Mary among the queens of the Bible

The Queens of the Old Testament and the Marian Typology

The Bible names several queens: Bathsheba, mother of Solomon, the Queen of Sheba, and Esther. While Mary is not explicitly designated as a queen in the Gospels, Catholic theology recognizes in her the fulfillment of all the biblical female royalty. This article explores the queens of the Old Testament and what each foreshadows in the person of Mary.

The Old Testament Queens: *Meleket*, the “Queen of Heaven”

In the Hebrew Bible, one of the titles for queen is *meleket*, attributed exclusively to the “Queen of Heaven,” associated with *Ishtar* or *Astarte*, a fertility goddess worshiped in Jerusalem and Judah. This is seen in Jeremiah 7:18: “They gather wood, they kindle the fire, and they bake cakes for the Queen of Heaven and offer drinks to other gods, to provoke my anger.” And in Jeremiah 44:17-19: “But we will fulfill all the words that have gone out of our mouth, burning incense to the Queen of Heaven and pouring out drinks to her, as we, our fathers, our kings, and our princes, did in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. And we had plenty of bread, and were prosperous, and saw no misfortune. But since we stopped burning incense to the Queen of Heaven and offering drinks to her, we have lacked everything and been consumed by the sword and hunger.”Another title, *malkät*, is used solely for the Queen of Sheba, as described in 1 Kings 10:1-4, 13: “The Queen of Sheba heard the fame of Solomon, and she came to test him with difficult questions. When the Queen of Sheba saw all the wisdom of Solomon and the house he had built, […] she gave the king 120 talents of gold, a very large quantity of spices, and precious stones. Never again was such a great quantity of spices brought as the Queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon. The king gave the Queen of Sheba all she desired and asked, in addition to what he had already given her out of his royal generosity. Then she returned to her land with her servants.”In the book of Esther, the royal consorts Vasti and Esther, as well as Artaxerxes, are mentioned:“In the time of Xerxes, Xerxes who reigned over one hundred and twenty-seven provinces, from India to Ethiopia. He displayed the wealth of his glorious kingdom and the splendor of his majestic greatness for many days, one hundred and eighty days. On the seventh day, when the king was in a merry mood from wine, he commanded Meum, Bizta, Harbona, Bigta, Abagta, Zetar, and Carcas, the seven eunuchs who served in the king’s presence. And the king said to the wise men who knew the times (for thus the affairs of the king were conducted in the presence of all who knew the law and judgment).” (Esther 1:1-4)“And the servants of Esther and her eunuchs came and announced it. Then the queen was very distressed and sent clothing to Mordecai and had him come from his mourning garb. But he refused it.” (Esther 4:4)“So the king went with Haman to drink with Queen Esther. On the second day, the king said to Esther at the banquet of wine, ‘What is your petition, Queen Esther? It shall be granted to you. What is your request? Even half the kingdom, if that will satisfy you.’ Then Queen Esther replied, ‘If I have found favor in your sight, O king, and if it please the king, let my life be granted to me as my petition, and my people as my request. For we are sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, killed, and to perish. If it please the king, let this be done to my people and to me, his servant; for the oppressors would not refund the loss to the king.'” (Esther 7:1-8)“And in every province and city, wherever the king’s word and his decree reached, the Jews had joy and celebration, feasts and days of gladness. And many of the people of the land became Jews, for the fear of the Jews had fallen upon them.” (Esther 8:17)“And he said to the queen Esther: ‘In the fortress of Susa the Jews killed and destroyed five hundred men and the ten sons of Haman. What, then, have they done in the rest of the king’s provinces? What is your petition, and it shall be granted to you? Or what is your request, and I will do it?’ Then Queen Esther, the daughter of Abiail, and Mordecai the Jew wrote with all urgency to confirm this second letter of Purim. To confirm these days of Purim at their proper time, as Mordecai the Jew and Queen Esther had enjoined them, and as they themselves had established for themselves and their descendants, concerning fasting and prayer.” (Esther 9:12, 29, 31)The only reigning queen mentioned by name, without receiving the title of queen, was Athaliah, who seized power in Judah after the death of her son Ahaziah (840-835 BCE). She was overthrown and killed when the high priest Jehoiada proclaimed Joash, the son of the king, as king, as described in 2 Kings 11: «When Athaliah, mother of Ahaziah, saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the royal lineage. But Jehosheba, daughter of King Joram and sister of Ahaziah, took Joash, son of Ahaziah, and stole him from among the king’s sons who were about to be killed, and hid him with his nurse. Thus she hid him from Athaliah, and he was not killed. Joash was seven years old when he began to reign» and 2 Chronicles 22,10-23,21: «When Athaliah, mother of Ahaziah, saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the royal lineage of the house of Judah. But Jehosheba, daughter of King Joram, took Joash, son of Ahaziah, and stole him from among the king’s sons who were about to be killed, and hid him with his nurse. Thus Jehosheba, daughter of King Joram, wife of the priest Jehoiada (for she was sister of Ahaziah), hid him from Athaliah, and she did not kill him. And all the people of the land rejoiced, and the city was at peace, because Athaliah was slain with the sword».Only during the Hasmonean period, Salome Alexandra (76-67 BCE), after the death of her husband Alexander Jannaeus, took power and held it until her own death. Royal consorts occasionally played significant roles in the politics of Israel and Judah, such as Bathsheba, wife of David and mother of Solomon, and Jezebel, wife of King Ahab, in the religious politics of the Kingdom of Israel.The mother of the king (gebirät = great lady) held a special position in the court and the kingdom, being mentioned by name at the beginning of her son’s reign, as in 1 Kings 14,21: «Roboam, son of Solomon, reigned over Judah. He was forty-one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city which the Lord had chosen from all the tribes of Israel to put his name there. And his mother’s name was Naama, an Ammonite». In 1 Kings 15,2: «He reigned three years in Jerusalem. His mother was called Maaca, daughter of Absalom». And in 1 Kings 15,10: «He reigned forty-one years in Jerusalem. His mother was called Maaca, daughter of Absalom». Also in 1 Kings 22,42: «Jehosaphat was thirty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Azuba, daughter of Shali». And 2 Kings 8,26: «Achaiah was twenty-two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Athaliah, a descendant of Omri, king of Israel». 2 Kings 14,2: «He was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jehodah, from Jerusalem». 2 Kings 15,2: «He was sixteen years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty-two years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jecholiah, from Jerusalem». 2 Kings 15,33: «He was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jerusa, daughter of Zadoch». 2 Kings 18,2: «He was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Abi, daughter of Zacharias». 2 Kings 21,1: «Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hezekiah». 2 Kings 22,1: «Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jedida, daughter of Adaiah, from Bocath». 2 Kings 23,33: «Pharaoh Neco imprisoned him in Riblah, in the land of Hamath, preventing him from reigning in Jerusalem, and imposed on the country a tribute of a hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold». 2 Kings 23,36: «Jeohakim was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Zebida, daughter of Pedaiah, from Ruma». 2 Kings 24,8: «Jeohakim was eighteen years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Neusta, daughter of Elnathan, from Jerusalem». 2 Kings 24,18: «Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hamutal, daughter of Jeremiah, from Libna».His position, however, did not protect him from being deposed by a devoted son or grandson of YHWH if he fell into idolatry, as in 1 Kings 15:13: “He even deposed Maaca, his grandmother, from her position as queen mother, because she had made an abominable image to serve as a sacred pole. Asa destroyed the abominable image and burned it in the Valley of Cedrom.” And in 2 Chronicles 15:16: “The king Asa even deposed Maaca, his grandmother, from her position as queen mother, because she had made an abominable image to serve as a sacred pole. Asa destroyed the abominable image and shattered it and burned it in the Valley of Cedrom.” Or from being deported by an enemy conqueror, as in Jeremiah 13:18: “Say to the king and to the queen mother: Descend from your thrones, for your glorious crown has fallen from your heads.” And Jeremiah 29:2: “Afterward the king Jehoiakin and the queen mother, the officials, the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem, the craftsmen and the metalworkers were deported from Jerusalem.”

Mary as Queen in the New Testament: The Queen of the South (Mt 12:42, Lk 11:31), Rev 12, and Marian Royalty

In the New Testament, the title “queen” appears in Matthew 12:42 and Luke 11:31 (here, “Queen of the South”) for the queen of Sheba: “The queen of the South will arise at the judgment with this generation and will condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon. And behold, there is here one greater than Solomon.” (Matthew 12:42) “The queen of the South will arise at the judgment with this generation and will condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon. And behold, there is here one greater than Solomon.” (Luke 11:31). And in Acts 8:27 for Candace, the queen of Ethiopia: “He arose and went. And behold, an Ethiopian, a eunuch, a high official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure, had come to Jerusalem to worship.” In Revelation 18:7, the wicked city of Babylon calls itself a queen: “Furthermore, she glorified herself and lived in luxury. She said to herself, ‘I am a queen, not a widow, and I will never know grief.'”In Christian devotion, Mary is often seen as an intercessor, playing the role of queen mother alongside her Son, with Esther, who intercedes for her people, serving as a type of this intercession.Deepen your studies: explore Mariology, Marian theology, Marian apparitions, and the Graduate Program in Mariology.To deepen biblical theology on Mary Queen, consult the Encyclical Redemptoris Mater by Pope John Paul II.