ABSTRACT Good Queen Mothers, Bad Queen Mothers: The Theological Presentation of the Queen Mother in 1 and 2 Kings Ginny Brewer-Boydston, Ph.D. Mentor: William H. Bellinger, Jr., Ph.D. The regnal formulas in 1-2 Kings list the name of the mother of the king for Judah, signaling an importance on the part of the queen mother and her place within the theological presentation of the books. This dissertation investigates the multiple passages in which the mother of the king appears outside of the regnal formulas through literary criticism and integrates that study with a theological discussion of the regnal formulas in order to demonstrate the narrative’s view of the queen mother’s place in the monarchy. As the gĕbîrâ, the queen mother held a sanctioned position within the Judean court and had such great influence upon her son that she too receives blame as part of the monarchy for the fall of Judah. The books of Kings depict Maacah (1 Kgs 15), Athaliah (2 Kgs 11), and Nehushta (2 Kgs 24), the only queen mothers to appear outside of the formulas, as wicked and acting in the same manner as the kings who receive a negative or qualified evaluation of their reigns. The books of Jeremiah and Ezekiel depict Nehushta (Jer 13, 22, 29) and Hamutal (Ezek 19) as wicked as well. Jezebel, appearing only in Kings (2 Kgs 9), receives the same treatment. These texts combine to show a mythos surrounding the queen mother, that she is a wicked queen mother by virtue of her son ruling during the divided monarchy. Three other queen mothers, who are not from the divided monarchy, appear in other biblical texts: Bathsheba (1 Kgs 1-2), Lemuel’s mother (Prov 31), and Belshazzar’s mother (Dan 5). Also, Genesis depicts Sarah as a proto-queen mother (Gen 16-21). The texts characterizes these women as good queen mothers, acting in a contradictory manner from the queen mothers of the divided monarchy. The queen mother outside of the divided monarchy can be a good queen mother even if she is foreign. These good queen mothers contrast with the wicked queen mothers and strengthen the mythos that the queen mother of the divided monarchy is wicked and she holds such a powerful, influential position that she is at fault, along with her son, for the exile of the nation. Good Queen Mothers, Bad Queen Mothers: The Theological Presentation of the Queen Mother in 1 and 2 Kings by Ginny Brewer-Boydston, B. S., M.Div., Th.M. A Dissertation Approved by the Department of Religion ___________________________________ William H. Bellinger, Jr., Ph.D., Chairperson Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Baylor University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Approved by the Dissertation Committee ___________________________________ William H. Bellinger, Jr., Ph.D., Chairperson ___________________________________ Joel S. Burnett, Ph.D. ___________________________________ Luke Ferretter, Ph.D. Accepted by the Graduate School December 2011 ___________________________________ J. Larry Lyon, Ph.D., Dean Page bearing signatures is kept on file in the Graduate School. Copyright © 2011 by Ginny Brewer-Boydston All rights reserved TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................ vii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS .......................................................................................... viii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ...................................................................................................x DEDICATION ................................................................................................................. xii Chapter 1. Introduction: The Mystery of the Queen Mother ...............................................1 History of Research ..................................................................................................3 A Position of Power and Respect: Her Social Role .....................................4 The Counseling Queen Mother: Her Political Role .....................................9 The Worshipping Queen Mother: Her Religious Role .............................12 Individual Ambition Rather Than General Rule: No Official Role ...........16 Who is the Gĕbîrâ? ....................................................................................19 Lasting Legacy: Regnal Formulas .............................................................22 Purpose and Significance ......................................................................................26 Methodology ..........................................................................................................29 Overview of the Study ...........................................................................................37 Chapter 2. The Legitimacy of the Formal Position of “Queen Mother” ..........................41 The Queen Mother of the Nations .........................................................................42 The Queen Mother of Assyria....................................................................43 The Queen Mother of Babylonia ...............................................................51 The Queen Mother of Ebla ........................................................................54 The Queen Mother of Egypt ......................................................................55 The Queen Mother of Elam .......................................................................57 The Queen Mother of Hattusa ....................................................................58 The Queen Mother of Sidon ......................................................................62 The Queen Mother of Sumer .....................................................................64 The Queen Mother of Ugarit ......................................................................64 Conclusion .................................................................................................66 “A (Queen Mother) Like the Nations” ...................................................................67 The Queen Mother of This Nation, the Gĕbîrâ ......................................................72 Conclusion .............................................................................................................82 Chapter 3. The Theological Framework of 1 and 2 Kings ..............................................85 “The So-Called Deuteronomistic History:” Preliminary Considerations ..............86 Regnal Formulas and the Making of Theology .....................................................88 Regnal Evaluations as Theological Method .............................................91 The King as the Keeper of the Kingdom .................................................100 Conclusion ...............................................................................................104 Prophecy-Fulfillment as Theological Justification ..............................................105 Prophecy as Proven Word ........................................................................107 Prophetic Words from Deuteronomy .......................................................108 Deuteronomistic Judgment in Action ......................................................111 Conclusion ...........................................................................................................112 Chapter 4. Worship and Power Gone Wrong? The Queen Mothers of the Divided Monarchy .............................................................................................................116 Regnal Formulas and the Queen Mother .............................................................118 Previous Hypotheses ................................................................................118 Influential by Virtue of Inclusion ............................................................121 Maacah: Woman of Royal Power and Cultic Patroness ......................................123 Who is Maacah, the Mother of Asa? .......................................................125 Maacah’s Roles as Queen Mother ...........................................................126 Conclusion ...............................................................................................130 Jezebel: No Peace for the Apostate Queen Mother .............................................131 Who is Jezebel, the mother of Ahaziah and Jehoram? ............................132 Jezebel’s Roles as Queen Mother ............................................................134 Conclusion ...............................................................................................145 Athaliah: The Queen Mother Turned King ..........................................................147 Who is Athaliah, the Mother of Ahaziah? ...............................................147 Athaliah’s Roles as Queen Mother ..........................................................151 Conclusion ...............................................................................................157 Nehushta: The Exiled Queen Mother ..................................................................158 Who is Nehushta, the Mother of Jehoiachin? ..........................................159 Nehushta’s Roles as Queen Mother .........................................................159 Conclusion ...............................................................................................165 iv Hamutal: The Calculating Lioness .......................................................................165 Who is Hamutal,