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Tirzah

cityOld TestamentSamaria13 verses
Today Tell el FarahCountry IsraelCoordinates 32.287, 35.338

Tirzah is an ancient city mentioned in the Old Testament, located in the region of Samaria in modern-day Israel. Known today as Tell el Farah. It appears across 13 verses in Scripture.

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Authority Records
Archaeological Data
Occupation Phases
Chalcolithic4500 BCE – 3800 BCE
Chalcolithic-Early Bronze Age IA4500 BCE – 3300 BCE
Early Bronze Age I3800 BCE – 3050 BCE
Early Bronze Age IB3300 BCE – 3050 BCE
Early Bronze Age II3050 BCE – 2850 BCE
Early Bronze Age III2850 BCE – 2500 BCE
Early Bronze Age IV/Middle Bronze Age I/Int. Bronze2500 BCE – 2000 BCE
Middle Bronze Age I2000 BCE – 1750 BCE
Middle Bronze Age II-III1750 BCE – 1550 BCE
Late Bronze Age I1550 BCE – 1400 BCE
Late Bronze Age II1400 BCE – 1200 BCE
Late Bronze Age III1200 BCE – 1150 BCE
Iron Age IIa980 BCE – 830 BCE
Iron Age IIb830 BCE – 720 BCE
Iron Age IIc720 BCE – 539 BCE
Iron Age III (Persian)539 BCE – 333 BCE
Hellenistic333 BCE – 63 BCE
Byzantine324 CE – 638 CE
UnitoAssyrianGovernance, Villages to Empires Dataset (CC BY 4.0), doi:10.5281/zenodo.15111732Uppsala University, ANE Site Placemarks (CC BY 4.0), doi:10.5281/zenodo.6384044

Biblical History

Tirzah occupies a prominent place in the political history of the northern kingdom of Israel, having served as its first capital before the founding of Samaria. The city first appears in Scripture as a Canaanite royal city whose king was defeated by Joshua in the conquest (Joshua 12:24). It later enters the narrative as a possession of Zelophehad's daughters (Numbers 26:33; 27:1), connected to issues of female inheritance that became legal precedent in Israel. Tirzah's political significance emerges fully in the divided monarchy: Jeroboam (1 Kings 14:17) and his successors Baasha, Elah, and Zimri all resided or died there. The city became synonymous with Israelite royal power until Omri transferred the capital to newly built Samaria around 880 BCE (1 Kings 16:23-24). Its beauty is celebrated in the Song of Solomon (6:4): "You are as beautiful as Tirzah, my darling, lovely as Jerusalem." This poetic comparison suggests Tirzah retained cultural prestige even after losing political prominence. The city later witnessed Menahem's violent coup (2 Kings 15:14), bookending its royal history with both foundation and bloodshed.

Archaeological & Historical Notes

Tirzah is confidently identified with Tell el-Farah (North), excavated primarily by the Dominican scholar Roland de Vaux between 1946 and 1960. The site revealed continuous occupation from the Chalcolithic period through the Assyrian conquest. A large unfinished palace complex from the ninth century BCE, abandoned mid-construction, is interpreted as Omri's building project before he transferred the capital to Samaria. An Iron Age IIB destruction layer correlates with the Assyrian campaign. The site also yielded important evidence of social stratification, large elite houses alongside smaller dwellings, echoing the prophetic condemnations of economic inequality in the northern kingdom.

Verse Appearances (13)

References

  1. Orr, J. (ed.) (1915) The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Chicago: Howard-Severance Company. [Public Domain]
  2. OpenBible.info (n.d.) Bible Geocoding. Available at: https://www.openbible.info/geo/. [CC BY 4.0]
  3. Bagnall, R. et al. (eds.) (n.d.) Pleiades: A Gazetteer of Past Places. Available at: https://pleiades.stoa.org. [CC BY 3.0]
  4. Wikidata contributors (n.d.) Wikidata. Available at: https://www.wikidata.org. [CC0]
  5. Lawrence, D. et al. (2025) Villages to Empires: a settlement dataset for the Southern Levant. doi:10.5281/zenodo.15111732. [CC BY 4.0]
  6. Church of England (1769) The Holy Bible, Authorized (King James) Version. [Public Domain]

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