EZEKIEL 23:23 The names Pekod, Shoa, and Koa are taken by most scholars to refer to tribes located on the eastern borders of the Babylonian Empire. פְּקוֹד (peqôd, “Pekod”) is believed to be equivalent to the Assyrian pukadu, the name of a tribe in southeastern Babylon. שׁוֹעַ (šôaʿ, “Shoa”) is equated with the Assyrian sutû or sutî, a term used of nomads east of the Tigris River. Originally these nomads lived in the Syrian desert, according to the Amarna letters, but in the eleventh century BC they entered the eastern territory of Babylon. קוֹעַ (qôaʿ, “Koa”) finds its parallel in the Assyrian term kutu, a tribal group east of the Tigris River on the border of Elam and Median appearing in Assyrian inscriptions during the eleventh century BC and mentioned as part of Babylon conquered by Cyrus. - RALPH H. ALEXANDER #Christianity #Scripture #Bible