Jump to: Smith's • ISBE • Easton's • Webster's • Concordance • Thesaurus • Greek • Hebrew • Library • Subtopics • Terms International Standard Bible Encyclopedia QUEENkwen: The Bible applies this term: QUEEN MOTHER (gebhirah, literally, "mistress," then a female ruler, and sometimes simply the wife of a king ("queen," 1 Kings 11:19); in Daniel 5:10 the term malketha' "queen," really means the mother of the king): It stands to reason that among a people whose rulers are polygamists the mother of the new king or chief at once becomes a person of great consequence. The records of the Books of Kings prove it. The gebhirah, or queen mother, occupied a position of high social and political importance; she took rank almost with the king. When Bath-sheba, the mother of Solomon, desired "to speak unto him for Adonijah," her son "rose up to meet her, and bowed himself unto her, and sat down on his throne, and caused a throne to be set for the king's mother; and she sat on his right hand" (1 Kings 2:19). And again, in 2 Kings 24:15, it is expressly stated that Nebuchadnezzar carried away the king's mother into captivity; Jeremiah calls her gebhirah (29:2). The king was Jehoiachin (Jeconiah, Jeremiah 29:2), and his mother's name was Nehushta (2 Kings 24:8). This was the royal pair whose impending doom the prophet was told to forecast (Jeremiah 13:18). Here again the queen mother is mentioned with the king, thus emphasizing her exalted position. Now we understand why Asa removed Maacah his (grand?)mother from being queen (queen mother), as we are told in 1 Kings 15:13 (compare 2 Chronicles 15:16). She had used her powerful influence to further the cause of idolatry. In this connection Athaliah's coup d'etat may be briefly mentioned. After the violent death of her son Ahaziah (2 Kings 9:27), she usurped the royal power and reigned for some time in her own name (2 Kings 11:3; compare 2 Chronicles 22:12). This was, of course, a revolutionary undertaking, being a radical departure from the usual traditions. QUEEN OF HEAVEN (melekheth ha-shamayim, although there is another reading, mele'kheth, "worship" or "goddess"): Occurs only in two passages: Jeremiah 7:18; Jeremiah 44:17-19, 25, where the prophet denounces the wrath of God upon the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem who have given themselves up to the worship of the host of heaven. This is no doubt a part of the astral worship which is found largely developed among the Jews in the later period of their history in Canaan. It is first mentioned in 2 Kings 17:16 as practiced by the men of the Northern Kingdom when Samaria had fallen and the ten tribes were being carried away into captivity. Moses is represented as warning the Israelites against the worship of the sun and moon and stars and all the host of heaven, practiced by the people of Canaan (Deuteronomy 4:19; Deuteronomy 17:3) and the existence of such worship among the Canaanites and neighboring nations is attested from an early period (compare Job 31:26-28). The worship of the heavenly bodies was widely spread in the East and in Arabia; and the Babylonian pantheon was full of astral deities, where each divinity corresponded either to an astral phenomenon or to some circumstance or occurrence in Nature which is connected with the course of the stars (Jeremias, The Old Testament in the Light of the Ancient East, I, 100). From the prophets we gather that before the exile the worship of the host of heaven had become established among all classes and in all the towns of Israel (Jeremiah ubi supra; Ezekiel 8:16). In that worship the queen of heaven had a conspicuous place; and if, as seems probable from the cakes which were offered, she is to be identified with the Assyrian Ishtar and the Canaanite Astarte, the worship itself was of a grossly immoral and debasing character. That this Ishtar cult was of great antiquity and widely spread in ancient Babylonia may be seen from the symbols of it found in recent excavations (see Nippur, II, 236). How far the astral theorists like Winckler and Jeremias are entitled to link up with this worship the mourning for Josiah, the lamentations over Tammuz, the story of Jephthah's daughter, and even-the narrative of the misfortunes and the exaltation of Joseph, is questionable. But that the people of Judah in the days before the exile had given themselves over to the worst and vilest forms of heathen worship and incurred the grievous displeasure of Yahweh is made clear by the denunciation of the worship of the queen of heaven by Jeremiah. QUEEN OF SHEBA she'-ba (1 Kings 10:1-13 2 Chronicles 9:1-12, called in Matthew 12:42; Luke 11:31, "the queen of the south" (basilissa notou)): SOUTH, QUEEN OF THE (Matthew 12:42). SHEBA, QUEEN OF See QUEEN OF SHEBA. Greek 938. basilissa -- a queen ... a queen. Part of Speech: Noun, Feminine Transliteration: basilissa Phonetic Spelling: (bas-il'-is-sah) Short Definition: a queen Definition: a queen. ... //strongsnumbers.com/greek2/938.htm - 6k 2582. Kandake -- Candace, a queen of Ethiopia 2403. Iezabel -- Jezebel, the symbolic name of a false prophetess Strong's Hebrew 4436. malkah -- queen... 4435, 4436. malkah. 4437 . queen. Transliteration: malkah Phonetic Spelling: (mal-kaw') Short Definition: Queen. Word Origin fem. ... /hebrew/4436.htm - 6k 7694. shegal -- (queen) consort 4446. meleketh -- queen 4433. malka -- queen 1377. gebirah -- lady, queen 4427a. malak -- to be or become king or queen, to reign 2060. Vashti -- queen of Pers. 4427. malak -- to be or become king or queen, to reign 1404. gebereth -- lady, queen, mistress 8472. Tachpenes -- an Eg. queen Library To Giovanna Queen of Naples Esther, the Queen. How Helena the Queen of Adiabene and Her Son Izates, Embraced the ... Hail, Queen of Heaven Wesley and Mary Queen of Scots Epistle xxxviii. To Queen Theodelinda. Epistle L. To Queen Brunichild. Epistle v. To Queen Brunichild. Epistle iv. To Queen Theodelinda. Of Mavia, Queen of the Saracens, and the Ordination of Moses the ... Smith's Bible Dictionary QueenThis title is properly applied to the queen-mother, since in an Oriental household it is not the wife but the mother of the master who exercises the highest authority. Strange as such an arrangement at sight appears, it is one of the inevitable results of polygamy. An illustration of the queen-mother's influence is given in (1 Kings 2:19) ff. The term is applied to Maachah, (1 Kings 15:13; 2 Chronicles 16:16) and to Jezetiel, (2 Kings 10:13) and to the mother of Jehoiachin or Jeconiah, (Jeremiah 13:18) compare 2Kin 24:12; Jere 29:2 Easton's Bible Dictionary No explicit mention of queens is made till we read of the "queen of Sheba." The wives of the kings of Israel are not so designated. In Psalm 45:9, the Hebrew for "queen" is not malkah, one actually ruling like the Queen of Sheba, but shegal, which simply means the king's wife. In 1 Kings 11:19, Pharaoh's wife is called "the queen," but the Hebrew word so rendered (g'birah) is simply a title of honour, denoting a royal lady, used sometimes for "queen-mother" (1 Kings 15:13; 2 Chronicles 15:16). In Cant. 6:8, 9, the king's wives are styled "queens" (Hebrews melakhoth).In the New Testament we read of the "queen of the south", i.e., Southern Arabia, Sheba (Matthew 12:42; Luke 11:31) and the "queen of the Ethiopians" (Acts 8:27), Candace. Queen of heaven (Jeremiah 7:18; 44:17, 25), the moon, worshipped by the Assyrians as the receptive power in nature. Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary 1. (n.) The wife of a king.2. (n.) A woman who is the sovereign of a kingdom; a female monarch; as, Elizabeth, queen of England; Mary, queen of Scots. 3. (n.) A woman eminent in power or attractions; the highest of her kind; as, a queen in society; -- also used figuratively of cities, countries, etc. 4. (n.) The fertile, or fully developed, female of social bees, ants, and termites. 5. (n.) The most powerful, and except the king the most important, piece in a set of chessmen. 6. (n.) A playing card bearing the picture of a queen; as, the queen of spades. 7. (n.) A male homosexual, esp. one who is effeminate or dresses in women's clothing. 8. (v. i.) To act the part of a queen. 9. (v. i.) To make a queen (or other piece, at the player's discretion) of by moving it to the eighth row; as, to queen a pawn. Thesaurus Queen (59 Occurrences)... Easton's Bible Dictionary No explicit mention of queens is made till we read of the "queen of Sheba." The wives of the kings of Israel are not so designated. ... /q/queen.htm - 44k Queen's (3 Occurrences) Queen-mother (2 Occurrences) Vashti (10 Occurrences) Mother (2641 Occurrences) Ahasu-e'rus (30 Occurrences) Ahasuerus (28 Occurrences) Xerxes (24 Occurrences) Candace (1 Occurrence) Libations (29 Occurrences) Bible Concordance Queen (59 Occurrences)Matthew 12:42 The queen of the south will rise up in the judgment with this generation, and will condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, someone greater than Solomon is here. Luke 11:31 The Queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation, and will condemn them: for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, one greater than Solomon is here. Acts 8:27 He arose and went; and behold, there was a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was over all her treasure, who had come to Jerusalem to worship. Revelation 18:7 However much she glorified herself, and grew wanton, so much give her of torment and mourning. For she says in her heart,'I sit a queen, and am no widow, and will in no way see mourning.' Judges 5:30 Are they not getting, are they not parting the goods among them: a young girl or two to every man; and to Sisera robes of coloured needlework, worked in fair colours on this side and on that, for the neck of the queen? 1 Kings 10:1 When the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of Yahweh, she came to prove him with hard questions. 1 Kings 10:4 When the queen of Sheba had seen all the wisdom of Solomon, and the house that he had built, 1 Kings 10:10 She gave the king one hundred twenty talents of gold, and of spices very great store, and precious stones. There came no more such abundance of spices as these which the queen of Sheba gave to king Solomon. 1 Kings 10:13 King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all her desire, whatever she asked, besides that which Solomon gave her of his royal bounty. So she turned, and went to her own land, she and her servants. 1 Kings 11:19 Hadad found great favor in the sight of Pharaoh, so that he gave him as wife the sister of his own wife, the sister of Tahpenes the queen. 1 Kings 15:13 Also Maacah his mother he removed from being queen, because she had made an abominable image for an Asherah; and Asa cut down her image, and burnt it at the brook Kidron. 2 Kings 10:13 Jehu met with the brothers of Ahaziah king of Judah, and said, "Who are you?" They answered, "We are the brothers of Ahaziah. We are going down to greet the children of the king and the children of the queen." 2 Chronicles 9:1 When the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon, she came to prove Solomon with hard questions at Jerusalem, with a very great train, and camels that bore spices, and gold in abundance, and precious stones: and when she was come to Solomon, she talked with him of all that was in her heart. 2 Chronicles 9:3 When the queen of Sheba had seen the wisdom of Solomon, and the house that he had built, 2 Chronicles 9:9 She gave the king one hundred and twenty talents of gold, and spices in great abundance, and precious stones: neither was there any such spice as the queen of Sheba gave to king Solomon. 2 Chronicles 9:12 King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all her desire, whatever she asked, besides that which she had brought to the king. So she turned, and went to her own land, she and her servants. 2 Chronicles 15:16 Also Maacah, the mother of Asa the king, he removed from being queen, because she had made an abominable image for an Asherah; and Asa cut down her image, and made dust of it, and burnt it at the brook Kidron. Nehemiah 2:6 The king said to me (the queen also sitting by him), For how long shall your journey be? and when will you return? So it pleased the king to send me; and I set him a time. Esther 1:9 Also Vashti the queen made a feast for the women in the royal house which belonged to King Ahasuerus. Esther 1:11 to bring Vashti the queen before the king with the royal crown, to show the people and the princes her beauty; for she was beautiful. Esther 1:12 But the queen Vashti refused to come at the king's commandment by the eunuchs. Therefore the king was very angry, and his anger burned in him. Esther 1:15 "What shall we do to the queen Vashti according to law, because she has not done the bidding of the King Ahasuerus by the eunuchs?" Esther 1:16 Memucan answered before the king and the princes, "Vashti the queen has not done wrong to just the king, but also to all the princes, and to all the people who are in all the provinces of the King Ahasuerus. Esther 1:17 For this deed of the queen will become known to all women, causing them to show contempt for their husbands, when it is reported,'King Ahasuerus commanded Vashti the queen to be brought in before him, but she didn't come.' Esther 1:18 Today, the princesses of Persia and Media who have heard of the queen's deed will tell all the king's princes. This will cause much contempt and wrath. Esther 2:4 and let the maiden who pleases the king be queen instead of Vashti." The thing pleased the king, and he did so. Esther 2:17 The king loved Esther more than all the women, and she obtained favor and kindness in his sight more than all the virgins; so that he set the royal crown on her head, and made her queen instead of Vashti. Esther 2:22 This thing became known to Mordecai, who informed Esther the queen; and Esther informed the king in Mordecai's name. Esther 4:4 Esther's maidens and her eunuchs came and told her this, and the queen was exceedingly grieved. She sent clothing to Mordecai, to replace his sackcloth; but he didn't receive it. Esther 5:2 When the king saw Esther the queen standing in the court, she obtained favor in his sight; and the king held out to Esther the golden scepter that was in his hand. So Esther came near, and touched the top of the scepter. Esther 5:3 Then the king asked her, "What would you like, queen Esther? What is your request? It shall be given you even to the half of the kingdom." Esther 5:12 Haman also said, "Yes, Esther the queen let no man come in with the king to the banquet that she had prepared but myself; and tomorrow I am also invited by her together with the king. Esther 7:1 So the king and Haman came to banquet with Esther the queen. Esther 7:2 The king said again to Esther on the second day at the banquet of wine, "What is your petition, queen Esther? It shall be granted you. What is your request? Even to the half of the kingdom it shall be performed." Esther 7:3 Then Esther the queen answered, "If I have found favor in your sight, O king, and if it please the king, let my life be given me at my petition, and my people at my request. Esther 7:5 Then King Ahasuerus said to Esther the queen, "Who is he, and where is he who dared presume in his heart to do so?" Esther 7:6 Esther said, "An adversary and an enemy, even this wicked Haman!" Then Haman was afraid before the king and the queen. Esther 7:7 The king arose in his wrath from the banquet of wine and went into the palace garden. Haman stood up to make request for his life to Esther the queen; for he saw that there was evil determined against him by the king. Esther 7:8 Then the king returned out of the palace garden into the place of the banquet of wine; and Haman had fallen on the couch where Esther was. Then the king said, "Will he even assault the queen in front of me in the house?" As the word went out of the king's mouth, they covered Haman's face. Esther 8:1 On that day, King Ahasuerus gave the house of Haman, the Jews' enemy, to Esther the queen. Mordecai came before the king; for Esther had told what he was to her. Esther 8:7 Then King Ahasuerus said to Esther the queen and to Mordecai the Jew, "See, I have given Esther the house of Haman, and him they have hanged on the gallows, because he laid his hand on the Jews. Esther 9:12 The king said to Esther the queen, "The Jews have slain and destroyed five hundred men in the citadel of Susa, including the ten sons of Haman; what then have they done in the rest of the king's provinces! Now what is your petition? It shall be granted you. What is your further request? It shall be done." Esther 9:29 Then Esther the queen, the daughter of Abihail, and Mordecai the Jew, wrote with all authority to confirm this second letter of Purim. Esther 9:31 to confirm these days of Purim in their appointed times, as Mordecai the Jew and Esther the queen had decreed, and as they had imposed upon themselves and their descendants, in the matter of the fastings and their cry. Esther 9:32 The commandment of Esther confirmed these matters of Purim; and it was written in the book. Psalms 45:9 Kings' daughters are among your honorable women. At your right hand the queen stands in gold of Ophir. Isaiah 47:5 Be seated in the dark without a word, O daughter of the Chaldaeans: for you will no longer be named, The Queen of Kingdoms. Isaiah 47:7 And you said, I will be a queen for ever: you did not give attention to these things, and did not keep in mind what would come after. Jeremiah 7:18 The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead the dough, to make cakes to the queen of the sky, and to pour out drink offerings to other gods, that they may provoke me to anger. Jeremiah 13:18 Say to the king and to the queen mother, Humble yourselves, sit down; for your headdresses have come down, even the crown of your glory. Jeremiah 29:2 (after that Jeconiah the king, and the queen mother, and the eunuchs, and the princes of Judah and Jerusalem, and the craftsmen, and the smiths, were departed from Jerusalem), Jeremiah 44:17 But we will certainly perform every word that is gone forth out of our mouth, to burn incense to the queen of the sky, and to pour out drink offerings to her, as we have done, we and our fathers, our kings and our princes, in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem; for then had we plenty of food, and were well, and saw no evil. Jeremiah 44:18 But since we left off burning incense to the queen of the sky, and pouring out drink offerings to her, we have wanted all things, and have been consumed by the sword and by the famine. Jeremiah 44:19 When we burned incense to the queen of the sky, and poured out drink offerings to her, did we make her cakes to worship her, and pour out drink offerings to her, without our husbands? Jeremiah 44:25 Thus says Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel, saying, You and your wives have both spoken with your mouths, and with your hands have fulfilled it, saying, We will surely perform our vows that we have vowed, to burn incense to the queen of the sky, and to pour out drink offerings to her: establish then your vows, and perform your vows. Lamentations 1:1 How the city sits solitary, that was full of people! She has become as a widow, who was great among the nations! She who was a princess among the provinces is become tributary! Ezekiel 16:13 Thus you were decked with gold and silver; and your clothing was of fine linen, and silk, and embroidered work; you ate fine flour, and honey, and oil; and you were exceeding beautiful, and you prospered to royal estate. Daniel 5:10 Now the queen by reason of the words of the king and his lords came into the banquet house: the queen spoke and said, O king, live forever; don't let your thoughts trouble you, nor let your face be changed. Nahum 2:7 And it is decreed: she is uncovered, she is carried away; and her handmaids moan as with the voice of doves, beating upon their breasts. Subtopics Queen of Sheba, Visits Solomon Queen: Makes Feasts for the Women of the Royal Household Queen: Sits on the Throne With the King Queen: The Moon Was Called "The Queen of Heaven" Related Terms Drink-offerings (31 Occurrences) Links Bible Concordance • Bible Dictionary • Bible Encyclopedia • Topical Bible • Bible Thesuarus |