🔼The name Tekoa: Summary
- Meaning
- Trumpet, Sudden Thrust
- Etymology
- From the noun תקוע (taqoa'), trumpet, from the verb תקע (taqa'), to bring forth a sudden force.
🔼The name Tekoa in the Bible
Tekoa is the name of a city in south Judah (2 Samuel 14:2), named fairly late in the narrative, and probably most famous for being the home of the prophet Amos (Amos 1:1).
In 1 Chronicles 2:24 Tekoa is incorporated in the genealogy of Judah as 'fathered' by Ashhur (who was the son of the already deceased Hezron, who was the son of Perez, who was the son of Judah with Tamar). But as Gilead (verse 21) is the name of a much mentioned region, we may conclude that Tekoa is really a town and Asshur, taking after his grandfather Machir, a ruler. In 1 Chronicles 4:5-7 we read about the sons of the two wives of Asshur; Tekoa is not mentioned.
Someone from Tekoa would be a Tekoite (תקועי), which is an ethnonym ascribed to Ikkesh, the father of Ira, who was one of David's mighty-men (2 Samuel 23:26, 1 Chronicles 11:28, 27:9). In Nehemiah 3:5 we read about Tekoites (תקועים), who partook in the post-exilic restoration project, but to whom Nehemiah ascribed the enigmatic distinction that their majestic ones (אדיר, 'addir) did not "bring their necks" to the work of their אדני (adoni). In Nehemiah 3:27, these same Tekoites (but now spelled תקעים) were seen working on a great projecting tower as far as the wall of Ophel.
In 2 Samuel 14:4-9 we meet a תקעית or Tekoatess.
🔼Etymology of the name Tekoa
The name Tekoa is identical to the word תקוע (taqoa'), meaning trumpet, but both Fuerst's Hebrew & Chaldee lexicon to the Old Testament and BDB Theological Dictionary deem a connection "dubious". The prophet Jeremiah, however, feels free to play with it: "...now blow a trumpet in Tekoa...!" (6:1). Most scholars agree, however, that the name Tekoa has to do with the verb תקע (taqa'), meaning to bring forth a sudden force:
תקע
The verb תקע (taqa') means to blow, clap or strike; to produce a sudden and brief burst of force. Noun תקע (teqa') means a blast or sudden sound (of a horn). Noun תקוע (taqoa') means trumpet.
🔼Tekoa meaning
The name Tekoa means Trumpet, the instrument that unites people at a sudden impulse. Both NOBSE Study Bible Name List and Jones' Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names, however, are more charmed with the verb's meaning of pitching a tent, and read Firm, Settlement (NOBSE) and Pitching (Jones).