QUEEN (men). The Hebrews had no word properly answering to our term 'queen,' which is the feminine of 'king;' neither had they the dignity which that word denotes. The Hebrew word usually translated 'queen' is gheb-ee-raw', mistress, or lady, being the feminine of master, or lord. The feminine is to be understood by its relation to the mascu line; which is not applied to kingly power, or to kings, but to general authority and dominion. It is in fact the word which occurs twice with refer ence to Isaac's blessing of Jacob :—'Be lord over thy brethren ;' and, 'I have made him thy lord' (Gen. xxvii:29-37)• (1) Eligibility of King's Wife. Among the Jewish kings the usages bearing on this point were not different from those which are still exhibited should be clearly understood ; for it extend; throughout the Bible, and is yet entirely different from European social arrangements, under which the mother, as soon as she becomes widowed, abandons her place as head of the family to the daughter-in-law.
(3) Duties and Privileges. Examples of the good influence possessed by the king's mother oc cur frequently in Scripture. In how marked a manner does the mother of Solomon come for ward at the end of her husband's and the begin ning of her son's reign! She takes an active part in securing her son's succession ; it is in the con viction of her commanding influence that Adoni jah engages her to promote his suit, alleging 'he will not say thee nay ;' and then, when Bathsheba appears before her son, the monarch rises from his place, advances to meet her, bows himself be fore her, and seats her on the right hand of his throne (I Kings i, ii). That the king's mother in Western Asiatic courts. Where woman never becomes the head of the state, there can be no queen regnant; and where polygamy is allowed or practiced, there can he no queen consort. There will, however, be a chief wife in the harem; and this is no doubt the rank indicated in the Bible by the words which we render 'queen.' This rank
may be variously acquired. The first wife of the king, or the first whom he took after his accession, usually obtained it ; and if she is both of high birth and becomes the mother of the first son, her posi tion is tolerably secure; but if she possesses neither of these advantages, she may be super seded in her position as head of the harem by a wife of higher birth and connections, subsequently espoused: or by one who becomes the mother of the heir apparent.
(2) King's Mother. Very different was, and is to this day, in Western Asia, the position of the king's mother, whose state is much the nearest to that of a European queen of any with which the East is acquainted. It is founded on that es sential principle of Oriental manners which in all cases considers the mother of the husband as a far superior person to his wife, and as entitled to more respect and attention. This principle possessed high dignity is further evinced by the fact that Asa found it necessary to remove his mother Maachah 'from being queen,' on account of her abuse of the power which that character conferred (t Kings xv :13). Jezebel was very powerful in the lifetime of her husband ; but it is only under her son that she is called 'the queen' (gebirah); and the whole history of his reign evinces the important part which she took in pub lic affairs (2 Kings ix :22, 3o, 37; x :t3). Still more marked was the influence of Jezebel's daugh ter Athaliah in Judah during the reign of the latter's son, which was indeed such as enabled her at his death to set the crown on her own head, and to present the anomaly in Jewish history of a regnant queen (2 Kings xi).
(4) List of Queen Mothers. The following is a list of queen mothers through the successive reigns of the monarchs of the kingdom of Judah : Kings. Queen mothers.
Solomon Bathsheba.
Rehoboam Naamah.
Abijah• Maachah or Nlichaiah.
Asa. S Jehoshaphat . Azubali.
jelioram Not mentioned.