One of the Messianic title given to Jesus; it appears only in Rev 5:5. John had wept that no one was found worthy to open the scroll held out byy the "right hand of him who sat on the throne," or even look inside it. Then one of the elders comforted him with the proclamation that "the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals." D. A. Hubbard thinks that this is an "an obvious allusion to Gen 49:9, 'Judah is a lion's whelp', this title depicts Christ as the culmination of the courage, might and ferocity of the tribe of Judah" (IBD, 2:907).
The title "Conquering Lion of Judah" was adopted by Ethiopian emperors—believing they were descended from Solomon via the Queen of Sheba—until the overthrow of Emperor Haile Selassie in 1974.
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