Judah is the son of his father, Jacob, and his mother, Leah. He had many other brothers and a sister named Dinah. Joseph, Judah’s younger half brother was having vision of being made great. Him and his brothers did not like this, and Judah hatched a plan to sell him into slavery. They did. However, there could be some remorse for his action suggested in the text.

Judah went down from his brethren and dwelt with Hirah. There he found a girl named Shuah and they had a children, Er, Onan, and Shelah. His daughter in law Tamar, he promised his son Er to her however God killed him for his wickedness. It fell upon Onan than to marry her but once again God killed him. So it fell upon Shelah but he was too young to marry her.

Tamar however found out that Judah’s wife had passed. She dressed up like a prostute and tricked Judah into having sex. She wagered his bracelet and his staff and she left. Judah then found out Tamar was pregnant. He went to have her burnt alive. However when she presented both the items to him he was shamed. He then agreed to marry her. She would bare him twins, Pharez and Zarah.

Judah would eventually convince his father Jacob that him and Benjamin would go to Egypt to bring food home. I swore that he would bring Benjamin back safely. However Benjamin was accused of stealing a goblet. Instead of allowing his brother to be taken he stepped forward and offered himself. It was there he would meet his brother Joseph again whom now was well loved in Egypt. He would be shown mercy and in fact given a warm reception. In fact the whole of Joseph’s family would be welcomed.

Before his fathers death, Jacob would say “Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies; thy father’s children shall bow down before thee. Judah is a lion’s whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up? The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be. Binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass’s colt unto the choice vine; he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes: His eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk.”