[
joo-dee-uh] 
| the S region of ancient Palestine: existed under Persian, Greek, and Roman rule; divided between Israel and Jordan in 1948; since 1967 completely occupied by Israel. |
| Ju·de·a also Ju·dae·a (jōō-dē'ə, -dā'ə) An ancient region of southern Palestine comprising present-day southern Israel and southwest Jordan. In the time of Jesus it was a kingdom ruled by the Herods and part of the Roman province of Syria. Ju·de'an adj. & n. |
Judea
After the Captivity this name was applied to the whole of the country west of the Jordan (Hag. 1:1, 14; 2:2). But under the Romans, in the time of Christ, it denoted the southernmost of the three divisions of Palestine (Matt. 2:1, 5; 3:1; 4:25), although it was also sometimes used for Palestine generally (Acts 28:21). The province of Judea, as distinguished from Galilee and Samaria, included the territories of the tribes of Judah, Benjamin, Dan, Simeon, and part of Ephraim. Under the Romans it was a part of the province of Syria, and was governed by a procurator.