Queen

Queen - (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 Ps. 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 Chron. 15:16). In Cant. 6:8, 9, the king's wives are styled "queens" (Heb. melakhoth).

In the New Testament we read of the "queen of the south", i.e., Southern Arabia, Sheba (Matt. 12:42; Luke 11:31) and the "queen of the Ethiopians" (Acts 8:27), Candace.

Queen - (Webster's 1828 Dictionary)

QUEEN, n.

1. The consort of a king; a queen consort.

2. A woman who is the sovereign of a kingdom; a queen-regent; as Elizabeth, queen of England; Mary, queen of Scotland.

3. The sovereign of a swarm of bees, or the female of the hive.

A hive of bees cannot subsist without a queen.

Queen of the meadows, meadow sweet, a plant of the genus Spiraea.

QUEEN, v.i. To play the queen; to act the part or character of a queen.

kwen: The Bible applies this term:

(1) To the wife of a king ("queen consort") (malkah). In the Book of Esther it is the title given to Vashti (1:9) and Esther (2:22); compare So 6:8 f. Another Hebrew word for queen consort is gebhirah, literally "mistress" (compare 1Ki 11:19, the wife of Pharaoh; 2Ki 10:13, "the children of the king and the children of the queen"). In Ne 2:6 and Ps 45:9 we find the expression sheghal, which some trace back to shaghal, "to ravish," a rather doubtful derivation. Still another term is sarah, literally, "princess" (Isa 49:23). The Septuagint sometimes uses the word basilissa; compare Ps 45:9.

(2) To a female ruler or sovereign ("queen regnant"). The only instances are those of the queen (malkah) of Sheba (1Ki 10:1-13; compare 2Ch 9:1-12) and of Candace, the queen (basilissa) of the Ethiopians (Ac 8:27). In Mt 12:42 (compare Lu 11:31) Christ refers to the queen of the south (basilissa notou), meaning, of course, the queen of Sheba.

(3) To a heathen deity, melekheth ha-shamayim, "the queen of heaven" (Jer 7:18; 44:17).

See QUEEN OF HEAVEN.

(4) Metaphorically, to the city of Babylon (Rome) (Re 18:7): an expression denoting sovereign contempt and imaginary dignity and power.

William Baur

Definition

A queen is either the female ruler of a country or the wife of a king.

• Esther became the queen of the Persian empire when she married King Ahasuerus.
• Queen Jezebel was the evil wife of King Ahab.
• The Queen of Sheba was a famous ruler who came to visit King Solomon.
• A term such as “queen mother” usually referred to the mother or grandmother of a ruling king or the widow of the previous king. A queen mother had much influence; Athaliah, for example, influenced the people to worship idols.

(See also: Ahasuerus, Athaliah, Esther, king. Persia ruler, Sheba)

Bible References

• 1 Kings 10:10
• 1 Kings 11:18-19
• 2 Kings 10:12-14
• Acts 8:27
• Esther 1:17
• Luke 11:31
• Matthew 12:42

Word Data

• Strong’s: H1404, H1377, H4410, H4427, H4433, H4436, H4438, H4446, H7694, H8282, G09380