8620. Teqoa
Lexical Summary
Teqoa: Tekoa

Original Word: תְּקוֹעַ
Part of Speech: Proper Name Masculine
Transliteration: Tqowa`
Pronunciation: teh-KOH-ah
Phonetic Spelling: (tek-o'-ah)
KJV: Tekoa, Tekoah
NASB: Tekoa
Word Origin: [a form of H8619 (תָּקוַֹע - trumpet)]

1. Tekoa, a place in Israel

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
Tekoa, Tekoah

A form of taqowa'; Tekoa, a place in Palestine -- Tekoa, Tekoah.

see HEBREW taqowa'

NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origin
from taqa
Definition
a city in Judah
NASB Translation
Tekoa (7).

Brown-Driver-Briggs
תְּקוֺעַ proper name, of a location in southern Judah (connection with above √ dubious); — Amos 1:1; Jeremiah 6:1; 2Chronicles 11:6, as 'son' of Ashhur 1 Chronicles 2:24; 1 Chronicles 4:5; תְּק֫וֺעָה 2 Samuel 14:2; ׳מִדְבַּר ת2Chronicles 20:20; ᵐ5 Θεκωε (also #NAME?); modern Tekû'a, approximately 5 miles south of Bethlehem; see RobBR i.486f. BuhlG 157 f. TaylorHast. DB TEKOA GASmTwelve Proph. i.74 f. DrAmos 1:1.

Topical Lexicon
Geographical Setting

Tekoa lay approximately six miles south of Bethlehem on the edge of the Judean hill country overlooking the wilderness that descends toward the Dead Sea. Its elevated position (over 2,700 feet / 820 meters above sea level) afforded a natural lookout across the desert approaches to Jerusalem. The town’s strategic height explains its repeated appearance in military contexts and its suitability as a place for watchmen and heralds to sound alarms.

Genealogical Connections

Tekoa gave its name to a clan within the tribe of Judah. After the death of Hezron, “Caleb went to Ephrathah, and his wife Abiah bore Hur the father of Tekoa” (1 Chronicles 2:24). A second genealogy in 1 Chronicles 4:5–7 records the sons of Ashhur “the father of Tekoa,” showing that families rooted in the town maintained distinct identity within Judah’s tribal structure. These references underline Tekoa’s integration into the covenant people and its contribution to Judah’s population and leadership lines.

Military and Strategic Importance

During the divided monarchy King Rehoboam fortified Tekoa as part of a defensive ring protecting the southern kingdom: “He built up Bethlehem, Etam, Tekoa” (2 Chronicles 11:6). A century later, King Jehoshaphat mustered his forces there when facing the coalition of Moab and Ammon. “Early in the morning they rose and went out to the Wilderness of Tekoa” (2 Chronicles 20:20). The site’s vantage allowed Judah’s army both to assemble safely and to view the terrain where the Lord would bring about a miraculous victory. Jeremiah likewise invoked Tekoa’s prominence when warning Jerusalem of impending judgment: “Flee for safety, O people of Benjamin, from Jerusalem! Sound the trumpet in Tekoa” (Jeremiah 6:1). The prophet assumes the town’s suitability as an early-warning station that could relay danger to the capital.

The Wise Woman of Tekoa

In 2 Samuel 14 King David’s commander Joab sought to reunite the king with his estranged son Absalom. “So Joab sent to Tekoa and brought a wise woman from there” (2 Samuel 14:2). Her eloquent parable persuaded David to reconsider his stance toward Absalom. Scripture presents her as discerning, courageous, and rhetorically gifted, qualities associated with Tekoa’s inhabitants and, by extension, with godly wisdom available even in small towns of Judah.

Prophetic Significance: Amos

Amos introduces himself as “among the shepherds of Tekoa” (Amos 1:1). The humble shepherd-prophet emerged from this rural settlement to confront the opulence and complacency of Israel’s northern kingdom. Tekoa’s rugged environs and proximity to the wilderness shaped Amos’s imagery of roaring lions, withering pastures, and plumb lines dropped on crooked walls. His background illustrates how the Lord raises messengers from seemingly insignificant places to proclaim covenant truth to the nations.

Theological and Ministry Themes

1. Vigilance and Warning: Tekoa’s high ground became a trumpet site in Jeremiah’s day, reminding believers to watch, pray, and warn others of spiritual danger.
2. Wisdom from Unexpected Places: Both the wise woman and the prophet Amos demonstrate that God often selects servants from obscure settings, confounding worldly expectations.
3. Fortification in the Face of Threats: Rehoboam’s walls and Jehoshaphat’s encampment at Tekoa encourage the faithful to fortify themselves in the Lord when confronted by external pressures.
4. Covenant Continuity: The genealogies anchoring Tekoa within Judah testify to God’s preservation of His people across generations, fulfilling His promises through family lines and local communities.

Summary

Tekoa stands in Scripture as a highland town endowed with strategic value, a community producing notable servants, and a symbol of prophetic watchfulness. From genealogical roots in Judah to battlefield assemblies and the trumpet blasts of warning, Tekoa’s seven biblical references weave a consistent message: the Lord employs both place and people to advance His redemptive purposes and to call His covenant nation to wisdom, vigilance, and faith.

Forms and Transliterations
וּבִתְק֙וֹעַ֙ ובתקוע מִתְּק֑וֹעַ מתקוע תְּק֑וֹעַ תְּק֔וֹעָה תְּקֽוֹעַ׃ תְק֔וֹעַ תְקֽוֹעַ׃ תקוע תקוע׃ תקועה mit·tə·qō·w·a‘ mitteKoa mittəqōwa‘ tə·qō·w·‘āh tə·qō·w·a‘ ṯə·qō·w·a‘ teKoa teKoah təqōw‘āh təqōwa‘ ṯəqōwa‘ ū·ḇiṯ·qō·w·a‘ ūḇiṯqōwa‘ uvitKoa
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Englishman's Concordance
2 Samuel 14:2
HEB: וַיִּשְׁלַ֤ח יוֹאָב֙ תְּק֔וֹעָה וַיִּקַּ֥ח מִשָּׁ֖ם
NAS: sent to Tekoa and brought
KJV: sent to Tekoah, and fetched
INT: sent Joab to Tekoa and brought there

1 Chronicles 2:24
HEB: אַשְׁח֖וּר אֲבִ֥י תְקֽוֹעַ׃
NAS: him Ashhur the father of Tekoa.
KJV: him Ashur the father of Tekoa.
INT: Ashhur the father of Tekoa

1 Chronicles 4:5
HEB: וּלְאַשְׁחוּר֙ אֲבִ֣י תְק֔וֹעַ הָי֖וּ שְׁתֵּ֣י
NAS: Ashhur, the father of Tekoa, had two
KJV: the father of Tekoa had two
INT: Ashhur the father of Tekoa had two

2 Chronicles 11:6
HEB: עֵיטָ֖ם וְאֶת־ תְּקֽוֹעַ׃
NAS: Bethlehem, Etam, Tekoa,
KJV: even Bethlehem, and Etam, and Tekoa,
INT: Bethlehem Etam Tekoa

2 Chronicles 20:20
HEB: וַיֵּצְא֖וּ לְמִדְבַּ֣ר תְּק֑וֹעַ וּבְצֵאתָ֞ם עָמַ֣ד
NAS: out to the wilderness of Tekoa; and when they went
KJV: into the wilderness of Tekoa: and as they went forth,
INT: and went to the wilderness of Tekoa went stood

Jeremiah 6:1
HEB: מִקֶּ֙רֶב֙ יְר֣וּשָׁלִַ֔ם וּבִתְק֙וֹעַ֙ תִּקְע֣וּ שׁוֹפָ֔ר
NAS: a trumpet in Tekoa And raise
KJV: the trumpet in Tekoa, and set up
INT: the midst of Jerusalem Tekoa now blow A trumpet

Amos 1:1
HEB: הָיָ֥ה בַנֹּקְדִ֖ים מִתְּק֑וֹעַ אֲשֶׁר֩ חָזָ֨ה
NAS: was among the sheepherders from Tekoa, which
KJV: who was among the herdmen of Tekoa, which he saw
INT: was among the sheepherders Tekoa which envisioned

7 Occurrences

Strong's Hebrew 8620
7 Occurrences


mit·tə·qō·w·a‘ — 1 Occ.
ṯə·qō·w·a‘ — 4 Occ.
tə·qō·w·‘āh — 1 Occ.
ū·ḇiṯ·qō·w·a‘ — 1 Occ.

8619
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