תְּקוֹעַ
𐤕𐤒𐤅𐤏
Teqoa
H8620 noun
SILEX Entry
Definition
Tekoa — a place name designating a locality in the hill country south of Jerusalem, notable in biblical references as a village or town. While primarily a geographic term, in some contexts it also refers to individuals identified as originating from Tekoa ('the Tekoite' or 'from Tekoa'). The word is used to identify both the settlement and its inhabitants.
Semantic Range
Tekoa (a town in Judah); inhabitant or native of Tekoa ('Tekoite'); possibly the name of a region or area adjacent to the main settlement
Root / Etymology
From the root תָּקַע (t-q-ʿ), meaning 'to thrust,' 'to drive in,' or 'to pitch (a tent or camp).' The place name possibly originally meant 'camp' or 'station,' or is related to a geographical feature or an act of establishing a settlement, though the precise semantic development remains uncertain.
Historical & Contextual Notes
Tekoa appears in the Hebrew Bible as a town in the hill country of Judah, south of Bethlehem (e.g., Joshua 15:59; 2 Samuel 14:2; Amos 1:1; Jeremiah 6:1). Tekoa is associated with notable biblical figures: the wise woman of Tekoa (2 Samuel 14), and the prophet Amos is identified as hailing from there. The site was within the tribal allotment of Judah and later the post-exilic province of Judah. The term is used geographically (the town itself), communally (inhabitants of Tekoa or 'Tekoite(s)'), and genealogically (those descended from or identified with the town). Later tradition sometimes associates Tekoa with spiritual qualities based on its biblical residents, but this is interpretive and not part of the original lexical meaning. In English translation, 'Tekoa' is sometimes rendered as 'Tekoah,' but the Hebrew form reflects a place name. No religious or ethnic identity is implied by the term beyond location or descent; references to 'Tekoite' denote association with the town but not with later concepts such as 'Judean' in the post-exilic period.
Original Strong's Gloss (1890)
a form of תָּקוֹעַ; Tekoa, a place in Palestine; Tekoa, Tekoah.
Bantu Hebrew
No Bantu Hebrew comparisons have been submitted for this word yet.
+ Add Bantu Hebrew WordRoot Family
תקע (t-q-ʿ) — to thrust, to drive in, to pitch, to fix
| Strong's | Lemma | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|
| H8619 | תָּקוֹעַ | in the trumpet |
| H8621 | תְּקוֹעִי | the Tekoite man |
| H8628 | תָּקַע | embedded |
| H8629 | תֵּקַע | in a trumpet-blast of |
Word Forms
4 distinct forms
| SIDANCE | Surface | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | Occurrences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H8620-02 |
תְקֽוֹעַ | teqoa | HNp |
Tekoa | Tekoa | 4 |
H8620-03 |
תְּק֔וֹעָ/ה | teqoah | HNp/Sd |
Tekoa | Pitched-Camp | 1 |
H8620-04 |
וּ/בִ/תְק֨וֹעַ֙ | uviteqoa | HC/R/Np |
and in Tekoa | and in Tekoa | 1 |
H8620-01 |
מִ/תְּק֑וֹעַ | miteqoa | HR/Np |
from Tekoa | from Tekoa | 1 |
Occurrences in Scripture
7 total occurrences
| SIDANCE | Reference | Word | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H8620-03 |
2 Samuel 14:2 | תְּק֔וֹעָ/ה | teqoah | HNp/Sd |
Tekoa | Pitched-Camp |
H8620-04 |
Jeremiah 6:1 | וּ/בִ/תְק֨וֹעַ֙ | uviteqoa | HC/R/Np |
and in Tekoa | and in Tekoa |
H8620-01 |
Amos 1:1 | מִ/תְּק֑וֹעַ | miteqoa | HR/Np |
from Tekoa | from Tekoa |
H8620-02 |
1 Chronicles 2:24 | תְקֽוֹעַ | teqoa | HNp |
Tekoa | Tekoa |
H8620-02 |
1 Chronicles 4:5 | תְק֔וֹעַ | teqoa | HNp |
Tekoa | Tekoa |
H8620-02 |
2 Chronicles 11:6 | תְּקֽוֹעַ | teqoa | HNp |
Tekoa | Tekoa |
H8620-02 |
2 Chronicles 20:20 | תְּק֑וֹעַ | teqoa | HNp |
of Tekoa | Tekoa |