Timnath-serah was the town in the hill country of Ephraim given to Joshua as his inheritance after the distribution of the land. Joshua rebuilt the town, lived there, and was buried nearby after his death.
Judges refers to Joshua's burial place as Timnath-heres, apparently a variant form of the same name.
The site is commonly identified with Khirbet Tibnah northwest of Ramallah, although Kifl Haris has also been associated with traditions concerning Joshua's burial. The precise identification is not completely certain.
After the tribal territories had been distributed, the Israelites gave Joshua the city he requested in the hill country of Ephraim. Joshua built up Timnath-serah and settled there.
Joshua 24 records that after Joshua died at the age of 110, he was buried within the territory of his inheritance at Timnath-serah, north of Mount Gaash.
Judges 2 recounts the same burial but calls the place Timnath-heres. The two forms are generally understood as variant names for the same location.
Timnath-serah belonged to the hill country of Ephraim and is described in relation to Mount Gaash.
The biblical text provides relatively little additional information about the settlement itself. Its primary importance comes from its association with Joshua's inheritance, residence, and burial.
Later Jewish, Samaritan, Christian, and Muslim traditions developed around proposed locations of Joshua's tomb, but these traditions do not independently establish the ancient site.
Khirbet Tibnah, northwest of Ramallah, is a commonly proposed identification of Timnath-serah. Its location in the Ephraimite hill country and preservation of a related ancient name support the proposal.
Kifl Haris has also been associated traditionally with the burial of Joshua and other biblical figures.
Available archaeological and textual evidence does not establish either identification with complete certainty. AVWJ should therefore describe Khirbet Tibnah as a leading candidate rather than a proven identification.