Topical Encyclopedia
Geographical Location:Tekoa is an ancient town located in the hill country of Judah, approximately 12 miles south of Jerusalem. It is situated near the wilderness of Judea, providing a strategic vantage point over the surrounding region. The town is identified with the modern-day site of Khirbet Teqoa.
Biblical References:Tekoa is mentioned several times in the Bible, primarily in the context of its inhabitants and notable figures associated with it. One of the earliest references is found in
2 Samuel 14:2, where Joab, the commander of King David's army, sends for a wise woman from Tekoa to help reconcile David with his estranged son Absalom. The passage reads: "So Joab sent to Tekoa and brought from there a wise woman. He said to her, 'Please pretend to be in mourning and wear mourning clothes. Do not anoint yourself with oil, but act like a woman who has been mourning for the dead a long time.'"
Tekoa is also the birthplace of the prophet Amos, as stated in
Amos 1:1: "These are the words of Amos, who was among the sheep breeders from Tekoa—what he saw concerning Israel two years before the earthquake, in the days of Uzziah king of Judah and Jeroboam son of Jehoash king of Israel." Amos, a shepherd and fig tree farmer, was called by God to prophesy against the northern kingdom of Israel, emphasizing social justice and divine judgment.
Historical and Cultural Significance:Tekoa's location made it a significant site for military and strategic purposes. In
2 Chronicles 20:20, King Jehoshaphat of Judah gathers his forces at Tekoa before confronting the Moabite and Ammonite armies. The verse states: "Early in the morning they got up and left for the Wilderness of Tekoa. As they set out, Jehoshaphat stood up and said, 'Hear me, O Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem. Believe in the LORD your God, and you will be upheld; believe in His prophets, and you will succeed.'"
The town's proximity to the wilderness also made it a suitable place for shepherding and agriculture, as evidenced by Amos's background. The rugged terrain and isolation provided a setting conducive to reflection and spiritual insight, which may have influenced Amos's prophetic messages.
Archaeological Insights:Archaeological excavations at Khirbet Teqoa have uncovered remains from various periods, including the Iron Age, which corresponds to the biblical era. These findings include fortifications, pottery, and other artifacts that provide insight into the daily life and culture of its ancient inhabitants.
Legacy and Influence:Tekoa's legacy is primarily tied to its association with the prophet Amos, whose messages of justice, righteousness, and repentance continue to resonate within the Judeo-Christian tradition. The town serves as a reminder of God's call to individuals from humble and unexpected backgrounds to fulfill His purposes.
In summary, Tekoa holds a notable place in biblical history as a town of strategic importance, a center of prophetic activity, and a symbol of divine calling and wisdom.
Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary
Tekoatrumpet; that is confirmed
ATS Bible Dictionary
TekoaJeremiah 6:1, a city of Judah, now in ruins, situated on an extended height, twelve miles south of Jerusalem. Here originated the wise woman who was Joab's agent,2 Samuel 14:2, and Amos the prophet, Am 1:1. It was inhabited by Christians in the time of the crusades.
The wilderness of Tekoa, mentioned in2 Chronicles 20:20, inclines toward the Dead Sea.
Easton's Bible Dictionary
Pitching of tents; fastening down, a town of Judah, about 12 miles south of Jerusalem, and visible from the city. From this place Joab procured a "wise woman," who pretended to be in great affliction, and skilfully made her case known to David. Her address to the king was in the form of an apologue, similar to that of Nathan (
2 Samuel 12:1-6). The object of Joab was, by the intervention of this woman, to induce David to bring back Absalom to Jerusalem (
2 Samuel 14:2, 4, 9).
This was also the birth-place of the prophet Amos (1:1).
It is now the village of Teku'a, on the top of a hill among ruins, 5 miles south of Bethlehem, and close to Beth-haccerem ("Herod's mountain").
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
TEKOAte-ko'-a (teqoa', or teqo`ah; Thekoe; the King James Version Tekoah; one of David's mighty men, "Ira the son of Ikkesh," is called a Tekoite, te-ko'-it (teqo`i;2 Samuel 23:261 Chronicles 11:28;1 Chronicles 27:9; the "woman of Tekoa" [2 Samuel 14:2 ] is in Hebrew teqo`ith; inNehemiah 3:5 mention is made of certain Tekoites, te-ko'its teqo'im, who repaired part of the walls of Jerusalem):
1. Scripture References:
From here came the "wise woman" brought by Joab to try and make a reconciliation between David and Absalom (2 Samuel 14:2 f); it was one of the cities fortified by Rehoboam (2 Chronicles 11:6; Josephus, Ant, VIII, ix, 1). The wilderness of Tekoa is mentioned (2 Chronicles 20:20) as the extreme edge of the inhabited area; here Jehoshaphat took counsel before advancing into the wilderness of Judea to confront the Ammonites and Moabites. InJeremiah 6:1, we read, "Blow the trumpet in Tekoa and raise a signal in Beth-haccherim"-because of the enemy advancing from the North. Amos 1:1, one of the "herdsmen of Tekoa," was born here.
InJoshua 15:59 (addition to verse in Septuagint only) Tekoa occurs at the beginning of the list of 11 additional cities of Judah-a list which includes Bethlehem, Ain Kairem and Bettir-which are omitted in the Hebrew. A Tekoa is mentioned as a son of Ashhur (1 Chronicles 2:24;1 Chronicles 4:5).
Jonathan Maccabeus and his brother Simon fled from the vengeance of Bacchides "into the wilderness of Thecoe (the Revised Version (British and American) "Tekoah") and pitched their tents (the Revised Version (British and American) "encamped") by the water of the pool Asphar" (1 Maccabees 9:33).
2. Later History:
Josephus calls Tekoa a village in his day (Vita, 75), as does Jerome who describes it as 12 miles from Jerusalem and visible from Bethlehem; he says the tomb of the prophet Amos was there (Commentary on Jeremiah, VI, 1). "There was," he says, "no village beyond Tekoa in the direction of the wilderness." The good quality of its oil and honey is praised by other writers. In the 6th century a monastery, Laura Nova, was founded there by Saba. In the crusading times Tekoa was visited by pious pilgrims wishing to see the tomb of Amos, and some of the Christian inhabitants assisted the Crusaders in the first siege of Jerusalem. In 1138 the place was pillaged by a party of Turks from the East of the Jordan, and since that time the site appears to have lain desolate and ruined, although even in the 14th century the tomb of Amos was still shown.
3. The Site of Tequ`a:
The site is without doubt the Khirbet Tequ'a, a very extensive ruin, covering 4 or 5 acres, about 6 miles South of Bethlehem and 10 miles from Jerusalem, near the Frank Mountain and on the road to `Ain Jidy. The remains on the surface are chiefly of large cut stone and are all, apparently, medieval. Fragments of pillars and bases of good hard limestone occur on the top of the hill, and there is an octagonal font of rose-red limestone; it is clear that the church once stood there. There are many tombs and cisterns in the neighborhood of a much earlier period. A spring is said to exist somewhere on the site, but if so it is buried out of sight. There is a reference in the "Life of Saladin" (Bahaoddenus), to the "river of Tekoa," from which Richard Coeur de Lion and his army drank, 3 miles from Jerusalem: this may refer to the Arab extension of the "low-level aqueduct" which passes through a long tunnel under the Sahl Tequ`a and may have been thought by some to rise there.
The open fields around Teqa'a are attractive and well suited for olive trees (which have now disappeared), and there are extensive grazing-lands. The neighborhood, even the "wilderness" to the East, is full of the flocks of wandering Bedouin. From the site, Bethlehem, the Mount of Olives and Nebi Samuel (Mizpah) are all visible; to the Northeast is a peep of the Jordan valley near Jericho and of the mountains of Gilead, but most of the eastern outlook is cut off by rising ground (PEF, III, 314, 368, Sh XXI).
E. W. G. Masterman
Strong's Hebrew
8621. Teqoi -- inhab. ofTekoa... inhab. of
Tekoa. Transliteration: Teqoi or Teqoi Phonetic Spelling: (tek-o-ee')
Short Definition: Tekoite. Word Origin from Teqoa Definition inhab.
...8620. Teqoa -- a city in Judah
... 8619, 8620. Teqoa. 8621 . a city in Judah. Transliteration: Teqoa Phonetic
Spelling: (tek-o'-ah) Short Definition:Tekoa....Tekoa, Tekoah....
Library
The Carcass and the Eagles
... Amos was not an Israelite born, for he came fromTekoa, away down south, in the
wild country west of the Dead Sea, where he had been a simple herdsman till the...
The Sins of Society
... The shepherd fromTekoa had often gazed up at the silent splendours of the Pleiades
and Orion, as he kept watch over his flocks by night, and had seen the...
The Prophet --His Youth and his Call.
... It is the same open, arid landscape as that on which several prophets were bred:
Amos a few miles farther south atTekoa, John Baptist, and during His...
Preparation for Advent
... himself; not a courtier like Isaiah, or a priest like Jeremiah, or a sage like Daniel;
but a herdsman and a gatherer of sycamore fruit inTekoa, near Bethlehem...
"It is the King's Chapel. " Amos vii. 13
... GOLD. Now, Amos, what do you say to that? Won't you go home toTekoa, and
spend the rest of your time looking after the cattle? "Nay...
Bethany. Beth-Hene.
... They inquire, How long one may eat of these or the other fruits?"And they state
the business thus: "They eat Olives (say they) until the last ceases inTekoa...
Ephraim
... R. Josi saith, "They brought also of the wheat of Barchaim, and of Caphar Achum;
which were near Jerusalem.". "For oil,Tekoa deserves the first praise....
Concerning Rehoboam, and How God Inflicted Punishment Upon Him for...
... Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, who, as we said before, was king of the two tribes,
built strong and large cities, Bethlehem, and Etare, andTekoa, and Bethzur...
Prefaces to the Commentaries on the Minor Prophets.
... In three books, addressed also to Pammachius, ad406 (Preface to Amos, Book iii.).
The Preface to Book i. merely gives a description ofTekoa, Amos' birthplace....
Description of the Wilderness, and the Question About the Death of...
... In the district of Palestine near the village ofTekoa which had the honour of
producing the prophet Amos, [1363] there is a vast desert which stretches far...
Thesaurus
Tekoa (12 Occurrences)...TEKOA.
... In Jeremiah 6:1, we read, "Blow the trumpet in
Tekoa and raise a signal in
Beth-haccherim"-because of the enemy advancing from the North.
...Teko'a (11 Occurrences)
Teko'a.Tekoa, Teko'a. Tekoah . Multi-Version Concordance Teko'a (11
Occurrences). 2 Samuel 14:2 And Joab sent toTekoa, and fetched...
Ashhur (2 Occurrences)
... ASHHUR. ash'-ur (ashchur, the King James Version Ashur): The "father ofTekoa"
(1 Chronicles 2:24; 1 Chronicles 4:5), probably the founder of the village....
Etam (5 Occurrences)
... ETAM. e'-tam `eTam; Codex Alexandrinus, Apan, Codex Vaticanus, Aitan: (1) Mentioned
in Septuagint along withTekoa, Bethlehem and Phagor (Joshua 15:59)....
Naarah (3 Occurrences)
... Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia. NAARAH (1). na'-a-ra (na`arah, "a girl"): One
of the two wives of Ashhur, father ofTekoa (1 Chronicles 4:5). NAARAH (2)....
Pool (25 Occurrences)
... as'-far, (lakkos Asphar): When Jonathan and Simon fled from Bacchides they encamped
by this pool in the wilderness ofTekoa (1 Maccabees 9:33; Ant, XIII, i, 2...
Beth-haccherem (2 Occurrences)
... From its association withTekoa (Jeremiah 6:1) and from the statement by Jerome
that it was a village which he could see daily from Bethlehem, the Frank...
Ashur (6 Occurrences)
... (WBS). 1 Chronicles 2:24 And after that Hezron was dead in Calebephratah, then Abiah
Hezron's wife bare him Ashur the father ofTekoa. (KJV WBS)....
Asphar
... as'-far, (lakkos Asphar): When Jonathan and Simon fled from Bacchides they encamped
by this pool in the wilderness ofTekoa (1 Maccabees 9:33; Ant, XIII, i, 2...
Abijah (32 Occurrences)
... Nehemiah 12:4, 17. (7) The wife of Judah's grandson Hezron, to whom was traced
the origin ofTekoa (1 Chronicles 2:24). (8) The mother...
Resources
Summary of the Book of Amos - Bible Survey | GotQuestions.orgWhat is Ugaritic, and what does it have to do with the Bible? | GotQuestions.orgWho were the mighty men of David? | GotQuestions.orgBible Concordance •
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