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); compareSo 6:8f. Another Hebrew word for queen consort is gebhirah, literally "mistress" (compare1Ki 11:19, the wife of Pharaoh;2Ki 10:13, "the children of the king and the children of the queen"). InNe 2:6andPs 45:9we 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; comparePs 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; compare2Ch 9:1-12) and of Candace, the queen (basilissa) of the Ethiopians (Ac 8:27). InMt 12:42(compareLu 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).
SeeQUEEN 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