• Tehth
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    • TEHTH

      or, as commonly anglicized, teth [ט]. The ninth letter of the Hebrew alphabet, used also later, outside the Hebrew Scriptures, to denote the number nine. The meaning of the name is uncertain.

      The sound represented by the letter corresponds to an emphatic English “t,” produced by pressing the tongue strongly against the palate. Its sound differs from that of the letter taw [ת] primarily because of its lack of aspiration after the “t” sound. In the original Hebrew, it appears at the beginning of each verse of Psalm 119:65-72.

  • Tekoa
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    • 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.

  • Telaim
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    • TELAIM

      (Te·laʹim) [lambs].

      A site, apparently in Judah, where Saul numbered his forces before striking the Amalekites. (1 Sam. 15:1-4) Telaim appears to be the same as Telem, listed with southern Judean cities, and is usually believed to have been located about twenty-six miles (c. 42 kilometers) W-SW of the southern end of the Dead Sea. (Josh. 15:21, 24) It is also probably to be connected with “Telam.”—1 Sam. 27:8; see TELAM; TELEM No. 2.

  • Telam
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    • TELAM

      (Teʹlam).

      Twelve manuscripts of the Greek Septuagint say that Tela(m) was one of the limits of the dwellings of the Geshurites, Girzites and Amalekites in David’s day. (1 Sam. 27:8) This would appear to connect Telam with Telaim referred to at 1 Samuel 15:4, and Telem in southern Judah. (Josh. 15:21, 24) At 1 Samuel 27:8, the Hebrew Masoretic text reads “from long ago,” which differs from the expression “from Telam” by only two Hebrew consonants.—See TELAIM; TELEM No. 2.

  • Tel-assar
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    • TEL-ASSAR

      (Tel-asʹsar) [hill of Asshur].

      A place inhabited by “the sons of Eden” mentioned along with Gozan, Haran and Rezeph, sites in northern Mesopotamia. (2 Ki. 19:12; Isa. 37:12) Sennacherib boasted, through his messengers, that the gods worshiped by the people of these places had been unable to deliver them from the power of his forefathers. Due to the reference to “the sons of Eden,” Telassar is generally associated with the small kingdom of Bit-adini along the Upper Euphrates. Assyrian monarchs Tiglath-pileser III and Esar-haddon both refer to a Til-Ashuri, but its location is considered to have been near the Assyrian border of Elam. Hence, identification of Tel-assar remains uncertain. The name is a common form of place-name, however.

  • Telem
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    • TELEM

      (Teʹlem) [lambs or oppression].

      1. A gatekeeper among those dismissing their foreign wives in the days of Ezra.—Ezra 10:16, 17, 24.

      2. A city in the southern part of Judah. (Josh. 15:21, 24) It may be represented by Tell Umm es-Salafeh, some twenty-six miles (c. 42 kilometers) W-SW of the southern end of the Dead Sea. It is possibly the same as Telaim, though the two names could have different meanings.—See TELAIM.

  • Tema
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    • TEMA

      (Teʹma) [south country].

      1. A son of Ishmael, and the place where the tribe of Tema’s descendants settled.—Gen. 25:13-15; 1 Chron. 1:29, 30.

      2. Probably the same as modern Taima, an oasis located about 250 miles (402 kilometers) SE of Ezion-geber, where two major caravan routes crossed. (Job 6:19) Tema, along with nearby Dedan, is mentioned in the prophecies of Isaiah (21:13, 14) and Jeremiah (25:15-23). In this latter prophecy Tema was specifically named as among the places whose inhabitants would be compelled to drink of Jehovah’s “cup of the wine of rage.” Babylonian King Nabonidus apparently established a second capital in Tema, leaving Belshazzar at Babylon in charge during his absence.