Jacob had twelve sons, whose families grew large enough that they became tribes.

Which son/tribe would bring the Messiah into the world?

Shortly before he died, Jacob prophesied,

“The scepter shall not depart from Judah,
Nor a lawgiver from between his feet,
Until Shiloh comes;
And to Him shall be the obedience of the people.”
(Genesis 49.10)

This was an indication that the Messiah would be of the tribe of Judah. The Messiah would be a king (the meaning of scepter), and so people shall obey the Messiah.

The following passages show the connection of Jesus of Nazareth with the tribe of Judah, which by itself does not establish Him as the Messiah, but He could not be the Messiah, if He was not from the tribe of Judah.

Jesus was…the son of Amminadab, the son of Ram, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah…” (Luke 3.33).

For it is evident that our Lord arose from Judah, of which tribe Moses spoke nothing concerning priesthood (Hebrews 7.14).

But one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals” (Revelation 5.5).

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