Takua
| Tuqu' | |
|---|---|
| Other transcription(s) | |
| • Arabic | تقوع |
| • Also spelled | Taqua (official) Teqoa (unofficial) |
 Tuqu'
Location of Tuqu' within Palestine
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| Coordinates: 31°38′11″N 35°12′52″E / 31.63639°N 35.21444°ECoordinates: 31°38′11″N 35°12′52″E / 31.63639°N 35.21444°E | |
| Palestine grid | 170/115 |
| Governorate | Bethlehem |
| Government | |
| • Type | Municipality (from 1997) |
| • Head of Municipality | Khaled Ahmad Hamida |
| Area (built-up) | |
| • Jurisdiction | 590 dunams (0.6 km2 or 0.2 sq mi) |
| Population (2007) | |
| • Jurisdiction | 8,881 |
| Name meaning | "The ruin of Tekua", or "the place for pitching tents" |
Tuquʿ (Arabic: تقوع, also spelled Teqoa) is a Palestinian town in the Bethlehem Governorate, located 12 km southeast of Bethlehem in the West Bank. The town is built adjacent to the biblical site of Tekoa (Thecoe), from which it takes its name. Today's town includes three other localities: Khirbet Ad Deir, Al Halkoom, and Khirbet Tuqu’. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), Tuqu' had a population of 8,881 in 2007.
The town is a part of the 'Arab al-Ta'amira village cluster, along with Za'atara, Beit Ta'mir, Hindaza, Khirbet al-Deir and al-Asakra. Tuqu has a municipal jurisdiction of over 191,262 dunams, but its built-up area consists of 590 dunams, as 98.5% of the village's land is classified by Israel as Area C or Nature Reserves, and 1.5% as Area B. Situated in the immediate vicinity is the modern Israeli settlement of Tekoa.
Tuqu’ is located 12km (horizontal distance) south-east of Bethlehem. It is bordered by Tuqu’ wilds to the east, Jannatah town to the north, Al Manshiya and Marah Rabah to the west, and Al Maniya and Kisan villages to the south.
According to biblical sources, Ephrathites from Bethlehem and the Calebites from Hebron founded Tuqu' (Tekoa). Jewish encyclopedia Isidore Singer notes that "the Greek text of a passage (Joshua 15:60) lost in the Hebrew places it, together with Bethlehem and other towns of the hill-country of Judah, south of Jerusalem". The land was described as a "desert" in (2 Chronicles 20:20) but (Amos 1:1) suggests the land is reasonable for shepherding. Strong's concordance has the town's literal meaning from Hebrew to English means, "a stockade." Gesenius's lexicon uses "the pitching" in reference to tents.
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