not have originated when Judah and Israel were rival kingdoms. Yet the tribes survive in post-exilic literature and their traditions develop henceforth in Jubilees, Testament of the XII Patriarchs, &c.

During the changes from the 8th century onwards a nonmonarchical constitution naturally prevailed, first in the north and then in the south, and while in the north the mingled peoples of Samaria came to regard themselves as Israelite, the southern portion, the tribe of Judah, proves in I Chron.

Old tradition suggests the " schools of the prophets " at Jericho, Gilgal and Bethel, and in fact the proximity of these places, especially Bethel, to Judaean soil may be connected with the friendly and sometimes markedly favourable attitude to Judah in these narratives.

The interest of the narratives clings around north Judah and Benjamin, and more attention is given to the rise of the Judaean dynasty, the hostility of Saul, and the romantic friendship between his son Jonathan and the young David of Bethlehem.

The account of his steps contains details touching Judah and its relation to Israel which cannot be reconciled with certain traditions of Saul and the Ephraimite Joshua.

The history of Judah is, broadly speaking, that of the Davidic dynasty and the Temple, and it begins at the time of the first king of the rival north.

Chronicles, with the book of Ezra and Nehemiah, makes a continuity between the old Judah which fell in 586 and the return (time of Cyrus), the rebuilding of the temple (Darius), and the reorganization associated with Nehemiah and Ezra (Artaxerxes).

This half-Edomite population, recognizable also in Benjamin, manifests its presence in the official lists, and more especially in the ecclesiastical bodies inaugurated by David, from whose time the supremacy of this Judah is dated.

Meyer, on the basis of a larger induction, has pointed out the relation of this Judah to a large group of Edomite or Edomite-Ishmaelite tribes.

Cheyne, who writes (Decline and Fall of the Kingdom of Judah, London, 1908, p. xxxvii.)..

A few centuries later, the Edomites (Idumaeans) were again closely connected with the Jews; an Idumaean dynasty - that of the Herods - ruled in Judah, and once more there must have been a considerable amount of intermixture.

The history of the past is viewed from rather different positions which, on the whole, are subsequent to the relatively recent changes that gave birth to new organizations in Samaria and Judah.

The history of these centuries is of fundamental importance in any attempt to " reconstruct " biblical history., The fall of Samaria and Judah was a literary as well as a political catastrophe, and precisely how much earlier material has been 6 Cf.

See Judah P. Benjamin, by Pierce Butler (Philadelphia, 1907, with a good bibliography).

Whether he came to the throne before or after the fall of Samaria (722721 B.C.) is disputed,' nor is it clear what share Judah took in the Assyrian conflicts down to 701.2 Shortly before this date the whole of western Asia was in a ferment; Sargon had died and Sennacherib had come to the throne (in 705); vassal kings plotted to recover their independence and Assyrian puppets were removed by their opponents.

Judah was in touch with a general rising in S.W.

In this invasion of Judah the Assyrian claims entire success; 46 towns of Judah were captured, 200,150 men and many herds of cattle were carried off among the spoil, and Jerusalem itself was closely invested.

That Judah was invaded on this latter occasion is not improbable.

Judah, grandson of Gamaliel II., known as the Prince or Patriarch (nasi), as Rabbenu (" our teacher "), or simply as " Rabbi " par excellence, was the editor.

Judah allows it.

In the time of Adad-nirari of Assyria (812-783 B.C.) Edom is mentioned as an independent tributary with Beth-Omri (Israel) and Palashtu (Philistia); the absence of Judah is perplexing.

The pressure of the Nabataeans forced Edom to leave its former seats and advance into the south of Judah with Hebron as the capital.

See, for further history, Herod; Jews.4 Although but little is known of the inhabitants of Edom, their close relationship to Judah and their kinship with the surrounding tribes invest them with particular interest.

The ties which united Lot (the "father" of Ammon and Moab), Ishmael, Midian and Edom (Esau) with the southern tribes Judah and Simeon, as manifested in the genealogical lists, are intelligible enough on geographical grounds alone, and the significance of this for the history of Judah and Palestine cannot be ignored.

With verse 3 " Judah migrated from oppression; From greatness of servitude; She settled among the nations, Without finding a resting-place," cf.

On entering Palestine it is allotted a portion encompassed by the districts of Ephraim, Dan and Judah.

Although its territory lies open on the west and east, its physical features unite it to Judah, and what is known of its mixed population 1 makes it difficult to determine how far the youngest of the tribes of Israel enjoyed any independent position previous to the monarchy.

Its neutral position between Judah and Ephraim gave it an importance which was religious as well as political.

When in 734-733 B.C. Ahaz, king of Judah, alarmed at the preparations made against him by the Syro-Ephraimitish alliance, was inclined to seek aid from Tiglath-pileser of Assyria, the prophet Isaiah endeavoured to allay his fear by telling him that the danger would pass away, and as a sign from Yahweh that this should be so, any young woman who should within the year bear a son, might call his name Immanuel in token of the divine protection accorded to Judah.

Here lived Rabbi Judah ha k-I adosh, editor of the Mishnah; here was edited the Jerusalem Talmud, and here are the tombs of Rabbi Aqiba and Maimonides.

As the chronicler had rewritten the history of Israel and Judah from the standpoint of the Priests' Code, so our author re-edited from the Pharisaic standpoint of his time the history of the world from the creation to the publication of the Law on Sinai.

He came to the throne at the age of eighteen in the midst of the Chaldean invasion of Judah, and is said to have reigned three months.

There has also to be considered whether the text of the poetical passages has not often become corrupt, not only from ordinary causes but through the misunderstanding and misreading of north Arabian names on the part of late scribes and editors, the danger to Judah from north Arabia being (it is held) not less in pre-exilic times than the danger from Assyria and Babylonia, so that references to north Arabia are only to be expected.

Dan, he declares, sooner than join in Jeroboam's scheme of an Israelite war against Judah, had migrated to Cush, and finally, with the help of Naphthali, Asher and Gad, had founded an independent Jewish kingdom in the Gold Land of Havila, beyond Abyssinia.

Not until later are the small divisions of the south united under the name Judah, and this result is reflected in the genealogies where the brothers Caleb and Jerahmeel are called "sons of Hezron" (the name typifies nomadic life) and become descendants of Judah.

Ahaziah son of Jehoram of Judah and Jehoram brother of Ahaziah of Israel had taken joint action against the Aramaeans of Damascus who were attacking Ramoth-Gilead under Hazael.

Zephaniah's prophecies are characterized by the denunciation of Judah and Jerusalem and the promise of a peaceful future, and these are interwoven with the idea of a world-wide judgment resulting in the sovereignty of a universally recognized Yahweh.

After the death of Menahem, Pekah, king of Israel, and Rezin (rather Rasun), king of Syria, allied against Assyria, invaded Judah, and laid siege to Jerusalem in the hope of setting up one of their puppets upon the throne.

Though situated in the nominal territory of the tribe of Judah, it was never for any length of time in the possession of the Israelites.

During the exile many occasional fasts were doubtless observed by the scattered communities, in sorrowful commemoration of the various sad events which had issued in the downfall of the kingdom of Judah.

Thus the religion of Judah became henceforward a religion which enabled its adherents to learn from a book exactly what was required of them.

Another account of the exploits of Judah and Joseph can be traced here and there; e.g.

But points of resemblance between Joshua the invader and Saul the founder of the (north) Israelite monarchy gain in weight when the traditions of both recognize the inclusion or possession of Judah, and thus stand upon quite another plane as compared with those of David the founder of the Judaean dynasty.

Jacob is otherwise known as Israel and becomes the father of the tribes of Israel; Joseph is the father of Ephraim and Manasseh, and incidents in the life of Judah lead to the birth of Perez and Zerah, Judaean clans.

Charles, ad loc. Israel; but this unity was not felt at certain periods of disorganization, and the idea of including Judah among the sons of Israel could not have arisen at a time when Israel and Judah were rival kingdoms.'

Particular attention is paid to Edom and Jacob, and there is good evidence for a close relationship between Edomite and allied names and those of South Palestine (including Simeon and Judah).

Elsewhere, in the records of the Exodus, there are traces of specific traditions associated with Kadesh, Kenites, Caleb and Jeralimeel, and with a movement into Judah, all originally independent of their present context.

The northern standpoint appears when Rachel, mother of Joseph and Benjamin, is the favoured wife in contrast to the despised Leah, mother of Judah and Simeon; when Joseph is supreme among his brethren; and when Judah is included among the "sons" of Israel.

It is not the Judah of the monarchy or of the post-exilic Babylonian-Israelite community.

But the mixed elements were ultimately reckoned among the descendants of Judah, through Hezron the "father" of Caleb and Jerahmeel, and just as the southern groups finally became incorporated in Israel, so it is to be observed that although Hebron and Abraham have gained the first place in the patriarchal history, the traditions are no longer specifically Calebite, but are part of the common Israelite heritage.

Some time after the fall of Jerusalem (587 B.C.) there was a movement from the south of Judah northwards to the vicinity of Jerusalem (Bethlehem, Kirjath-jearim, &c.), where, as can be gathered from I Chron.

Names related to those of Edomite and kindred groups are found in the late genealogies of both Judah and Benjamin, and recur even among families of the time of Nehemiah.

A small edifice on the east of the synagogue is called the "Rashi Chapel," and the "Rashi Chair," raised on three steps in the niche, is one of the objects of the pious admiration of pilgrims. At Worms Rashi worked under Jacob ben Yaqar, and at Mainz under Isaac ben Judah, perhaps combining at the same time the functions of teacher and student.

To counteract the influence of Jerusalem he established golden calves at Dan and Bethel, an act which to later ages was as gross a piece of wickedness as his rebellion against the legitimate dynasty of Judah.

The history of the separation of Judah and Israel in the 10th century B.C. was written from a strong religious standpoint at a date considerably later than the event itself.

Chapter xi., where he leads Israel and Judah to the rescue of their kinsmen of Jabesh-Gilead, rebuilding the temple, Hag.

For the view that Absalom's revolt originally concerned Judah alone, see the related section in David.

The chapter explains the transference of the royal insignia from Israel to Judah.

The representation of the remote past in Samuel must be viewed, therefore, in the light of that age when, after a series of vital internal and external vicissitudes in Judah and Benjamin, Judaism established itself in opposition to rival sects and renounced the Samaritans who had inherited the traditions of their land.

In 734 Ahaz became king of Judah, and Rezon (Rasun, Rezin), the king of Damascus at the time, came up against him; at the same time the Edomites and the Philistines revolted.

Ashdod, Ammon, Moab and Edom now submitted, but Hezekiah of Judah with the dependent Philistine princes.

His purpose was to arouse the leaders and people of Judah from their spiritual apathy, and encourage them to continue building the temple.

Is it a light thing to the house of Judah that they commit the abominations which they commit here?

The men of Judah carried away very much booty.

So Judah was carried captive out of its land.

Thus Judah was carried away captive out of his own land.

For him this is because Judah has a complete set of boundaries and a clearly distinguished town list.

These small terracotta female figurines are distinctive to late monarchy Judah.

He was stoned to death in the reign of Joash, for denouncing the idolatry of the princes of Judah.

They would soon invade Judah, kill their men, starve them in their cities.

As the kingdom seemed unsettled, David sought the approval of Judah by promoting a new commander, Amasa, over Joab's head.

Josiah supposedly got in the way and was killed at Megiddo leaving Judah now an Egyptian vassal.

The chief members of the Ibn Tibbon family were (I) JUDAH BEN SAUL (1120-1190), who was born in Spain but settled in Lunel.

The latter view appears to be the most probable, as, according to the Biblical accounts, Jerusalem was partly in Judah and partly in Benjamin, the line of demarcation between the two tribes passing through the city.

Some years later Syria was again invaded by the Egyptians, who reduced Judah to the position of a tributary state.

There are links, also, which unite Moses with Kenite, Rechabite, Calebite and Edomite families, and the Levitical names themselves are equally connected with the southern tribes - of Judah and Simeon and with the Edomites.4 It is to be inferred, therefore, that some relationship subsisted, or was thought to subsist, among (i) the Levites, (2) clans actually located in the south of Palestine, and (3) families whose names and traditions point to a southern origin.

The most important writers are Yoseh ben Yoseh, probably in the 6th century, chiefly known for his compositions for the day of Atonement, Eleazar Qalir, the founder of the payyetanic style, perhaps in the 7th century, Seadiah, and the Spanish school consisting of Joseph ibn Abitur (died in 970), Ibn Gabirol, Isaac Gayyath, Moses ben Ezra, Abraham ben Ezra and Judah ha-levi, who will be mentioned below; later, Moses ben Nahman and Isaac Luria the Kabbalist.'

The favourite name " Israel " with all its religious and national associations is somewhat ambiguous in an historical sketch, since, although it is used as opposed to Judah (a), it ultimately came to designate the true nucleus of the worshippers of the national god Yahweh as opposed to the Samaritans, the later inhabitants of Israelite territory (c).

His subsequent advance to the kingship over Judah and Israel at Jerusalem is represented as due to the weak condition of Israel, facilitated by the compliance of Abner; partly, also, to the long-expressed wish of the Israelites that their old hero should reign over them.

Nevertheless, the enmity of Judah is passed over, and when the kingdom is divided for administrative purposes into twelve districts, which ignore the tribal divisions, the centre of David's early power is exempt from the duty of providing supplies (r Kings iv.).

According to this view the enervating luxury of Palestinian culture almost destroyed the lofty ideal monotheism inculcated in the desert, and after the fall of the northern tribes (latter part of the 8th cent.) Judah is naturally regarded as the sole heir.

Finally, the consciousness that the people as a religious body owed everything to the desert clans (b) (see § 5) subsequently leaves its mark upon (north) Israelite history (§ 14), but has not the profound significance which it has in the records of Judah and Jerusalem.

The striking differences between Samuel and Kings are due to differences in the writing of the history; independent Israelite records having been incorporated with those of Judah and supplemented (with revision) from the Judaean standpoint (see Chronicles; Kings; Samuel).

His small kingdom of Judah enjoyed an unbroken dynasty which survived the most serious crises, a temple which grew in splendour and wealth under royal patronage, and a legitimate priesthood which owed its origin to Zadok, the successful rival of David's priest Abiathar.

Moreover, Judah (now under Jehoshaphat) enjoyed intimate relations with Israel during Omri's dynasty, and the traditions of intermarriage, and of co-operation in commerce and war, imply what was practically a united Palestine.

While the extirpation of the cult of Baal was furthered in Israel by Jonadab the Rechabite, it was the " people of the land " who undertook a similar reform in Judah.

It is noteworthy, also, that an Ahaziah and a Jehoram appear as kings of Israel, and (in the reverse order) of Judah, and somewhat similar incidents recur in the now separate histories of the two kingdoms. The most striking is a great revolt in south Palestine.

Only the babe Jehoash was saved, and he remained hidden in the Temple adjoining the palace itself, The queen, Athaliah, despite the weak state of Judah after the revolt in Philistia and Edom, actually appears to have maintained herself for six years, until the priests slew her in a conspiracy, overthrew the cult of Baal, and crowned the young child.

The position of Judah at this period must be estimated (a) from the preceding years of intimate relationship with Israel to the accession of Jehu, and (b) from the calamity about half a century later when Jerusalem was sacked by Israel.

The Judaean records have obscured the history since the days of Omri's dynasty, when Israel and Judah were as one, when they were moved by common aims and by a single reforming zeal, and only Israel's vengeance gives the measure of the injuries she had received.

It needs little reflection to perceive that the position of Jerusalem and Judah was now hardly one of independence, and the conflicting chronological notices betray the attempt to maintain intact the thread of Judaean history.

In the subsequent disasters of Israel (§ 15) we may perceive the growing supremacy of Judah, and the Assyrian inscriptions clearly indicate the dependence of Judaean politics upon its relations with Edom and Arab tribes on the south-east and with Philistia on the west.

Ashdod openly revolted and found support in Moab, Edom, Judah, and the still ambiguous "Egypt."

What part Judah took in the Transjordanic disturbances, in which Moab fought invading Arabian tribes on behalf of Assyria, is unknown (see MoAB).

The circumstances favoured a closer alliance between the people of Palestine, and a greater prominence of the old holy places (Hebron, Bethel, Shechem, &c.), of which the ruined Jerusalem would not be one, and the existing condition of Judah and Israel from internal and non-political points of view - not their condition in the pre-monarchical ages - is the more crucial problem in biblical history.'

The usual tendency has been to regard it in the light of the criticism of early Israelite history, which demands some reconstruction (§ 8), and to discern distinct tribal movements previous to the union of Judah and Israel under David.

Calebite, too, are Hebron and its patron Abraham, and both increase in prominence in the patriarchal narratives, where, moreover, an important body of tradition can have emanated only from outside Israel and Judah (see Genesis).

Allusions to Judah's sufferings at the hands of Edom, Moab and Ammon often imply conditions which are not applicable to 586.

Consequently, underlying the canonical form of post-exilic history, one may perhaps recognize some fresh disaster, after the completion of Zerubbabel's temple, when Judah suffered grievously at the hands of its Edomite brethren (in Malachi, date uncertain, vengeance has at last been taken); Nehemiah restored the city, and the traditions of the exiles who returned at this period have been thrown back and focussed upon the work of Zerubbabel.

Thus, the south Judaean or south Palestinian element shows itself in Judaean genealogies and lists; there are circumstantial stories of the rehabilitation of the Temple and the reorganization of cultus; there are fuller traditions of inroads upon Judah by southern peoples and their allies.

Judah the prince, the patriarch or ndsi who edited the Mishnah, died early in the 3rd century.

David's father, Jesse, was a citizen of Bethlehem in Judah, 5 m.

The details of the text are obscure, and seem to imply that David systematically attacked populations friendly to Achish whilst pretending that he had been making forays against Judah.

Entering by the main entrance the visitor finds himself in an atrium, called the Court of the Kings (Patio de los reyes), from the 16th-century statues of the kings of Judah, by Juan Bautista Monegro, which adorn the facade of the church.

The growing power of Judah, however, aroused the jealousy of Israel, which, after the death of Jeroboam (2), had fallen on evil days (see Menahem).

In fact, since the Biblical evidence is admittedly incomplete, and to a certain extent insecure, the question of the identification of Azariah of Judah and Azriyau of Ja'udi may be reopened.

I); perhaps Nebuchadrezzar made his first inroad against Judah in 602 B.C. because of its intrigue with Egypt (H.

The steps which prepared the way for the post-exile hierarchy, the destruction of the northern sanctuaries and priesthoods by the Assyrians, the polemic of the spiritual prophets against the corruptions of popular worship, which issued in the reformation of Josiah, the suppression of the provincial shrines of Judah and the transference of their ministers to Jerusalem, the successful resistance of the sons See I Sam.

The chief event of his reign was the incursion of Egypt under Sheshonk (Shishak) I., who came up against Judah and despoiled the temple about 930 B.C. (see Egypt, History, § " Deltaic Dynasties").

The other important work of Ibn Gabirol is .141Ãh al-akhlaq (the improvement of character), a popular work in Arabic, translated into Hebrew (Tigqun middoth ha-nephesh) by Judah ibn Tibbon.

Necho went forward to the Euphrates, put the land to tribute, and, in the case of Judah at any rate, filled the throne with his own nominee (see JEH0IAKIM).

Not only are the standpoints of local interest (Samaria, Benjamin, Judah and the half-Edomite Judah being involved), but there are remarkable developments in the ecclesiastical bodies (Zadokites of Jerusalem, country and half-Edomite priests, Aaronites) which have influenced both the writing and the revision of the sources (see Levites).

While Jehu was supported by the Rechabites in his reforming zeal, a similar revolt against Baalism in Judah is ascribed to the priest Jehoiada (see JoASH).

Lamentations) Yahweh's jealousy against the semi-heathen Judah has become a jealousy for his people, and we appear to move in the thought of Haggai and Zechariah, where the remnant are comforted by Yahweh's return and the dispersed exiles are to be brought back (cf.

According to one view (Stade, Wellhausen, Guthe, &c.) only the Joseph tribes were in Egypt, and separate tribal movements (see JuDAH) have been incorporated in the growth of the tradition; the probability that the specific traditions of the Joseph tribes have been excised or subordinated finds support in the manner in which the Judaean P has abridged and confused the tribal lists of Ephraim and Manasseh.

Further evidence of Judah 's use of the concept of sophia perennis may be witnessed in his orientation toward ancient Greek myth.

Now in Judah, the Southern Kingdom the same sordid story was repeated.

Moab was evidently as poor as Judah and poorer than Israel, for few relics have been found there, beside the famous stele.

As the kingdom seemed unsettled, David sought the approval of Judah by promoting a new commander, Amasa, over Joab 's head.

During the reign of Sargon II, Hezekiah continued to accept Judah 's vassal status.

Hitherto Judah and Israel labored under great vexations, but henceforward Asa King of Judah had peace ten years.

By this time the collection of halakhic material had become very large and various, and after several attempts had been made to reduce it to uniformity, a code of oral tradition was finally drawn up in the and century by Judah ha-Nasi, called Rabbi par excellence.