Arrival in Yerusalem of the queen of Sheba

(1 Melechim 10; 2 Divre Hayamim 9:1-12

Right in the middle of the account of the expedition to Ophir the scribes, concerned to provide additional evidence of the greatness of the reign, inserted a new episode: the arrival in Yerusalem of the queen of Sheba and the imposing retinue accompanying her. (see Map)

This sovereign of Arabia arrived at the head of a long caravan of camels. She brought to the king of Yahudah-Yisrael, as a token of homage, the products of her country - gold, of course, spices, and precious stones.

From what country did this mysterious sovereign come? On the authority of the historian Strabo (first century A.D.) historians have for long thought that the queen of Sheba came from Yemen, a province of the south-west of Arabia, near the land of Pount. The capital, Marib, situated about forty miles to the north of the city of Sana (or Sheba), is in a neighbourhood of gold, emerald and beryl mines. Their yield was always fairly low but they are still worked even today.

But this is not exactly the location of the land of the queen of Sheba which modern scholarship considers the right one. Scholars have identified another land of Sheba, situated further to the north in the Arabian peninsula, in the centre of Hedjaz. It was therefore relatively near to Palestine. According to this view it was a small kingdom but prosperous and in a fairly advanced stage of civilization. Most of the people of Sheba were traveling merchants making use of the camel for their long journeys; they visited the great Mesopotamian markets, carrying the more valuable produce of their own country - gold, silver, precious stones, and especially incense and spices.

Whatever was the exact location of the country it seems to have been by no means out of the ordinary that the queen of Sheba should have traveled to Yerusalem for the purpose of negotiating the sale of a valuable consignment. Solomon's reputation had traveled far beyond the frontiers of Canaan; it was well known that this ostentatious monarch was surrounded by unheard of luxury and spent money very easily. In addition the chronicler explains that to pay homage to Solomon all the kings of the world sent him gifts (1 Melechim 5:14).

She came [to Yerusalem] to test him with difficult questions the Scripture tells us. Such a custom was fairly widespread in the East at this period. The various sovereigns enjoyed exchanging letters full of courtesies and exaggerated compliments. Correspondence on these lines could quickly become monotonous and so the kings sometimes added riddles, often in the form of a fable. The recipient of the letter had to find the allegorical meaning of the fable. This pastime was intended to show the sender's 'wisdom', that is, his sagacity and liveliness of mind. 37

The historians of the port of Tyre tell us that at the beginning of the reigns of Solomon and Hiram the two young kings took part in regular matches in each of which there was a considerable sum staked. At first Hiram lost heavily, but one day he was fortunate enough to discover a youth called Abd-Hammon who found the solution of all the riddles. Henceforward Hiram was in a position to set problems to Solomon that the latter could not solve. In this way, the chroniclers of Tyre proudly record, Hiram won a great deal of money.

It was quite natural therefore that after her arrival in Yerusalem the queen of Sheba should have tested the proverbial wisdom of Solomon. She opened her mind freely to him; and Solomon had an answer for all her questions, not one of them was too obscure for the king to expound (1 Melechim 10:3). In the circumstances Solomon was more fortunate than with Hiram.

The queen (it should not be forgotten that she was also a merchant) acknowledged that she was continually and increasingly astonished. She was lost in admiration at the halls of the palace and at the food offered her at the banquets. She gave vent to her admiration at the organization of Solomon's staff and the livery of the cup-bearers. She saw the pomp of a spiritual ceremony in which Solomon sacrificed many victims on the altar of holocausts. At these sights, which were indeed imposing, the queen, the Scripture tells us, was breathless. Her enthusiasm was carefully noted by the chronicler: 'For wisdom and prosperity you surpass the report I heard.'

The king's wisdom, the wealth of the court, the sumptuousness of the king's surroundings - everything at Yerusalem bore witness to the greatness of this reign.

The Queen of Sheba came to visit Solomon

37 The reader will find examples of these riddles, which re-appear in the wisdom books from time to time, in the numerical proverbs (Mishle 30:15-31) in which the riddles are followed by the answer. This oriental pastime seems odd to us in the twentieth century. At a later date the Greeks endowed this kind of game with a more philosophical character, or at least one that was subtler and certainly more attractive (cf Oedipus and the sphinx).

Exchange of gifts between the sovereigns

The queen of Sheba presented the king with a hundred and twenty talents of gold (a trifle over four tons) and great quantities of spices and precious stones; no such great wealth of spices ever came again as those given to King Solomon by the queen of Sheba (1 Melechim 10:10). There were never spices like those the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon (2 Divre Hayamim 9:9).

Solomon returned the compliment: And King Solomon in his turn, presented the queen of Sheba with all she expressed a wish for, besides those presents he made her out of his royal bounty.

To regard these presents between sovereigns as mere tokens of friendship, a sort of competition in generosity, would be to commit an anachronism.

In the Middle East at this period, and especially in Egypt, international trade was a State monopoly. Paintings in the hypogea of the valley of the Nile show us, in charming little pictures, how the first stage of such transactions was carried out.

The foreign traders disembarked at a port in the Delta. Surrounded by a military escort they were conducted to the throne room where the pharaoh solemnly received them. In some of the pictures Aegeans are shown: they can be recognized by their physical type and dress; they hold in their hands valuable ceramics, artistically ornamented. Elsewhere Phoenicians can be seen carrying in their arms cloth of attractive colours. Both arrive in long files and go to bow before the sovereign and lay their offerings at his feet.

In all these scenes the illustrator takes good care to depict these men from far off countries as tributaries or dependents of Egypt. Braving the dangers of the seas, they have come especially to Egypt to pay homage to the mighty Egyptian monarch.

The artist has deliberately omitted the next stage, but we know from other sources what happened. The vessels which had arrived at one of the mouths of the Nile, laden with raw materials or manufactured goods, would soon leave again for their home port with cargoes of wheat or millet, lentils or beans. On the coast of Lebanon (whether it was Tyre or Sidon) or in the isles of the Aegean sea (Cyclades or Sporades) there was at shortage of these foodstuffs, and it was precisely to barter for cereals or dried vegetables that these merchants had come to Egypt.

In the circumstances it was an ordinary transaction, an exchange of goods. But the majesty of Pharaoh required that this commercial transaction should avoid any suggestion of the market place. He received the precious objects as a present. As a reward he deigned to agree that the foreigners could take away with them a few sacks of grain which would prevent their starving. What was important in this matter was that the sovereign should derive from it added honour and magnificence.

Solomon, who was well acquainted with the niceties of Egyptian etiquette, had adopted in Yerusalem the ceremonial of the Egyptian court. We may well believe that the queen of Sheba came at the head of her trading caravan to offer Solomon articles of value. The lengthy and meticulous process of unpacking was accompanied in true oriental fashion by showers of compliments to the eventual purchaser - this was good commercial policy. Solomon indicated that he accepted. In payment the queen of Sheba would receive a quantity of goods about which the Scripture is silent. For these Sabaeans, living in a semi-desert, wheat and barley from the Canaanite countryside would certainly have formed the most convenient currency of exchange.

Then the queen of Sheba went home, she and her servants to her own country. At this point the Scriptural story comes to an end. But Arabian writers have provided a sequel to this chapter. The Koran gives a name to the queen: she was called Balkis, or Bilkis (Surat 27:20-45). Yosephus calls her Makada. The present emperor of Ethiopia claims descent from Baina-Hekem, the son whom the queen of Sheba is said to have had by Solomon. There is no historical objection to this relation ship: the kingdom of Sheba (in northern Arabia) seems to have been the founder of the kingdom of Sheba situated to the south-west of the peninsula. Later on, in the seventh century B.C. it appears that the southern province became the richer and the more important and it is possible that the northern Sabaean peoples retired to the south. On the other hand ethnologists believe that Ethiopia was peopled very largely by Arab populations coming from Yemen, that is, the ancient kingdom of Sheba.

Solomon made Yerusalem a centre of trade

Back    Solomon The Magnificent    Next

Solomon The Magnificent Index   Solomon Sitemap  Scripture History Through the Ages  Solomon The Historian  RADIANT DAWN  Solomon's Wisdom  SOLOMON IN ALL HIS HONOR  David's role in building the Temple  Dates of the building of the Temple  Division of the Temple  The Ark of the Covenant  The most Kodesh Place  Dedication of the Temple  SOLOMON Prince of Peace  SOLOMON THE TRADER   Solomon's Ophir expedition  The queen of Sheba  LITERARY ACHIEVEMENTS OF SOLOMON  First historical works of the Hebrews  What did Solomon write  THE SHADES OF NIGHT  Political and social failure  Solomon's spiritual failure  The moral failure of Solomon  CONCLUSION of Solomon