Tekoa, a town in Judah, known as the birthplace of the prophet Amos and the home of one of David's mighty men (2Sam. 14:2; 1Chr. 11:28; Amo.1.1).
Also known as Tekoah · Tekoite,Tekoa · Tekoitess · woman of Tekoa · woman of Tekoah
Tekoa was a town in the hill country of Judah, located about 10 miles south of Jerusalem. It is first mentioned as the birthplace of Ira, one of David's mighty men (2Sam. 23:26; 1Chr. 11:28). Tekoa was also the hometown of the wise woman who, at Joab's request, persuaded David to reconcile with his son Absalom (2Sam. 14:2-9). During the reign of Rehoboam, Tekoa was fortified as part of Judah's defense system (2Chr. 11:6). The town was the birthplace of the prophet Amos, who identified himself as "one of the shepherds of Tekoa" (Amo.1.1). Amos's rural background and proximity to the wilderness shaped his prophetic message. In the time of Jehoshaphat, the people of Judah gathered in the wilderness of Tekoa to seek God's help against their enemies (2Chr. 20:20). The town was also involved in the rebuilding of Jerusalem's walls during the time of Nehemiah (Neh. 3:5, 27). Jeremiah mentioned Tekoa in his prophecy, urging the people to flee and sound the trumpet of warning (Jer. 6:1).
Approximate location: 31.636, 35.214 · view on a map · on the Bible atlas
trumpet; that is confirmed
TEKO'A, AND TEKO'AH (pitching of tents), a city on the borders of the desert to which it gave its name: "The wilderness of Tekoah." 2 Chr 20:20; Jer 6:1. It was colonized by Asher, 1 Chr 2:24; 1 Chr 4:5; fortified by Rehoboam. 2 Chr 11:6. The "wise woman" who interceded for Absalom resided here, 2 Sam 14:2, 2 Sam 14:4, 2 Sam 14:9, and here also was the birthplace and residence of the prophet Amos. Am 1:1. Tekoa was situated about 5 miles south of Bethlehem, at a place still called Tek'na, on a broad hilltop. The region is bleak and desolate, and the inhabitants wild and uncivil. There is a fine view toward the east, and the Dead Sea is visible. "The ruins at this place are extensive [covering 4 or 5 acres], but uninteresting. To the east are many excavated caves and cisterns, but the town itself is simply a heap of ruins, the stones of which are small and friable." There are ruins of a Greek church and baptismal font and of a fortress.
Easton (1897), Smith (1863), Hitchcock (1869), Hastings (1898) and Schaff are in the public domain. Parsed text: neuu-org/bible-dictionary-dataset (CC BY 4.0). Headwords and whitespace normalised for this site.
14 verses in 6 books · English text: BSB (change it from the menu at the top) · Strong’s H8620
So Joab sent to Tekoa to bring a wise woman from there. He told her, “Please pretend to be a mourner; put on clothes for mourning and do not anoint yourself with oil. Act like a woman who has mourned for the dead a long time.
When the woman from Tekoa went to the king, she fell facedown in homage and said, “Help me, O king!”
But the woman of Tekoa said to the king, “My lord the king, may any blame be on me and on my fatherʼs house, and may the king and his throne be guiltless.”
Helez the Paltite, Ira son of Ikkesh the Tekoite,
After Hezron died in Caleb-ephrathah, his wife Abijah bore to him Ashhur the father of Tekoa.
Ashhur the father of Tekoa had two wives, Helah and Naarah.
Ira son of Ikkesh the Tekoite, Abiezer the Anathothite,
The sixth, for the sixth month, was Ira son of Ikkesh the Tekoite. There were 24,000 men in his division.
He built up Bethlehem, Etam, Tekoa,
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 people of Judah and Jerusalem. Believe in the LORD your God, and you will be upheld; believe in His prophets, and you will succeed.”
Next to him, the Tekoites made repairs, but their nobles did not put their shoulders to the work under their supervisors.
And next to them, the Tekoites repaired another section, from a point opposite the great tower that juts out to the wall of Ophel.
“Run for cover, O sons of Benjamin; flee from Jerusalem! Sound the ramʼs horn in Tekoa; send up a signal over Beth-haccherem, for disaster looms from the north, even great destruction.
These are the words of Amos, who was among the sheepherders of Tekoa—what he saw concerning Israel two years before the earthquake, in the days when Uzziah was king of Judah and Jeroboam son of Jehoash was king of Israel.
Names, family links and references: STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). Short descriptions were drafted with AI assistance by STEPBible. Family links follow STEPBible’s scholarly decisions where genealogies are ambiguous.