Lion of Judah
From Free net encyclopedia
Current revision
Lion of Judah has its origins in the Book of Genesis of the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) where the Israelite tribe of Judah had the lion as its symbol.
Contents |
Lion of Judah and Judaism
Within Judaism, the Biblical Judah (in Hebrew: Yehuda) is the original name of the Tribe of Judah - traditionally symbolized by a lion. In Genesis, the patriarch Jacob refers to his son Judah as a Gur Aryeh גּוּר אַרְיֵה יְהוּדָה , a "Young Lion" (Genesis 49:9) when blessing him [1]. In Jewish naming tradition the Hebrew name and the substitute name are often combined as a pair, as in this case.
As a result of the lion's link to the tribe of Judah, the dominant tribe among the ancient Israelites and the legendary ancestor of the Kingdom of Judah, Judea and the modern Jews, variations or translations of the word "lion" have been used as a substitute name for Judah (Yehuda) among Jews. An example is the name of Rabbi Judah Loew ben Bezalel. Loew is a German/Yiddish word for "lion." The popular modern Hebrew name Ari (also Arieh or Aryeh) translates as "lion".
Lion of Judah in Christianity
In Christian tradition, the lion is often assumed to represent Jesus. Many Christian organizations and ministries use the lion of Judah as their emblem or even their name.
The phrase appears in the New Testament Book of Revelation 5:5; "And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof."
The use in C. S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia of a lion as a messianic figure is seen as a potential reference to this section of Revelation.
Judah is also the name of a small Christian high school in Champaign, IL.
Lion of Judah in Ethiopia
Image:Conquering-lion-flag.gif Ethiopia has traditions of a large number of Semitic inhabitants being descended, culturally and ethnically, from a large retinue of Israelites who returned with the Queen of Sheba and her son from their visits to see King Solomon in Jerusalem (c. 1000 BC). Both Christian and Jewish Ethiopian tradition has it that these immigrants were mostly of the Tribes of Dan and Judah; hence the Ge'ez title Mo`a 'Anbessa Ze'imnegede Yihuda ("Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah") is said to be a title of every Emperor (King of Kings) in the Solomonic Dynasty, up to the present. It is unknown whether John of Patmos was directly aware of this hereditary title when he penned it into the text of his prophecy, or if the tradition tracing descent of the royal house from Solomon and the Queen of Sheba was present in Ethiopia at this time.
The Lion of Judah motif figured prominently on the old imperial flag, currency, stamps, etc. and may still be seen gracing the terrace of the capital as a national symbol. After the collapse of the Communist Derg in 1990 and the increase of Western-style political freedoms, a minor political party bearing the name Mo'a Anbessa made its appearance.
Lion of Judah in Rastafari
In Rastafari, "The Lion of Judah" represents His Imperial Majesty Haile Selassie I. Rastas hold that Selassie is a direct descendant of the Israelite Tribe of Judah through the lineage of King David and Solomon, and that he is also the Lion of Judah mentioned in the Book of Revelation.