After the Captivity this name was applied to the whole of the country west of the Jordan (Hag. 1:1, Hag. 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, Matt. 2: 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.