In the Hebrew Bible, Gebirah (/ɡəbɪərˈɑː/ gə-beer-Ah; Hebrew: גְּבִירָה, romanized: gəḇirā, lit. 'lady') is a title ascribed to queen mothers of Israel and Judah.
Description
editThe title means "[Great] Lady," with the word being the feminine counterpart to gəḇir (גְּבִיר) 'virile man, lord, hero.' However, given that this title is most often attributed to a queen mother, the two have become synonymous and therefore gəḇirā is most often translated as such. When romanised, "gebirah" can be used as both a common noun ("a gebirah", "the gebirah") or a proper noun ("the Gebirah"), as with most royal titles. Although not present in the Masoretic Text, the plural form gəḇiroṯ (גְּבִירוֹת) is commonly used by academics to avoid the intra-word switching of "gebirahs".
Some scholars believe the gebirah held great power as counsel of the king. In 1 Kings 2:20, Solomon said to his mother Bathsheba, seated on a throne at his right, "Make your request, Mother, for I will not refuse you". The position of the queen mother was a privilege of the highest honour. It was the highest authority for a woman in Israel or Judah. The only time a woman held higher office was in the case of Athaliah, who usurped the throne of Judah.
To further complicate matters, the word gəḇereṯ (גְּבֶרֶת; also גְּבִרְת gəḇirət and גְבָרֶת gəḇāreṯ, meaning 'lady', 'mistress', or 'queen') occurs nine times in the Masoretic Text. In comparison, gəḇīrā occurs only six times. Scholars generally take one of two stances with gəḇereṯ: either classing it as an acceptable variation of the word gəḇirā within the ketiv (featuring a common qere), or opting for a distinct separation of the two words, despite their converged meanings.
In Christianity
editWilliam G. Most, a Catholic author, sees in the gebirah a type of Mary.[1]
References
edit- ^ Most, William G. "Mary's Queenship", Our Lady in Doctrine and Devotion, 1994.
Further reading
edit- Ackerman, Susan (1993). "The Queen Mother and the Cult in Ancient Israel". Journal of Biblical Literature. 112 (3): 385–401. doi:10.2307/3267740. JSTOR 3267740.
- Andreasen, Niels-Erik (1983). "The Role of the Queen Mother in Israelite Society". Catholic Biblical Quarterly. 45 (2): 179–194.
- Ben-Barak, Zafrira (1991). "The Status and Right of the Gĕbîrâ". Journal of Biblical Literature. 110 (1): 23–34. doi:10.2307/3267147. JSTOR 3267147.
- Bowen, Nancy (2001). "The Quest for the Historical Gĕbîrâ". Catholic Biblical Quarterly. 64: 597–618.
- Brewer-Boydston, Ginny M. (2016), Good Queen Mothers, Bad Queen Mothers: The Theological Presentation of the Queen Mother in 1 and 2 Kings, Catholic Biblical Association of America.
- Cushman, Beverly W. (2006). "The Politics of the Royal Harem and the Case of Bat-Sheba". Journal for the Study of the Old Testament. 33 (3): 327–343. doi:10.1177/0309089206063438. S2CID 145638498.
- Spanier, Ktziah (1994). "The Queen Mother in the Judaean Royal Court: Maacah - A Case Study". In Brenner, Athalya (ed.). A Feminist Companion to Samuel and Kings. A Feminist Companion to the Bible. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press. pp. 186–195. ISBN 9781850754800.