Judah is a masculine given name of Hebrew origin. It is the English form of Yehudah (Hebrew: יְהוּדָה‎), the Hebrew name of the biblical figure Judah, founder of the Tribe of Judah and thus, the eponym of the Kingdom of Judah and the Jews.

Judah
Pronunciation"JEW-duh"
GenderMale
Other names
Related namesYehudah

Etymology

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The Hebrew name for Judah, Yehuda (יהודה), literally "thanksgiving" or "praise," is a variant form of the root Y-D-H (ידה), "to thank" or "to praise."[1] His birth is recorded at Gen. 29:35; upon his birth, Leah exclaims, "This time I will praise the LORD/YHWH," with the Hebrew word for "I will praise," odeh (אודה) sharing the same root as Yehuda. Alternatively, Edward Lipiński connected Hebrew yĕhūdā with Arabic whd / wahda "cleft, ravine".[2]

Biblical and ancient historical figures

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In chronological order:

  • Judah (son of Jacob), fourth son of the Biblical patriarch Jacob
  • Judah Maccabee or Judas Maccabeus, Jewish priest who led the Maccabean Revolt against the Seleucid Empire (167–160 BCE)
  • Judas Iscariot, Hebrew Yehūḏā ʾĪš-Qǝrīyyōṯ, 'Judah, man of Kerioth' (died c. AD 30), one of the original Twelve Apostles of Jesus
  • Judah ha-Nasi, also Judah the Prince or Judah I, Jewish sage and leader (2nd century)
  • Judah II, Jewish sage (3rd century)
  • Judah III, Jewish sage (3rd and 4th century)
  • Judah IV, Talmudic sage (4th century)
  • Judah b. Meremar, Babylonian sage (5th century?)

Saints

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People with the given name

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Judah

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In alphabetical order:

  • Judah P. Benjamin (1811–1884), politician and lawyer in the United States and Confederate States of America
  • Judah Bergman aka "Jack Kid Berg" (1909–1991), English world champion Hall of Fame junior welterweight boxer
  • Judah Loew ben Bezalel (1512-1526 – 1609) or Rabbi Loew of Prague, the Maharal, Talmudic scholar, Jewish mystic and philosopher
  • Judah David Bleich (born 1936), American rabbi and authority on Jewish law and ethics
  • Judah Folkman (1933–2008), American cellular biologist, founder of the field of antiangiogenesis
  • Judah Friedlander (born 1969), American actor best known from 30 Rock
  • Judah Grace (born 2022), American person known for being born on twosday at 2:22 AM.
  • Judah Halevi (1075–1141), medieval Spanish Jewish philosopher and poet
  • Judah Hertz (born 1948/49), American real estate investor
  • Judah Lewis (born 2000 or 2001), American actor
  • Judah Leon Magnes (1877–1948), rabbi, first President of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
  • Judah Nagler (born 1980), singer, guitarist, and songwriter for indie-pop band The Velvet Teen
  • "Judah son of Jesus", name on one of the ossuaries in the 1st-century Talpiot Tomb

Yehuda(h), Yehudi

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In alphabetical order of their surname:

Fictional characters

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  • Judah Ben-Hur, main character of the 1880 Lew Wallace novel Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ and film adaptations

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Exell, Joseph Samuel (1892). Homiletical Commentary on the Book of Genesis. USA: Funk & Wagnalls. p. 583.
  2. ^ Lipiński, Edward, "L'étymologie de Juda," Vetus Testamentum 23.3 (July 1973): p. 380-381
  3. ^ Zeno. "Lexikoneintrag zu »Judas Thaddaeus, S. (7)«. Vollständiges Heiligen-Lexikon, Band 3. ..." www.zeno.org (in German). Retrieved 2023-06-08.
  4. ^ Zeno. "Lexikoneintrag zu »Judas, S. (4)«. Vollständiges Heiligen-Lexikon, Band 3. Augsburg ..." www.zeno.org (in German). Retrieved 2023-06-08.
  5. ^ Zeno. "Lexikoneintrag zu »Judas (8)«. Vollständiges Heiligen-Lexikon, Band 3. Augsburg 1869, ..." www.zeno.org (in German). Retrieved 2023-06-08.
  6. ^ Zeno. "Lexikoneintrag zu »Judas Barsabas, S. (2)«. Vollständiges Heiligen-Lexikon, Band 3. ..." www.zeno.org (in German). Retrieved 2023-06-08.
  7. ^ Zeno. "Lexikoneintrag zu »Judas, S. (5)«. Vollständiges Heiligen-Lexikon, Band 3. Augsburg ..." www.zeno.org (in German). Retrieved 2023-06-08.
  8. ^ Zeno. "Lexikoneintrag zu »Judas Quiriacus, S. (3)«. Vollständiges Heiligen-Lexikon, Band 3. ..." www.zeno.org (in German). Retrieved 2023-06-08.
  9. ^ Zeno. "Lexikoneintrag zu »Judas Machabaeus, S. (6)«. Vollständiges Heiligen-Lexikon, Band 3. ..." www.zeno.org (in German). Retrieved 2023-06-08.
  10. ^ Zeno. "Lexikoneintrag zu »Juda, S.«. Vollständiges Heiligen-Lexikon, Band 3. Augsburg 1869, ..." www.zeno.org (in German). Retrieved 2023-06-08.
  11. ^ Zeno. "Lexikoneintrag zu »Judas (9)«. Vollständiges Heiligen-Lexikon, Band 3. Augsburg 1869, ..." www.zeno.org (in German). Retrieved 2023-06-08.