The Lion of the Tribe of Judah
“I AM the Root and Offspring of David.”
The Book of Revelation is full of metaphors. In fact, this use of metaphors is the very first lesson Jesus teaches us when he shows us the symbols of the stars & the candlesticks and then proceeds to tell us what they “really” are. . .what they REPRESENT.
It is in Revelation 5:5 that Jesus is described as the "Lion of the tribe of Judah" and when I see the numbers 5 & 5 together, I see “55” and the Hebrew words Kol (כלה) [H3605] meaning: ALL, EVERYTHING, kala (כָּלָה) [H6317] meaning: CONSUMMATION, END, and kalla (כַּלָּה) [H3168] meaning: BRIDE - which, in Gematria, all have a standard value of 55.
Also, in my mind, when I see the phrase “the Lion of the tribe of Judah” I have to go back to the time when Jacob prophesied over his sons and said that Judah was - NOT "a lion". . .but "a lions whelp". Whelp is gûwr (גּוּר) [H1482] meaning: CUB (as one still abiding in the lair and sucking from his MOTHER'S teat). There is a big difference between a whelp (completely dependent on its mother), a young lion (who is able to leave the lair), a lion (who is able to hunt), an old lion (who both hunts for & protects his offspring), and a lioness - all terms which are used to describe different attributes of God’s people; thus, great care should be given to the details as the “lions whelp” was also used to describe the tribe of DAN, and therefore NOT exclusive to "the Jews". It’s clearly a metaphor!
The English word WHELP is used three times in the Bible: Genesis 49:9, Deuteronomy 33:22 & Nahum 2:11. Also of note is the English standard value of WHELP (613) which is also the value of the word peritome (περιτομή) [G4061] meaning: CIRCUMCISION, along with the idea of the Torah and its 613 Commanments having “matured", or “been fulfilled” in Christ Jesus.
Here are some examples of how the word "lion" is used metaphorically throughout the Bible. . .
In 2 Timothy 4:14-18, the word "lion" is used to describe how the Lord protected Timothy from the works of EVIL MEN, "Alexander the coppersmith did me much evil: the Lord reward him according to his works: Of whom be thou ware also; for he hath greatly withstood our words. At my first answer no man stood with me, but all men forsook me: I pray God that it may not be laid to their charge. Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me; that by me the preaching might be fully known, and that all the Gentiles might hear: and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion. And the Lord shall deliver me from EVERY evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen."
Yet we cannot ignore the fact that a WHELP is nursed by its MOTHER, the LIONESS! Throughout the Bible, the LIONESS is a metaphor for a MOTHER figure and her whelps represent her OFFSPRING.
"Moreover take thou up a lamentation for the princes of Israel,
And say, What is thy mother? A lioness: she lay down among lions,
she nourished her whelps among young lions. And she brought up one of her whelps:
it became a young lion, and it learned to catch the prey; it devoured men.”
Ezekiel 19:1-3
"The lion did tear in pieces enough for his whelps, and strangled for his lionesses,
and filled his holes with prey, and his dens with ravin."
Nahum 2:12
“Can you hunt the prey for the lioness, or satisfy the appetite of the young lions?”
Job 38:39
“The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger:
but they that seek the LORD shall not want any good thing.”
Psalm 34:10
My heart leaps for joy when I read. . .
"I JESUS have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches.
I AM the ROOT and the OFFSPRING of David, and the Bright and Morning Star.
And THE SPIRIT and THE BRIDE say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come.
And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely."
Revelation 22:16 & 17
What utter beauty God has revealed in this one simple phrase:
The Root and Offspring of David!!
I AM that Lion!
I AM that Offspring!
I AM that Root!
I AM that Vine!
Genesis 49:8-12
“Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies; thy father's children shall bow down before thee. Judah is a lion's whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up? The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be. Binding his foal unto THE VINE, and his ass's colt unto THE CHOICE VINE; he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes: His eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk.”
The name Judah (יְהוּדָה) [H3063] means: PRAISED
So, who is “The Lion of the Tribe of Judah”? You can’t have a tribe without offspring. Father’s who love their children, praise their children. “God so loved the world. . .”
Jesus is the Head of the God’s Pride of Children. . .the Lion of the Whelps!
Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto the Lord our God who sitteth upon the Throne both now and forevermore!
Julie Hogan
August 15th, 2026
Ezekiel 19 - A Lament to Judah’s Disobedient Leaders
The lioness represents the royal house of Judah, and her cubs symbolize successive kings, particularly Jehoahaz and Jehoiachin. The imagery portrays the nurturing yet ultimately tragic nature of carnal leadership. The cubs, though powerful, are captured and taken to Egypt, illustrating the consequences of pride, misrule, and disobedience to God. Judah is depicted as a vine planted by abundant waters, flourishing with strong branches. However, due to disobedience, the vine is uprooted, dried, and destroyed, symbolizing the end of the Davidic dynasty and the devastation of the nation. While the chapter is primarily a lament, it also points to the broader biblical theme of God’s ultimate redemption and the hope of restoration for His people through the Messiah, our Lord Jesus Christ.
“Moreover take thou up a lamentation for the princes of Israel, And say, What is thy mother? A lioness: she lay down among lions, she nourished her whelps among young lions. And she brought up one of her whelps: it became a young lion, and it learned to catch the prey; it devoured men. The nations also heard of him; he was taken in their pit, and they brought him with chains unto the land of Egypt. Now when she saw that she had waited, and her hope was lost, then she took another of her whelps, and made him a young lion. And he went up and down among the lions, he became a young lion, and learned to catch the prey, and devoured men. And he knew their desolate palaces, and he laid waste their cities; and the land was desolate, and the fulness thereof, by the noise of his roaring. Then the nations set against him on every side from the provinces, and spread their net over him: he was taken in their pit. And they put him in ward in chains, and brought him to the king of Babylon: they brought him into holds, that his voice should no more be heard upon the mountains of Israel. Thy mother is like a vine in thy blood, planted by the waters: she was fruitful and full of branches by reason of many waters. And she had strong rods for the sceptres of them that bare rule, and her stature was exalted among the thick branches, and she appeared in her height with the multitude of her branches. But she was plucked up in fury, she was cast down to the ground, and the east wind dried up her fruit: her strong rods were broken and withered; the fire consumed them. And now she is planted in the wilderness, in a dry and thirsty ground. And fire is gone out of a rod of her branches, which hath devoured her fruit, so that she hath no strong rod to be a sceptre to rule. This is a lamentation, and shall be for a lamentation.”
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