Judean Wilderness
Judah was the name of one of the 12 sons of Jacob and, subsequently, one of the 12 tribes of Israel. It became the most populated tribe, and was awarded a sizable portion of the Promised Land in the time of Joshua. David was from the tribe of Judah, and so it became the tribe of the royal line. Jesus was descended from David and from the tribe of Judah.
When David's grandson, King Rehoboam, made a foolish political mistake, the 12 tribes of Israel divided into two separate kingdoms. The southern kingdom continued to be ruled by the descendants of David, its capital was Jerusalem, and it was named for its dominant tribe, Judah. Later, during the Greek and Roman periods, the southern region of the country which had been the tribe and later the kingdom of Judah became known as Judea. The eastern border of Judea was the Dead Sea, and the region along that western edge of the Dead Sea is known as the Judean wilderness. It was rocky, rough, dry, and lifeless. This was the region of both Qumran and Masada. This was the inhospitable environment of David's flights from King Saul and Absalom. This was the setting of Psalm 63. And this was where Jesus spent 40 days fasting, praying, and resisting the temptations of the Devil following His baptism in the Jordan River. |