And the LORD said,
Judah shall go up: behold, I have delivered the land into his hand.
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Eusebius of Caesarea
AD 339
And in the book of Joshua, son of Nave [Nun], when the land of promise was divided by lot among the other tribes, the tribe of Judah took its own portion of the land without casting lots, and first of all. And, moreover, “After the death of Joshua the children of Israel inquired of the Lord, saying, who shall go up for us against the Canaanite, leading our fighting against him? And the Lord said, Judah shall go up. Behold, I have given the land into his hands.” These words, then, make it clear that God ordained the tribe of Judah to be the head of all Israel, and the account goes on … And in the book of Judges, when different persons at different times were at the head of the people, though individually the judges were of different tribes, yet speaking generally the tribe of Judah was head of the whole people; and much more so in the times of David and his successors, who belonged to the tribe of Judah and continued to rule until the Babylonian captivity, after which the leader of thos...
Said, by the mouth of Phinees, (Josephus, v. 2,) who had succeeded Eleazar in the pontificate. The latter survived Josue some little time, so that this must have happened some time later. Le Clerc offers violence to the text, when he asserts that the war against Adonibezec took place under the government of Josue.
Juda. Some suppose that this is the name of the leader: but most people conclude from the sequel, that it designated the tribe. (Calmet)
This first judge was of this tribe, but not all of them. The manner of consulting the Lord was by the high priest praying before the tabernacle, Exodus xxix. (Worthington)
