Buy Lion of Judah Jewelry | Israel-Catalog.com

Lion of Judah Jewelry

What is the Lion of Judah? The Lion of Judah, or 'Lion of Judea' is a symbol found in Jewish lore far back and indeed has a special significance in Judaism, tying back to some of the actions of the very forefathers of Judaism.
This curious symbol, an Asiatic lion, is connected to the blessing that Jacob gave his son Judah in the book of Genesis. However, since then it has come to signify more than just the tribe of Judah, although in some ways it kind of still does.
The tribe of Judah is the tribe to which most modern day Jewry is said to be part of, and is the source of the name Judaism. Thus, in a certain way the lion of Judah is still connected with its tribe. Recently, it was made the symbol of the city of Jerusalem, and resides on the city flag.
In addition to being connected with the tribe of Judah, the symbol may have been linked with the country of Judah, when Israel split once the line of king David (from the tribe of Judah) was no longer ruling as well as they should have.
The blessing that began the whole story was from Jacob to Judah, a deathbed blessing, one for each son as well as for each of Joseph's sons, so one for each tribe.
Judah's blessing went like so:
"Judah, thou, thy brethren shall praise thee; thy hand shall be on the neck of thine enemies; before thee shall bow down the sons of thy father. A lion's whelp is Judah; from the prey, my son, thou goest up; he stoopeth down, he coucheth as a lion, and as a full-grown lion, who shall rouse him up? The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come, and unto Him the people shall adhere."