Jeremiah 7:18 (WEB)
The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead the dough, to make cakes to the queen of the sky, and to pour out drink offerings to other gods, that they may provoke me to anger.
As quoted in the map (KJV)
Jeremiah 7:18 (KJV)
The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead their dough, to make cakes to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto other gods, that they may provoke me to anger.
Key words
- מְלֶכֶת הַשָּׁמַיִםmeleket hashamayim · Hebrew
- 'the queen of heaven' — a pagan goddess, probably Ishtar/Astarte, worshiped with sacrifice.
- כַּוָּנִיםkavvanim · Hebrew
- 'cakes' — a loanword for the cult cakes offered to the goddess; the whole family bakes them as an act of worship.
Why it matters
Families in Judah bake cakes and pour drink offerings to 'the queen of heaven.' Pitre confronts the objection head-on: the queen of heaven Jeremiah condemns is a false goddess receiving sacrifice, the worship due to God alone. Mary's queenship is a different thing altogether — the Davidic office of the queen mother, a human mother honoured and asked to intercede, never worshiped as divine.