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Tekoa - location profile

Location and Setting

Tekoa is situated just on the edge of arable land, overlooking the wilderness of Judea. It is located ten miles south of Jerusalem and five miles south of Bethlehem.
From its high elevation of 2,790 feet, both the Mount of Olives at Jerusalem and Mount Nebo in Moab across the Dead Sea are visible.

Joab sent a wise woman from Tekoa to David to pretend that she was in mourning for her son. As he heard her story, David realized he must be reconciled to his estranged son, Absalom (2 Sam 14:1-23).
Rehoboam built up Tekoa as a city for the defense of Judah. Its location allowed Tekoa to protect Judah’s southern flank from attack and its elevation provided a vantage point to send signals to Jerusalem and other cities in the kingdom (2 Chron 11:5, 6).
The name Tekoa means "trumpet blast." Its name probably comes from its strategic location from which attack from the south could be signaled to the rest of the kingdom (Jer 6:1).
Jehoshaphat and his army went out to the wilderness of Tekoa to fight the Ammonites, Moabites, and the inhabitants of Mount Seir (2 Chron 20:20-25).
Tekoa was the birthplace of Amos, a prophet to the Northern Kingdom. Amos’ writings were influenced by his agricultural background on the edge of the rugged wilderness of Judea (Amos 1:1).
Tekoites were listed in the number of those who repaired the wall of Jerusalem under Nehemiah’s direction (Neh 3:5, 27).

Gribble, R.F. "Tekoa" The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible. Ed. Merrill C. Tenney. 5 vols. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1976.
Lockyer, Sr., Herbert, ed. Nelson’s Illustrated Bible Dictionary. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1986.