Hebrew word · H1377

גְּבִירָה

migevirah

queen

This is the feminine form of gebir, 'lord, master', from the root gbr, 'be strong'. It means 'lady, mistress' (of a household: Gen 16:4, 8–9, where Sarai is Hagar's gebirah; Ps 123:2; Prov 30:23). Once it is used of Pharaoh's wife (1 Kgs 11:19).

Appears 6 times in 6 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) queen, lady

2) queen-mother

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of 2 Chronicles 15:16

Range of meaning

This is the feminine form of gebir, 'lord, master', from the root gbr, 'be strong'. It means 'lady, mistress' (of a household: Gen 16:4, 8–9, where Sarai is Hagar's gebirah; Ps 123:2; Prov 30:23). At court it is a title for a royal woman of high rank: Maacah (1 Kgs 15:13), Jezebel (2 Kgs 10:13), Nehushta the mother of Jehoiachin (Jer 13:18; 29:2). Once it is used of Pharaoh's wife (1 Kgs 11:19).

Against the English

KJV has 'queen', YLT 'mistress', and BSB, WEB and most modern versions 'queen mother'. 'Queen' misleads a modern reader, who hears 'the king's wife'. Maacah was not Asa's wife. 'Queen mother' is closer, but in English it can sound like an honorary title, when the Hebrew implies an actual position someone could be removed from.

How it drifted

KJV's 'queen' follows the general sense of 'royal lady'. Modern English uses 'queen' for a king's wife or a woman who reigns in her own right, not for a dowager who holds an office.

Used elsewhere in the period

Judah's royal records regularly name the king's mother (1 Kgs 14:21; 15:2, 10; 22:42, etc.), which suggests she had official standing. Comparable offices existed in the ancient Near East: the Hittite tawananna, a queen who kept her title and religious duties into her son's reign and could be deposed, and powerful queen mothers in Assyria (Naqiʾa) and at Ugarit. Bathsheba sits on a throne at Solomon's right hand (1 Kgs 2:19).

From the study of Jeremiah 13:18

Range of meaning

This is the feminine of gəbîr, "lord, master" (Genesis 27:29, 37), from the root gbr, "to be strong, prevail." In ordinary households it means the mistress of a servant: Sarai is Hagar's gəbîrâ (Genesis 16:4, 8, 9; compare Psalm 123:2; Proverbs 30:23; Isaiah 24:2). At the royal court it is a title. In Judah it belongs to the king's mother (Maacah in 1 Kings 15:13 and 2 Chronicles 15:16; Nehushta, Jehoiachin's mother, in Jeremiah 29:2). It is also used of Jezebel as queen mother (2 Kings 10:13) and of Pharaoh's wife Tahpenes (1 Kings 11:19).

Against the English

KJV "the queen" makes a modern reader think of the king's wife. YLT "the mistress" keeps the basic sense of the word but not its court setting. BSB, WEB and most modern versions rightly give "queen mother."

How it drifted

Kings of Judah had several wives, so no single wife held the top female rank. That rank went to the mother of the reigning king. English "queen" follows European monarchy, where the queen is the king's consort.

Used elsewhere in the period

The books of Kings almost always give the name of the king's mother when a Judean king comes to the throne (e.g. 1 Kings 14:21; 2 Kings 24:8, 18), which shows how important she was. Asa removed his grandmother Maacah "from being gəbîrâ," which implies a position a person could be removed from. Bathsheba is given a throne at Solomon's right hand (1 Kings 2:19). Elsewhere in the ancient Near East, queen mothers were powerful figures, for example at Ugarit and among the Hittites. Scholars debate how far the Judean role was a formal office.

Where it appears

1 Kings · 2

  1. 1 Kings 11:19 הַגְּבִירָֽה׃ the queen

    There Hadad found such great favor in the sight of Pharaoh that he gave to him in marriage the sister of Queen Tahpenes, his own wife.

  2. 1 Kings 15:13 מִגְּבִירָ֔ה from queen-mother

    He also removed his grandmother Maacah from her position as queen mother because she had made a detestable Asherah pole. Asa chopped down the pole and burned it in the Kidron Valley.

2 Kings · 1

  1. 2 Kings 10:13 הַגְּבִירָֽה׃ the queen-mother

    Jehu met some relatives of Ahaziah king of Judah and asked, “Who are you?” “We are relatives of Ahaziah,” they answered, “and we have come down to greet the sons of the king and of the queen mother.”

2 Chronicles · 1

  1. 2 Chronicles 15:16 מִגְּבִירָ֔ה from queen-mother

    King Asa also removed his grandmother Maacah from her position as queen mother because she had made a detestable Asherah pole. Asa chopped down the pole, crushed it, and burned it in the Kidron Valley.

    Here: 'From [being] gebirah.' This is a recognised court position, the queen mother, not 'queen' in the sense of the king's wife. Asa takes away her office and status.

Jeremiah · 2

  1. Jeremiah 13:18 וְלַגְּבִירָ֖ה and to the queen-mother

    Say to the king and to the queen mother: “Take a lowly seat, for your glorious crowns have fallen from your heads.”

    Here: "And to the Great Lady," the title of the king's mother at the Judean court. She held a recognized position of rank, not the role of the king's wife. Naming her beside the king means the whole ruling house is addressed.

  2. Jeremiah 29:2 וְהַגְּבִירָ֨ה and the queen-mother

    (This was after King Jeconiah, the queen mother, the court officials, the officials of Judah and Jerusalem, the craftsmen, and the metalsmiths had been exiled from Jerusalem.)

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.