Wikipedia's first sentence called it “important rastafari symbol of emperor haile selassie i of ethiopia”. Today it says “jewish national and cultural symbol”. The one-line description Wikipedia serves to search engines and AI systems read “National and cultural symbol”. It now reads “Jewish national and cultural symbol”.
Measured, not asserted. Every count, date and revision on this page was taken from Wikipedia's own history and checked against the live article. The words quoted are theirs.
Machine-checked against the full current article on 2026-08-03.
We saved snapshots of this article over twenty years; you are reading the 2005 one. Red dashes: removed from Wikipedia since.Pale dots: rewritten; the numbered note shows what it says now.Red text: written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot.1 tap a number or a side note to jump between them
The opening as it read in 2005
In the Hebrew Bible (the Old Testament ) the Israelite tribe of Judah had the lion has its symbol. The Lion of Judah is an important Rastafari symbol of Emperor Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia , or Jah ( God ), himself. The representation is derived from the Book of Revelation 5:5; "And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah , the Root of David , hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof." As a result, the expression "Lion of Judah" often refers specifically to Rastafarianism. As a result of the lion's link to the tribe of Judah, the dominant tribe among the ancient Israelites and the legendary ancestor of modern Jews, variations or translations of the word "lion" have been used as a substitute name for Judah ( Yehuda in Hebrew ) among Jews. An example is the name of Rabbi Judah Loew ben Bezalel . Loew is a German/Yiddish word for "lion." The popular modern Hebrew name Ari (also Arieh or Aryeh) translates as lion. In Christian tradition, the Lion is often assumed to represent Jesus . Many Christian organizations and ministries use the lion of Judah as their emblem or even their name. The use in C. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia of a lion as a messianic figure is seen as a potential reference to this section of Revelations. v t e1
This is Wikipedia's own text, saved in our repository. Their copy of it is revision 17836535.
The opening as it stood in 2010 10 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
The Lion of Judah was the symbol of the Israelite tribe of Judah in the Book of Genesis of the Hebrew Bible ( Old Testament ).
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 369462798.
The opening as it stood in 2015 1 passage from the previous snapshot no longer appear
The Lion of Judah on a Bezalel ceramic tile.The Lion of Judah is the symbol of the Jewish tribe of Judah .According to the Torah , the tribe consists of the descendants of Judah , the fourth son of Jacob .The association between Judah and the lion, most likely the Asiatic lion , can first be found in the blessing given by Jacob to Judah in the Book of Genesis .The Lion of Judah is also mentioned in the Book of Revelation , as a term representing Jesus , according to Christian tradition.The lion of Judah was also one of the titles of the Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie and was depicted on the flag of Ethiopia from 1897-1974.Due to its association with Selassie, it continues to be an important symbol among members of the Rastafari movement .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 665965705.
The opening as it stood in 2020 2 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
National and cultural symbol For the animated film, see The Lion of Judah . The Lion of Judah on a Bezalel ceramic tile. The Lion of Judah ( Aryeh Yehudah ) is a Jewish national and cultural symbol, traditionally regarded as the symbol of the Israelite tribe of Judah . According to the Torah , the tribe consists of the descendants of Judah , the fourth son of Jacob . The association between Judah and the lion can first be found in the blessing given by Jacob to his son Judah in the Book of Genesis . The Lion of Judah is also mentioned in the Book of Revelation , as a term representing Jesus , according to Christian theology . The lion of Judah was also one of the titles of the Solomonic Emperors of Ethiopia.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 963073707.
The opening as it stood on October 6, 2023 1 passage from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Jewish national and cultural symbol For the animated film, see The Lion of Judah . The Lion of Judah on a Bezalel ceramic tile. The Lion of Judah ( , Aryeh Yehudah ) is a Jewish national and cultural symbol , traditionally regarded as the symbol of the tribe of Judah . The association between the Judahites and the lion can first be found in the blessing given by Jacob to his fourth son, Judah , in the Book of Genesis of the Hebrew Bible .It is also mentioned in the Book of Revelation of the New Testament as a term representing Jesus of Nazareth , according to Christian theology .The Lion of Judah was also one of the titles used by Ethiopian emperors from the Solomonic dynasty .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1161052910.
The opening as it stood in 2025
Jewish national and cultural symbol For the animated film, see The Lion of Judah . The Lion of Judah on a Bezalel ceramic tile The Lion of Judah ( Hebrew : אריה יהודה , Aryeh Yehudah ) is a Jewish national and cultural symbol , traditionally regarded as the symbol of the tribe of Judah . The association between the Judahites and the lion can first be found in the blessing given by Jacob to his fourth son, Judah , in the Book of Genesis of the Hebrew Bible . It is also mentioned in the Book of Revelation of the New Testament as a term representing Jesus of Nazareth , according to Christian theology . The Lion of Judah was also one of the titles used by Ethiopian emperors from the Solomonic dynasty .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1293036141. This is our newest snapshot; the live article may have moved again since.
Today
Wikipedia's first sentence called it “important rastafari symbol of emperor haile selassie i of ethiopia”. Today it says “jewish national and cultural symbol”. The one-line description Wikipedia serves to search engines and AI systems read “National and cultural symbol”. It now reads “Jewish national and cultural symbol”. Read the current article and compare.
2005
2010
2015
2020
Oct '23
2025
Counts in the opening at each snapshot. Green: the word gained ground. Red: it was cut. Grey: no change.
What Wikipedia says this is
Every article opens by defining its subject. This one was redefined since 2005, and today's defining sentence is their current revision.
Then
important rastafari symbol of emperor haile selassie i of ethiopia
Now
jewish national and cultural symbol
Struck red text is no longer in the article; dotted amber text was rewritten. Every revision id links to Wikipedia's copy; the text shown is our own saved copy. Data: /data. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA; quoted for the record; not affiliated with Wikipedia.
