Tirzah

A city in the land of Judaea, belonging to Ephraim, and from the days of Jeroboam, King of Israel, to the reign of Omri, Tirzah was the royal city and the King’s residence.

It is said to have been a beautiful, spot, and the name Tirzah, which, comes from a root, signifying somewhat grateful, evidently seems, to say so, Jesus compares his church to it. "Thou art beautiful, O my love, as "Tirzah, said the Redeemer, "comely as Jerusalem and terrible as an army with banners, " (Song vi. 4.) And is not the church all this when beautiful, in his salvation and comely in the comeliness which he hath put upon her? And what an awe do Jesus’s little ones strike even now upon the ungodly, when they beholdthem living in his faith, and fear and love? And who, will dare to oppose them, by and by, when they shall see the Lord Jesus come to be "glorified in his saints, and admired in all them that believe?"

Tir´zah, an ancient Canaanitish city (Jos 12:24), pleasantly situated (Son 6:4), which Jeroboam made the capital of his kingdom, and which retained that rank till Samaria was built by Omri (1Ki 14:17; 1Ki 15:21; 1Ki 16:15-18; 1Ki 16:23-24; 2Ki 15:4). The site is entirely unknown.

Pleasant, Son 6:4, a city of the Canaanites, Jos 12:24, and afterwards of the tribe of Manasseh or Ephraism; and the royal seat of the kings of Israel from the time of Jeroboam to the reign of Omri, who built the city of Samaria, which then became the capital of this kingdom, 1Ki 15:21,33 16:6,23 2Ki 15:14,16 . Its exact location is unknown.\par

Tir’zah. (delight).

1. Youngest of the five daughters, of Zelophehad. Num 26:33; Num 27:1; Num 36:11; Jos 17:3. (B.C. 1450).

2. An ancient Canaanite city, whose king is enumerated, among those overthrown in the conquest of the country. Jos 12:24. It reappears as a royal city, the residence of Jeroboam, and of his successors, 1Ki 14:17-18, and as the seat of the conspiracy of Menahem ben-Gaddi , against the wretched, Shallum. 2Ki 15:16.

Its reputation for beauty, throughout the country, must have been widespread. It is in this sense, that it is spoken of in the Song of Solomon. Eusebius mentions it in connection with Menahem, and identifies it with a "village of Samaritans in Batanea." Its site is Telluzah, a place in the mountains, north of Nablus.

Num 26:33; Num 27:1; Num 36:11; Jos 17:3.

Tirzah (tir’zah), delight. One of the 31 cities of the Canaanites taken by Joshua, Jos 12:24, and for 50 years the capital of the northern kingdom of Israel, until Omri built Samaria. 1Ki 14:17; 1Ki 15:21; 1Ki 15:33; 1Ki 16:6; 1Ki 16:23. It is also mentioned in the reign of Menahem, b.c. 772, 2Ki 15:14; 2Ki 15:16, and its fame for beauty appears from Son 6:4. Tirzah has been usually identified with Telluzah, five miles east of Samaria, and 30 miles north of Jerusalem. The village occupies a fine elevation in the midst of olive groves.

[Tir’zah]

1. Youngest daughter of Zelophehad. Num 26:33; Num 27:1; Num 36:11; Jos 17:3.

2. Ancient Canaanite city conquered by Joshua. At the division of the kingdom it became a royal city for the kings of Israel. In Son 6:4 it is referred to as being ’beautiful,’ but the LXX and the Vulgate do not in this passage regard it as a proper name. Jos 12:24; 1Ki 14:17; 1Ki 15:21; 1Ki 15:33; 1Ki 16:6-23; 2Ki 15:14; 2Ki 15:16. Identified with Teiasir, 32° 20’ N, 35° 23’ E.

By: Executive Committee of the Editorial Board., Immanuel Benzinger

1. Ancient Canaanitish capital (Josh. xii. 24), which, from the context, seems to have been situated in the northern part of the country. Possibly, therefore, it should be distinguished from the Israelitish capital of the same name (I Kings xiv. 17; xv. 21, 33), which was made a royal city by Jeroboam I. (ib. xiv. 17), and which remained the residence of the kings of Israel until Omri. Subsequently Tirzah is mentioned only as the center of the revolution of Menahem (II Kings xv. 14, 16); and even in this passage "Tirzah," on the basis of the Septuagint text, should perhaps be read "Tharseila" and be identified with the village of that name, which, according to the "Onomasticon" of Eusebius, was a Samaritan town in Bashan, corresponding to the modern Tsil.The only information possessed concerning the royal city of Tirzah, which is praised for its beauty in Cant. vi. 4, is that it was situated in the, district of Zelophehad in the tribe of Manasseh (Num. xxvi. 33, xxvii. 1, xxxvi. 11; Josh. xvii. 3); but, since neither Josephus nor the "Onomasticon" gives any details regarding it, all identifications are uncertain. Robinson considered it to be the site of the modern Ṭalluza, the Ṭarlusa of the Talmud, a town about seven kilometers northeast of Nablus (Neubauer, "G. T." p. 268), while Conder, on the other hand, identified it with Tayasir, an ancient site with caverns, tombs, and other remains, nineteen kilometers northeast of Nablus. The translation of "Tirzah" by "Tir'an" in the Targum to Cant. vi. 4 has led other scholars to identify the place with the modern Al-Ṭirah, which lies south of Nablus, although this Tir'an may perhaps be represented rather by Ṭur'an, northeast of Nazareth.

2. The youngest of the five daughters of Zelophehad (Num. xxvi. 33).

TIRZAH.—1. One of the 31 cities captured by Joshua (Jos 12:24). It was the residence of Jeroboam i. (1Ki 14:17) and his successors down to Omri (1Ki 15:21; 1Ki 16:6; 1Ki 16:8; 1Ki 16:15; 1Ki 16:17; 1Ki 16:23). The doubtful reference in Son 6:4 compares the Shulammite to Tirzah in beauty. The site is uncertain. Three different identifications have met with favour: Talluza, a village E. of Samaria and N. of Mt. Ebal; et-Tireh, a village close to Mt. Gerizim; and Teyasir, 11 m. N. of Nâblus (Shechem) and 12 m. E. of Sebastiyeh (Samaria). 2. One of the five daughters of Zelophehad (Num 26:33; Num 27:1; Num 36:11, Jos 17:3).

H. L. Willett.

tûr´za (תּרצה, tircāh; Θερσά, Thersá):

(1) A royal city of the Canaanites, the king of which was slain by Joshua (Jos 12:24). It superseded Shechem as capital of the Northern Kingdom (1Ki 14:17, etc.), and itself gave place in turn to Samaria. Here reigned Jeroboam, Nadab his son, Baasha, Elah and Zimri (1Ki 15:21, 1Ki 15:33; 1Ki 16:6, 1Ki 16:8, 1Ki 16:9, 1Ki 16:15). Baasha was buried in Tirzah. Here Elah was assassinated while “drinking himself drunk” in the house of his steward; here therefore probably he was buried. Zimri perished in the flames of his palace, rather than fall into Omri’s hands. In Tirzah Menahem matured his rebellion against Shallum (2Ki 15:14). The place is mentioned in Son 6:4 the King James Version, where the Shulammite is said to be “beautiful ... as Tirzah, comely as Jerusalem.” The comparison may be due to the charm of its situation. The name may possibly be derived from rācāh, “to delight.” Several identifications have been suggested. Buhl (Geographic des alten Palestina, 203) favors et-Ṭı̄reh, on the West of the plain of Makhneh, 4 miles South of Nāblus, which he identifies with the Tira-thana of Josephus. He quotes Neubauer to the effect that the later Jews said Tir‛an or Tar‛ita instead of Tirzah, as weakening the claim of Ṭellūzah, which others (e.g. Robinson, BR, III, 302) incline to. It is a partly ruined village with no spring, but with ancient cisterns, on a hill about 4 miles East of North from Nāblus. This was evidently the place intended by Brocardius - Thersa, about 3 miles East of Samaria (Descriptio, VII). A third claimant is Teiası̄r, a fortress at the point where the road from Abel-meholah joins that from Shechem to Bethshan, fully 11 miles Northeast of Nāblus. It is impossible to decide with certainty. The heavy ṭ in Ṭellūzah is a difficulty. Teiası̄r is perhaps too far from Shechem. Buhl’s case for identification with eṭ-Ṭı̄reh is subject to the same difficulty as Ṭellūzah.

(2) One of the five daughters of Zelophehad (Num 26:33; Num 27:1; Num 36:11; Jos 17:3).