In the first biblical book, Genesis, there is a story about Jacob, one of the Old Testament patriarchs (this was the name of a righteous man at the dawn of human history - the head of a clan that united many families). Already dying, Jacob summoned his sons and grandchildren, wishing to bless them. A blessing in the biblical sense (like a curse) is not just a wish, but a prophecy about the fate of a person. And this is what one of Jacob's eldest sons, Judas, hears about himself:
Traditionally, this place was interpreted as follows: Christ will appear when the Jews (that is, the descendants of Judas) will begin to rule foreign kings. For example, Blessed Theodorite of Cyrus speaks of this, calling this prophecy "the clearest sign of the Lord's coming." Indeed, Christ was born at a time when Herod the Great ruled Judea (40 - 4 BC) - the first non-Jewish king. On the paternal side, Herod was an Edomite (a representative of the people living south of Judea), and on his mother, an Arab. Yes, and the legislator (in the Church Slavonic translation - "leader") by this time was no longer Jewish: back in 63 BC Judea subjugated Rome - it became essentially a province of the Roman Empire. Under Herod the Great, Judea still retained administrative integrity and visible autonomy, and after his death Rome divided it into four parts and placed its governors everywhere.
So, Judah lost both its own king and “leader”, and “the eternal King is indicated by this -“the longing of tongues”, according to the promise given by God,” Blessed Theodorite summed up the line.
There is, however, complexity here. The fact is, says Archpriest Gennady Yegorov, Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs of the Orthodox St. Tikhon Humanitarian University, that in reality the dynasty of kings from the clan of Judah ceased to exist long before the birth of Christ - during the Babylonian captivity (that is, at the beginning of the 6th century BC.). After the return of the Jews from Babylon and the restoration of the temple in Jerusalem, Judea for a long time remained just a union of several principalities, and when the Hasmonean dynasty finally took over the rule of the united state (after the Maccabean revolt), these were already descendants of not Judas, but of his brother Levi … Obviously, understand Jacob's prophecy is literally impossible.
How to explain it
Promotional video:
This prophecy was fulfilled, but in a broader sense. The coming of the Savior coincided with the final loss of state independence by Judah. After the death of Herod the Great (but still during the earthly life of Christ), Judea turned into a remote province of the Roman Empire, and in 70 it was completely abolished as an independent administrative center - after the Roman commander and future emperor Titus suppressed the Jewish uprising and leveled Jerusalem with earth. The entire territory of the once powerful state was declared the personal property of the Roman emperors. The scepter, that is, the right to independently lead the country and its people, departed from Judas completely and forever. In 1948, the Jewish state of Israel was re-established as a parliamentary republic.
Why this prophecy is important:
First of all, this prophecy predicts that the Messiah will come from the lineage of Judah - one of the 12 sons of Jacob. It began to be fulfilled when a descendant of Judas, David, the son of a simple shepherd Jesse, was unexpectedly elevated to king over Israel (this happened at the end of the 11th century BC and is described in the First and Second Books of Kings), and his descendants began to rule Jerusalem. It was from David (and hence Judas) that Jesus Christ was born a thousand years later.
In addition, this is the first prediction about the time of the coming of the Savior, or the Messiah - the One whom the Lord spoke of as the "seed of the woman" who will crush the head of the devil. In prophesying, Jacob likens Judas to a lion - the most powerful animal, which is often called the king of beasts; this means that the promised Messiah will also have royal dignity. It is to Him that the rest of the sons of Jacob (that is, the peoples inhabiting the earth) will worship, it is His hand that will lie “on the back of the enemies”. Here, for the first time, a sign is named by which it will be possible to find out the time of the coming of the Savior (or "Reconciliator"): this will happen when Judea loses its independent ruler.
Where else can you find the words of prophecy?
For example, in the Revelation of the holy Apostle John the Theologian, where the Lord Jesus Christ is called “the lion of the tribe of Judah” (Rev 5: 5).
Prepared by Igor Tsukanov
