Good Queen Mothers, Bad Queen Mothers

The regnal formulas in 1-2 Kings list the name of the king’s mother for Judah, signaling an importance of her position and place within the books’ theological presentation. This book investigates the passages in which the king’s mother appears outside of the formulas through narrative criticism and integrates that study with a theological discussion of the formulas in order to demonstrate 1-2 Kings’ view of the queen mother’s place in the monarchy. She held a sanctioned position within the court and had such great influence upon her son that she receives blame as part of the monarchy for the exile.