TEKOA ( 2 Chronicles 11:6 etc.); Tekoah , 2 Samuel 14:2 ; 2 Samuel 14:4 ; 2 Samuel 14:9 [AV [Note: Authorized Version.] ], 1Ma 9:33 [RV [Note: Revised Version.] ; AV [Note: Authorized Version.] Thecoe ]). A fortress city on the edge of the wilderness to which it gave its name ( 2 Chronicles 20:20 ). From here came the ‘wise woman’ sent by Joab to plead for Absalom ( 2 Samuel 14:2 ; 2 Samuel 14:4 ; 2 Samuel 14:8 ); Rehoboam fortified it ( 2 Chronicles 11:6 ), and apparently it continued to be a fortress ( Jeremiah 6:1 ); Amos ‘was among the herdmen of Tekoa’ ( Amos 1:1 ). Tekoa is mentioned also in LXX [Note: Septuagint.] in Joshua 15:59 , and in the genealogies in 1 Chronicles 4:5-8 . The site is now Khurbet Teqû‘a , an extended but shapeless mass of ruins crowning the summit of a hill (2790 ft. above sea level), 5 miles S. of Bethlehem. It is on the extreme edge of the cultivated lands. Bethlehem, the Mt. of Olives, and Nebi Samwîl (Mizpah) are all visible from it.

E. W. G. Masterman.

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").

(teh koh' uh) Place name meaning, “place of setting up a tent.” A city in the highlands of Judah six miles south of Bethlehem and ten miles south of Jerusalem; home of the prophet Amos. God called Amos from among the shepherds of Tekoa to preach to the Northern Kingdom of Israel (Amos 1:1 ). The priest tried to send him back to Tekoa (Amos 7:12 ).

One of David's chief fighting men was Ira, the son of Ikkesh from Tekoa (2 Samuel 23:26 ). Sometime between 922 B.C. and 915 B.C., Rehoboam cited Tekoa as one of the cities whose fortifications were to be strengthened (2 Chronicles 11:5-6 ). Approximately fifty years later, Jehoshaphat defeated a force of Ammonite, Meunite, and Moabite invaders in the wilderness between Tekoa and En-gedi (2 Chronicles 20:20-22 ). After the return from Exile, Tekoa remained occupied (Nehemiah 3:5 ). See Amos .

Kenneth Craig

2 Samuel 14:2. A town of Judah (2 Chronicles 11:6). Six Roman miles from Bethlehem, (to the S.E.,) which was six miles S. of Jerusalem. Tekoa was thus 12 from Jerusalem (Eusebius), but only nine by a shorter route (Jerome). The wise woman whom Joab suborned to persuade David to restore Absalom belonged to Tekoa (2 Samuel 14). Rehoboam fortified it (2 Chronicles 11:6). It was Amos' birthplace. Jeremiah, warning Judah to flee southward from the enemy advancing from the N. (Jeremiah 6:1), plays upon the sound tikehu Tekoa, "blow the trumpet in Tekoa." The derivation taaqa' "to strike" alludes to the stakes struck into the ground to secure the tents of the shepherds who roamed in "the wilderness of Tekoa," which was E. of the town or cluster of pastoral tents. Ira, one of David's thirty mighties, was a Tekoite (2 Samuel 23:26).

The Tekoites repaired the wall under Nehemiah (Nehemiah 3:5; Nehemiah 3:27); but "their nobles put not their necks to the work of their Lord." Contrast Nehemiah 4:6, "the people had a mind to work" (Judges 5:28; Colossians 3:28). Amos' familiarity with the Tekoa desert and the danger of a shepherd's life affected his style. (See AMOS.) In the lists of Judah (1 Chronicles 2:24; 1 Chronicles 4:5) Ashur, Hezron's posthumous son and Caleb's brother, is mentioned as father, i.e. founder or prince, of Tekoa. Now Teku'a; within sight of "the Frank mountain," the site of Herod's castle, formerly Bethhaccerem; broken columns, heaps of bevelled stones, cisterns,and square foundations of houses, mark the site which is on a broad topped hill, with the remains of a square tower at the N.E.; it commands the view of the level range of the Moabite mountains, affording frequent glimpses of the Dead Sea. (See BETHHACCEREM.)

Trumpet; that is confirmed

A city of Judah. (2 Chronicles 11:6) So called from Thakah.

City of Judah, probably founded by the preceding. Rehoboam built or fortified it 'for defence.' 2 Chronicles 11:6 . The 'wise woman' Joab employed to speak to the king respecting the return of Absalom was from this city. 2 Samuel 14:2,4,9 . Being built on a hill it was a suitable place for blowing the trumpet in time of danger, as in Jeremiah 6:1 . The prophet Amos was among its herdsmen. Identified with ruins at Tekua, 31 38' N, 35 12' E . The WILDERNESS OF TEKOA was probably on its east. 2 Chronicles 20:20 .

Son of Ashur, or a city founded by Ashur, a descendant of Judah. 1 Chronicles 2:24 ; 1 Chronicles 4:5 .

Tekoa (te-kô'ah), a fixing or pitching of tents. A fortified city, twelve miles south by east from Jerusalem, 1 Chronicles 2:24; Jeremiah 6:1; Amos 1:1; also written "Tekoah." 2 Samuel 14:2; 2 Samuel 14:4; 2 Samuel 14:9, A. V. The inhabitants were called "Tekoites." Nehemiah 3:5. It had a desert lying east of it, toward the Dead Sea. 2 Chronicles 20:20. Tekoa, now called Tekuʾa, is situated on a hill.

Jeremiah 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, Amos 1:1 . It was inhabited by Christians in the time of the crusades.

The wilderness of Tekoa, mentioned in 2 Chronicles 20:20 , inclines toward the Dead Sea.