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Tyndale Open Bible Dictionary

JUDEA, JUDEANS

“Land of the Jews,” particularly after the Captivity. Since most of the Israelites who returned from the exile were from the tribe of Judah, they were called Judeans or Jews and their land, Judea. This part of the Holy Land has always been of great interest to the Bible student because of the location of such places as Jerusalem and Bethlehem within the area and because of the events of Christ’s life and ministry that occurred here.

Definition

First used in Ezra 5:8, the term there designates a province of the Persian Empire. It is also spoken of in the literature of the Maccabean period after Greece had taken control of the area from the Persians (1 Macc 5:45; 7:10). In Roman times Judea was annexed to the Roman province of Syria until the time of Herod the Great, who was declared king of Judea in about 37 BC. On occasion, the term Judea seems to mean all the territory occupied by the Jewish nation, that is, all of western Palestine (Lk 23:5; Acts 10:37; 26:20). Secular writers of NT times, including Strabo, Tacitus, and Philo, used the term in the wider sense. But in its ordinary and strict sense it denoted the southern district of Palestine. The other two districts or divisions were Galilee in the north and Samaria in the center.

Geography

While the geographic boundaries of Judea were not always the same in different historical periods, the province did include the territories once belonging to the tribes of Judah, Dan, Benjamin, and Simeon. The northern boundary, separating Judea and Samaria, is less definite than the others since there is no natural geographic barrier—no valley, no body of water, no break in the terrain—to indicate a division. It is thought, however, that the northern boundary line ran from Joppa on the Mediterranean to a point on the Jordan River about 10 to 12 miles (16 to 19 kilometers) north of the Dead Sea.

The southern boundary extended from a point about seven miles (11 kilometers) southwest of Gaza near the coast through Beersheba to the Dead Sea. According to Judges 20:1, Beersheba was the southern boundary of the nation, and it is therefore properly considered the southern limit of Judea. The eastern boundary was the Dead Sea, and the western boundary the Mediterranean Sea. Judea therefore was in shape a square of territory approximately 45 miles (72 kilometers) wide on each side.

History

The history of Judea begins in the Persian period (539–331 BC), when Cyrus allowed the Jews to return to rebuild their temple and their holy city of Jerusalem. In the Greek period (334–167 BC) the area came under the control of the Seleucids, descendants of one of Alexander’s generals who ruled in Syria. Their attempts to destroy the Jewish religion led to a Jewish revolt under the leadership of the Hasmonean family, and the Jews enjoyed nearly a hundred years of independence (167–63 BC). In 63 BC Pompey conquered Palestine for Rome, and eventually Herod the Great was made king (37–4 BC), being succeeded by his son Herod Archelaus (4 BC–AD 6). The Romans then appointed a series of imperial governors called procurators, and these ruled Judea, Samaria, and Idumea (south of Judea) until the Jewish revolt of 66–70, with the exception of the years 41 to 44, when the grandson of Herod the Great, Herod Agrippa I, ruled all of Palestine.

The fate of Judea has been the fate of all Palestine, and it has continued to know many cruel conquerors since the close of NT times. The country was under the heel of Rome until 330, when it came under Constantinople, or Byzantium, and saw the building of many Christian churches (330–634). The Persians again invaded (607–629), destroying Christian churches and killing many people. The Arab period (634–1099) saw the coming of Muslim control of Judea, which was interrupted by the Crusaders (1099–1263), who were determined to rescue the Holy Land from the Muslims. After the final defeat of the Crusaders, the Muslims regained control until the modern period (1917–present). After World War I, Judea was a part of the British mandate over Palestine. In 1948 it was partitioned between Israel and Jordan, and as a result of Israel’s victories in the Six Day War of June 1967, Judea was reunited and came once again under the control of the Jews.