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• תִּרְצָה , תִּרְצָה

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

(1) A royal city of the Canaanites, the king of which was slain by Joshua (Joshua 12:24 ). It superseded Shechem as capital of the Northern Kingdom (1 Kings 14:17 , etc.), and itself gave place in turn to Samaria. Here reigned Jeroboam, Nadab his son, Baasha, Elah and Zimri (1 Kings 15:21 , 1 Kings 15:33; 1 Kings 16:6 , 1 Kings 16:8 , 1 Kings 16:9 , 1 Kings 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 (2 Kings 15:14 ). The place is mentioned in Song of Solomon 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 - T hersa, 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 (Numbers 26:33; Numbers 27:1; Numbers 36:11; Joshua 17:3 ).