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JUDEA

(Gk. Ioudaía)

The postexilic Greek term for Judah. Used in the LXX, Philo, Josephus, NT, and inscriptions, the term originally designated the area of southern Palestine surrounding Jerusalem previously established as a province by the Babylonian Nebuchadnezzar and retained by subsequent Persian and Hellenistic rulers. Judea extended from Bethel in the north to Beth-zur in the south (40 km.[25 mi.]), and from Emmaus in the west to the Jordan River in the east (50 km.[32 mi.]; 2000 sq. km.[800 sq. mi.]). In Persian times it was divided into six districts and was populated by Jews. Judea was a semi-independent hyparchy under the Ptolemies; and the Seleucids, who founded the Greek city Antioch in Syria, included Judea in the eparchy of Samaria along with the hyparchies of Samaria, Perea, and Galilee. The Hasmoneans brought Galilee, Samaria, Perea, Idumea, and most of the Mediterranean coast under the sway of the kingdom of Judea, and Herod the Great ruled these territories plus numerous areas east of Galilee. Archelaus was named ethnarch and inherited Judea (in the more restricted sense), Idumea, and Samaria, but he was deposed in 6 c.e. and his territory was transferred to Roman prefects of equestrian rank. Idumea officially became part of Judea, and in 41 Claudius transferred Judea and Samaria from direct Roman rule to the kingdom of Agrippa (which with the exception of three cities equaled that of Herod the Great) until the latter’s death in 44. Rule of all Palestine was transferred to Roman procurators, and a series of mostly inept governors ruled until 66, the outbreak of the Jewish War.

In the NT “Judea” occurs usually in reference to Judea proper (as opposed to Samaria, Galilee, Perea, and Idumea) but also to the entire Jewish nation, specifically including Galilee (Acts 10:37) and the Transjordan territories (Matt. 19:1).

Bibliography. M. Avi-Yonah, “Historical Geography,” in The Jewish People in the First Century 1, ed. S. Safrai and M. Stern, CRINT 1/1 (Philadelphia, 1974), 78-116.

Eric F. Mason

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

JUDEA

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)