Mary as Queen of Heaven

DEFENSE

Many terms are not found in the Bible, yet they have a biblical basis. The Marian title “Queen of Heaven” is one such term.

Just because a term is not found in the Bible does not mean it is “un- biblical” (contrary to Scripture). It can have a solid scriptural basis. For example, the terms “Trinity,” “original sin,” and even “Bible” are not found in Scripture, but each describes a biblical reality.

Mary’s role as queen is based on her Son’s role as king.

Jesus serves both as David’s successor as king of Israel (Luke 1:32; John 1:49, etc.) and as the universal, spiritual king, whose “kingdom is not of this world” (John 18:36), who sat down in heaven with his Father “on his throne” (Rev. 3:21), and who is thus the heavenly “king of kings” (Rev. 17:14, 19:16).

In view of Jesus’ kingship, Christians naturally reflected on what this had to say about the royal status of his mother. If Jesus is king, it is natural to view Mary in regal terms.

This is particularly the case in light of the way the concept of queen- ship worked in ancient Israel. At the time, a king might have many wives (Solomon is said to have had seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines; 1 Kings 11:3), but he only had one mother, and it was to her that royal authority accrued.

In the house of David the king’s mother was known as the gebirah (Hebrew for “lady” or “great lady”). This term is sometimes translated “queen” or “queen mother.” The gebirah had a distinct office that allowed her to exercise royal authority greater than that of the king’s wives.’

If Jesus is the new Davidic king, then it is natural to see Mary as the new Davidic gebirah.

Since Jesus now exercises his kingship in heaven, and since Mary is also in heaven, it has been natural to apply the term “Queen of Heaven” to her.
TIP
For information about how the office of gebirah worked
in Israel and surrounding nations, see Roland de Vaux,
Ancient Israel: Its Life and Institutions, 117–19.