1 Kings 15:21

15:21 When Baasha heard the news, he stopped fortifying ¹  Ramah and settled down in Tirzah.

1 Kings 15:33

Baasha’s Reign over Israel

15:33 In the third year of Asa’s reign over Judah, Baasha son of Ahijah became king over all Israel in Tirzah; he ruled for twenty-four years.

1 Kings 16:6

16:6 Baasha passed away ²  and was buried in Tirzah. His son Elah replaced him as king.

1 Kings 16:8-9

Elah’s Reign over Israel

16:8 In the twenty-sixth year of King Asa’s reign over Judah, Baasha’s son Elah became king over Israel; he ruled in Tirzah for two years. 16:9 His servant Zimri, a commander of half of his chariot force, conspired against him. While Elah was drinking heavily ³  at the house of Arza, who supervised the palace in Tirzah,

1 Kings 16:15

Zimri’s Reign over Israel

16:15 In the twenty-seventh year of Asa’s reign over Judah, Zimri became king over Israel; he ruled for seven days in Tirzah. Zimri’s revolt took place while the army was deployed ⁴  in Gibbethon, which was in Philistine territory.

1 Kings 16:23

16:23 In the thirty-first year of Asa’s reign over Judah, Omri became king over Israel. He ruled for twelve years, six of them in Tirzah.

Joshua 12:24

12:24 the king of Tirzah (one),

a total of thirty-one kings.

The Song of Songs 6:4

The Renewal of Love

The Lover to His Beloved:

6:4 My darling, you are as beautiful as Tirzah, ⁵ 

as lovely as Jerusalem, ⁶ 

as awe-inspiring ⁷  as bannered armies!

[15:21]  ¹ tn Heb “building.”

[16:6]  ² tn Heb “lay down with his fathers.”

[16:9]  ³ tn Heb “while he was drinking and drunken.”

[16:15]  ⁴ tn Heb “Now the people were encamped.

[6:4]  ⁵ tn He compares her beauty to two of the most beautiful and important cities in the Israelite United Kingdom, namely, Jerusalem and Tirzah. The beauty of Jerusalem was legendary; it is twice called “the perfection of beauty” (Ps 50:2; Lam 2:15). Tirzah was beautiful as well – in fact, the name means “pleasure, beauty.” So beautiful was Tirzah that it would be chosen by Jeroboam as the original capital of the northern kingdom (1 Kgs 15:33; 16:8, 15, 23). The ancient city Tirzah has been identified as Tel el-Far`ah near Nablus: see B. S. J. Isserlin, “Song of Songs IV, 4: An Archaeological Note,” PEQ 90 (1958): 60; R. de Vaux, “Le premiere campagne de fouilles a Tell el-Far`ah,” RB 54 (1947): 394-433.

[6:4]  ⁶ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[6:4]  ⁷ sn The literary unity of 6:4-10 and boundaries of his praise are indicated by the repetition of the phrase אֲיֻמָּה כַּנִּדְגָּלוֹת (’ayummah kannidÿgalot, “majestic as bannered armies/stars in procession…”) in 6:4 and 6:10 which creates an inclusion. His praise includes his own personal statements (6:4-9a) as well as his report of the praise given to her by the maidens, queens, and concubines (6:9b-10). His praise indicates that he had forgiven any ingratitude on her part.