Judaean

Judaean refers to matters relating to Judea, a historic region in the southern part of the ancient Land of Israel, and to the people who lived there. In English, it is used as both an adjective (Judaean customs, Judaean literature) and a noun (the Judaeans). The term is derived from Judea, which in turn comes from Latin Judaea and Greek Ioudaia, ultimately from Hebrew Yehudah (Judah). The word Judaean is distinct from Judaic, which more often denotes Judaism as a religion or its cultural/legal traditions.

Geography and administration

Judea covered the hill country around Jerusalem, including cities such as Jerusalem, Bethlehem, and Hebron. In antiquity the term was used to designate the southern portion of the Land of Israel. Under Roman rule, the area became the province of Judaea, a designation that varied in extent over time and was often associated with central-southern highland areas, sometimes in conjunction with nearby regions like Samaria.

Historical context

Judea was the core region of the ancient Kingdom of Judah in the Iron Age. After the Babylonian exile, Judea re-emerged as a Jewish-majority area under Persian and later Hellenistic influence, giving rise to the Hasmonean Kingdom and, after 6 CE, the Roman province of Judaea. The name persists in modern scholarship to identify inhabitants of the historical Judea and in the toponymy of the region, such as the Judaean Desert and the Judaean Hills. The term appears frequently in biblical, historical, and classical sources to distinguish a geographic and ethnic-linguistic identity linked to the southern Levant.