Davidic line

The Davidic line or House of David (Hebrew: בֵּית דָּוִד‎, romanized: Bēt Dāvīḏ) is the lineage of the Israelite king David. In Judaism it is based on texts from the Hebrew Bible and through the succeeding centuries based on later traditions. In Christianity, the New Testament follows the line through Mary and Joseph to Jesus.

According to the Bible, David, of the Tribe of Judah, was the third king of the United Monarchy of Israel and Judah. He was later succeeded by his son, Solomon. After Solomon's death, the ten northern tribes rejected the Davidic line, refusing to accept Solomon's son, Rehoboam, and instead chose Jeroboam as king and formed the northern Kingdom of Israel. The southern tribes of Judah and Benjamin remained loyal to the House of David, and this kingdom came to be known as the Kingdom of Judah. All subsequent monarchs of Judah, except Athaliah, are said to be direct descendants of David. The kingdom fell to the Neo-Babylonian Empire in 587/6 BCE. The Hasmoneans, who established their own monarchy in Judea in the 2nd century BCE, were not considered connected to the Davidic line nor to the Tribe of Judah.

In Judaism and Christianity, the Davidic Line is the bloodline from which the Hebrew Messiah has a patrilineal descent. In Jewish eschatology, the Messiah is a future Jewish king from the Davidic line, who is expected to rule the Jewish people during the Messianic Age and world to come.