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Bible Dictionaries
Queen
Holman Bible Dictionary
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Wife or widow of a monarch and the female monarch reigning in her own right. Queen mother refers to the mother of a reigning monarch. Female regents were known in the ancient Near East (
1 Kings 10:1-13 , the queen of Sheba;
Acts 8:27 , the Ethiopian Candace). No queen ruled Israel or Judah in her own right, though Athaliah usurped power (
2 Kings 11:1-3 ). The wives of monarchs varied in their influence. Since marriages often sealed political alliances (
2 Samuel 3:3;
1 Kings 3:1;
1 Kings 16:31;
2 Kings 8:25-27 ), daughters of more powerful allies such as the Egyptian pharaoh or king of Tyre enjoyed special privileges (
1 Kings 7:8 ) and influence (
1 Kings 16:32-33;
1 Kings 18:19;
1 Kings 21:7-14 ). The mother of the designated heir also enjoyed special status. Nathan enlisted Bathsheba rather than Solomon in his plan to have Solomon confirmed as king (
1 Kings 1:11-40 ). Queen mother was an official position in Israel and Judah. Great care was taken in preserving the names of the queen mothers (
1 Kings 14:21; 1Kings 15:2,
1 Kings 15:13;
1 Kings 22:42;
2 Kings 8:26 ). Asa's removal of his mother from the office for idolatry (
1 Kings 15:13 ) points to its official character. On her son's death, Athaliah murdered her own grandsons, the legitimate heirs, in order to retain the power she had enjoyed as queen mother (
2 Kings 11:1-2 ). The queen mother likely served as a trusted counsel for her son (
Proverbs 31:1 ). As queen mother, Jezebel continued as a negative force after the death of Ahab (
1 Kings 22:52; 2Kings 3:2,
2 Kings 3:13;
2 Kings 9:22 ).
Copyright Statement
These dictionary topics are from the Holman Bible Dictionary, published by Broadman & Holman, 1991. All rights reserved. Used by permission of Broadman & Holman.
Bibliography Information
Butler, Trent C. Editor. Entry for 'Queen'. Holman Bible Dictionary. https://www.studylight.org/​dictionaries/​eng/​hbd/​q/queen.html. 1991.