But do we know who this seed of God’s “woman” is? History identifies him for us, and that indisputable history is found in the pages of the Book that also tells us about the coming replanting of Paradise for mankind, namely, the Holy Bible. Let us swiftly trace the clues of identification.

25, 26. Trace the line of history starting with Shem that will lead us to the seed of God’s “woman.”

²⁵ We do not get this information from worldly, secular historians. Secular history generally overlooks, misses and leaves out the historical facts that really count. It is to the Bible that we go to learn that Noah’s son Shem was specially singled out when Noah blessed Shem and said: “Blessed be Jehovah, Shem’s God, and let Canaan become a slave to him. Let God grant ample space to Japheth, and let him reside in the tents of Shem.” (Gen. 9:24-27) By now passing down nine generations after Shem we come to Shem’s descendant Abram (or Abraham) in the land of Mesopotamia. Shem’s God, Jehovah, revealed himself to Abraham and said: “Go your way out of your country and from your relatives and from the house of your father to the country that I shall show you; and I shall make a great nation out of you and I shall bless you and I will make your name great; and prove yourself a blessing. And I will bless those who bless you, and him that calls down evil upon you I shall curse, and all the families of the ground will certainly bless themselves by means of you.” (Gen. 12:1-3) Abraham obeyed God and won his blessing.

²⁶ Abraham proved himself to be a blessing to all the families of the ground, not by means of his first son Ishmael, but by means of his second son Isaac. When Abraham showed himself obedient to Jehovah God even to the point of sacrificing his beloved son Isaac at God’s command, God said to Abraham at the altar of sacrifice: “I shall surely bless you and I shall surely multiply your seed like the stars of the heavens and like the grains of sand that are on the seashore; and your seed will take possession of the gate of his enemies. And by means of your seed all nations of the earth will certainly bless themselves due to the fact that you have listened to my voice.” (Gen. 22:15-18) God’s promise here indicated that the seed of his “woman” was to become associated with the seed of Abraham for the blessing of all the nations of the earth.

27, 28. (a) Through whom did this line of descent to the Seed continue after Isaac? (b) What does the Bible record then show with regard to the blessing of the twelve sons of Israel?

²⁷ Jehovah God repeated his promise of blessing to Abraham’s son Isaac. But Isaac had twin sons, Esau and Jacob. God chose the second son, Jacob, and repeated his promise of blessing to him. He also changed Jacob’s name to Israel. The Israelites of today are descendants from Jacob or Israel, and yet, today, all nations of the earth are far from wanting to bless themselves by means of these fleshly descendants of Jacob or Israel. Why is this? Bible history makes plain to us the reason. By following its record we note that Jacob had twelve sons, who were to become the patriarchal heads of the twelve tribes of Israel, a family nation. Through which of these twelve sons in particular would the seed of God’s “woman” come for the bruising of the great Serpent’s head and for the blessing of all the nations of the earth without any partiality? Jacob on his deathbed down in Egypt indicated who it would be. When giving his prophetic blessings to all twelve sons, he said to his fourth son, Judah:

²⁸ “As for you, Judah, your brothers will laud you. . . . A lion cub Judah is. . . . The scepter will not turn aside from Judah, neither the commander’s staff from between his feet, until Shiloh comes; and to him the obedience of the people will belong.”

29. What facts do we now have on this seed of God’s “woman”?

²⁹ Those words, preserved for us in Genesis 49:8-10, made it certain that the Bruiser of the great Serpent and the Blesser of all the obedient people had to be a Judean or Jew. He was to wield the royal scepter, and the staff of the rightful commander was to rest between his feet or against his lap. He was to be the One to whom the name or title “Shiloh” belongs, this title meaning “The One to Whom It Belongs.” As the Ruler appointed by Jehovah God he would have the right to the obedience of all the people who are seeking the blessing by the Seed of Abraham.

30. How do we know that David and Solomon, descendants of Judah, did not qualify as that seed of God’s “woman”?

³⁰ Six hundred and forty-one years later, or in 1070 B.C.E., a descendant of the patriarch Judah did become king of a nation, namely, David the son of Jesse of the town of Bethlehem. As king in Jerusalem, he commanded the obedience of all twelve tribes of Israel. He finished conquering all the land that God had promised to give Abraham in the Middle East, and the peoples in those conquered areas had to be obedient to King David. But neither David nor his son and heir to the throne, Solomon, commanded the obedience of the peoples all around our earthly globe. World rulership, however, was to come to one of David’s royal descendants to whom God would give an everlasting kingdom. God indicated this to King David by the covenant promise that God made with him. (2 Sam. 7:4-17) Under the peaceful rule of David’s son Solomon much of the land of Israel was brought to a condition closely like that of Paradise.​—1 Ki. 4:20-25.

1. Who today do not qualify as the descendants of Judah and David to be that promised Seed, but who does qualify?

TODAY the earthly kingdom of King David of Jerusalem is no more, not even since the setting up of the Republic of Israel in the year 1948, nor since the Jews captured all of Jerusalem in 1967 C.E. No Jew on earth today can prove that he is a royal descendant of King David. But in heaven there is One today who can prove that he was born on earth in the tribe of Judah and in the royal family of King David. Who is that? If we turn to the last book in the Holy Bible, that is, to Revelation 5:5-12, we find one who is called “the Lion that is of the tribe of Judah,” and concerning whom it is said: “The Lamb that was slaughtered is worthy to receive the power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing.” This one also speaks and calls himself “the root and the offspring of David” and claims to have the “key of David” for opening and shutting. (Rev. 22:16; 3:7) Who is that one? He speaks of himself as Jesus.