TEKOA

(Te·koʹa).

A town in the territory of Judah that is commonly identified with Khirbet Taquʽa, some ten miles (16 kilometers) S of Jerusalem and lying at an elevation of about 2,700 feet (c. 820 meters). To the E stretches the wilderness of Judah, of which the “wilderness of Tekoa” (where the Ammonites, Moabites and the forces from Mount Seir suffered a crushing defeat during Jehoshaphat’s reign) was apparently a part. (2 Chron. 20:20, 24) King Rehoboam, David’s grandson, rebuilt and fortified Tekoa, and for centuries thereafter the city evidently served as an outpost in the Judean defense system. (2 Chron. 11:5, 6; compare Jeremiah 6:1.) It was the home of Ikkesh, the father of one of David’s mighty men, Ira. (1 Chron. 11:26, 28) From there came the wise woman who, at the direction of Joab, appealed to King David in behalf of Absalom. (2 Sam. 14:1-21) And there, in the ninth century B.C.E., the prophet Amos raised sheep.—Amos 1:1.

The Tekoa mentioned in the Judean genealogical records (1 Chron. 2:3, 24; 4:5) may have been a son of Asshur. However, Tekoa is not listed in 1 Chronicles 4:5-7 among the seven sons of Asshur’s two wives, suggesting that Asshur, rather than being the father of a son named Tekoa, may have been the founder of the town or of its population.