מַלְכָּה35 H4436
queen — a woman who reigns or holds royal consort status, especially the Queen of Sheba, Vashti, and Esther
Malkah is the feminine counterpart of melekh ('king') and appears 35 times, with the vast majority concentrated in the book of Esther. Twenty-four of those occurrences describe either Vashti, who defied royal summons at the opening banquet (Est 1:9-19), or Esther, whose courage before Ahasuerus reversed the decree against her people (Est 5:2-8:1). Outside Esther the word designates the Queen of Sheba, whose visit to Solomon tested his famed wisdom and left her breathless (1 Kgs 10:1-13). In Song of Songs 6:8-9, the plural melakhot ('queens') appears in a harem catalogue alongside concubines. Cross-linguistic glosses uniformly render the royal feminine: Spanish 'reina,' French 'reine,' German 'Koenigin.'
Senses
1. queen — A female sovereign or royal consort. The word overwhelmingly denotes named queens in narrative — the Queen of Sheba testing Solomon's wisdom (1 Kgs 10:1-13), Vashti refusing the king's command (Est 1:9-19), and Esther interceding for Israel (Est 5-9). The plural in Song of Songs 6:8-9 ranks queens above concubines in a royal household. 35×
AR["الْمَلِكَةَ", "الْمَلِكَةُ", "الْمَلِكَةِ"]·ben["-রাণী", "-রাণীকে", "-রাণীর", "-রানী", "-রানীকে", "-রানীর"]·DE["der-Koenigin"]·EN["the-queen"]·FR["reine"]·heb["ה-מלכה"]·HI["रानी", "रानी-की", "रानी-के", "रानी-को", "रानी-ने", "रानी-ने-भी"]·ID["sang-ratu"]·IT["regina"]·jav["sang-prameswari"]·KO["그-왕부가", "그-왕부마다", "그-왕부의", "그-왕비", "그-왕비가", "그-왕비를", "그-왕비야", "그-왕비에게", "그-왕비와"]·PT["a-rainha"]·RU["царица", "царице", "царицей", "царицу", "царицы"]·ES["la-reina", "la-reina?"]·SW["-", "bali", "kwa-wakuu", "la-malkia", "malkia", "mfalme", "sana"]·TR["kraliçe-", "kraliçeden-", "kraliçenin-", "kraliçeye-", "kraliçeyi-"]·urd["ملکہ", "ملکہ-نے", "ملکہ-کی", "ملکہ-کے"]
1 Kgs 10:1, 1 Kgs 10:4, 1 Kgs 10:10, 1 Kgs 10:13, 2 Chr 9:1, 2 Chr 9:3, 2 Chr 9:9, 2 Chr 9:12, Esth 1:9, Esth 1:11, Esth 1:12, Esth 1:15 (+23 more)
Related Senses
H0376 1. man, person, human male (2130×)H0251 1. brother (blood sibling) (573×)H0120 1. man, human being (individual/generic) (527×)H0802 1. woman, female person (519×)H0802 2. wife, spouse (255×)H0517 1. mother, female parent (217×)G0435 1. man, male person (202×)G1135 1. woman, adult female (190×)H2233 1. offspring, descendants (172×)H0001 2. ancestor, forefather (146×)H5288 1. Youth, young man (122×)H0269 1. sister (female sibling) (113×)H1755 1. generation, contemporaries (96×)G5043 1. child, offspring (89×)G0444 2. people, humankind (86×)H3206 1. child, boy, youth (86×)H2145 1. male (human being) (79×)G3384 1. mother (77×)H6485a 1. Qal passive participle: numbered ones, enrollment (76×)H1397 1. man (strong/mighty) (65×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
מַלְכָּה35 n.f. queen:—abs. מ׳ Est 1:9 + 24 times Est.; cstr. מַלְכַּת 1 K 10:1 + 7 times; pl. מְלָכוֹת Ct 6:8, 9;—queen of Sheba 1 K 10:1, 4, 10, 13 = 2 Ch 9:1, 3, 9, 12; of Persia, Vashti Est 1:9 + 7 times Est 1; Esther Est 2:22 + 16 times Est 4–9 (in Esther mostly appos. of n.pr.; it precedes n.pr. Est 1:12, 15; follows n.pr. Est 1:9 + 17 times); of Isr. queens only pl. and only Ct 6:8, 9 (both ‖ פִּילַגְשִׁים). Cf. גְּבִירָה.