1 Kings 15:13 (WEB)
He also removed Maacah his mother from being queen, because she had made an abominable image for an Asherah. Asa cut down her image and burned it at the brook Kidron.
As quoted in the map (KJV)
1 Kings 15:13 (KJV)
And also Maachah his mother, even her he removed from being queen, because she had made an idol in a grove; and Asa destroyed her idol, and burnt it by the brook Kidron.
Key words
- גְּבִירָהgebirah · Hebrew
- 'queen' — literally 'great lady,' the technical title of the queen mother in Judah (see also Jeremiah 13:18).
- מִפְלֶצֶתmifletset · Hebrew
- 'idol' — a 'horrid thing' made for Asherah; the reason Maachah is deposed.
Why it matters
King Asa removes his mother Maachah 'from being queen' because of her idolatry. Pitre uses this to show that the queen mother was a real, formal office in Judah — one that could be held and lost — not a courtesy title. The books of Kings name the mother of almost every king of Judah precisely because the gebirah mattered to the kingdom.