Home

Tirtzah

Tirtzah is a Hebrew name and toponym meaning “delight” or “she is pleasing,” and it is commonly rendered in English as Tirzah, Tirsa, or Tirtza. The form and meaning derive from the Hebrew root that conveys delight or pleasingness, and the name is used for girls in Jewish and Israeli contexts as well as in biblical and post-biblical literature.

Geographically, Tirzah is known in the Hebrew Bible as the capital of the northern kingdom of Israel

As a personal name, Tirzah has continued to be used beyond biblical times. It appears in various

See also: Tirzah (disambiguation) for other uses of the name and place.

before
the
rise
of
Samaria
under
Omri.
The
city’s
location
is
not
given
with
modern
precision
in
ancient
texts,
but
archaeological
and
scholarly
work
widely
associates
Tirzah
with
the
tell
known
as
Tel
Tirzah
in
the
Jezreel
Valley
in
northern
Israel.
Excavations
at
Tel
Tirzah
have
uncovered
remains
dating
to
the
Iron
Age,
supporting
its
identification
as
a
major
urban
center
in
the
northern
kingdom
during
the
early
first
millennium
BCE.
The
shift
of
administrative
power
from
Tirzah
to
Samaria
marks
a
significant
moment
in
the
biblical
history
of
Israel.
Jewish
and
Christian
naming
traditions
and
has
several
transliterations,
including
Tirzah,
Tirsa,
and
Tirtza.
In
modern
Hebrew
usage,
Tirzah
remains
a
feminine
given
name
and
is
sometimes
selected
for
its
biblical
resonance
and
its
meaning
of
delight.