God had used Solomon, a man under his father David’s shadow, to supervise building the Jewish Temple for seven long years. Now, we have the tale of Solomon’s wisdom spreading like fire. It would be some time after Solomon’s famous judgment of the two harlots and who was the real mother of the living child and the dead child. The account of Solomon’s visitation from the Queen of Sheba can be read in 1 Kings 10 and 2 Chronicles 9.
Regarding the identity of Sheba, I decided to take a look at various commentaries. We could look at the various clues:
- John Gill’s exposition has mentioned Josephus, a Jewish historian, who mentioned that the queen may be an Ethiopian, and her name is Maqueda. It’s through Josephus that we also learn that Herodias’ wicked daughter was also named Salome, not to be confused with a follower of Jesus. Gill mentions that Sheba is the make of the queen herself. Benjamin of Tudela whom Gill mentions, also suggests that Sheba or Saba is Al Yeman or Yemen today.
- The Geneva Study Bible of John Calvin suggests that, quoting Josephus, that Sheba is the chief city of Meroe, which is an island of the Nile.
- The Commentary Critical and Explanatory of the Whole Bible by Robert Jamieson, Andrew Robert Faussett, and David Brown, mention that Sabea or Saba that Yemen would’ve been the country where the queen came from.
A bit of going back to the Old Testament may tell us that a person named Sheba was a descendant of Ham. Genesis 10:7 tells us that from Cush came Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah, Sabteca, and later we read of Nimrod the first ruler. Cush’s son Raamah had sons named Sheba and Dedan. Apparently, we have another African character. I also hold the opinion that Zipporah was indeed an Ethiopian residing in the land of Midian. Numbers 12 tells us later how Moses and Aaron later spoke against Moses. Yet, we see that Jethro, an idolater, came to the knowledge of Yahweh in Exodus 18.
We know how pagan much of the Middle East is. Some say that the Allah of Islam was among the many gods of the Middle East. The names Baal, Hubal, and Allah seem to be synonymous. There were different Baals such as the Baal of Phoenicia and the Baal of Canaan. This was now a heathen queen, perhaps a descendant of Cush through Sabteca and Sheba, going into the chosen nation of Israel. Solomon was already in a compromised position when he had an alliance with Egypt by marriage.
I guess this was really it. Israel was drawing the nations of the world to the knowledge of Yahweh. We can read how the Queen of Sheba asked many hard questions. We can also read her conclusion from both 1 Kings 10 and 2 Chronicles 9 which is as follows:
6 And she said to the king, “The report was true that I heard in my own land of your words and of your wisdom, 7 but I did not believe the reports until I came and my own eyes had seen it. And behold, the half was not told me. Your wisdom and prosperity surpass the report that I heard. 8 Happy are your men! Happy are your servants, who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom! 9 Blessed be the Lord your God, who has delighted in you and set you on the throne of Israel! Because the Lord loved Israel forever, he has made you king, that you may execute justice and righteousness.” 10 Then she gave the king 120 talents of gold, and a very great quantity of spices and precious stones. Never again came such an abundance of spices as these that the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.
5 And she said to the king, “The report was true that I heard in my own land of your words and of your wisdom, 6 but I did not believe the reports until I came and my own eyes had seen it. And behold, half the greatness of your wisdom was not told me; you surpass the report that I heard. 7 Happy are your wives! Happy are these your servants, who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom! 8 Blessed be the Lord your God, who has delighted in you and set you on his throne as king for the Lord your God! Because your God loved Israel and would establish them forever, he has made you king over them, that you may execute justice and righteousness.” 9 Then she gave the king 120 talents of gold, and a very great quantity of spices, and precious stones. There were no spices such as those that the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.
An interesting difference is that the Queen of Sheba mentions Solomon’s polygyny. We don’t know how she ascended the throne at this moment. Though, it was pretty much a male-dominated society. maybe, not so many wanted to accept the Queen of Sheba as the ruler of the nation because she was a woman. Maybe, that’s why she went to Solomon–to learn how to rule. Solomon received 120 talents of gold–each talent was worth 34 kilograms. That would be 4,080 kilograms of gold in total. The queen wanted to check for herself. Perhaps, she wanted dot secure her place by learning from Solomon.
There are accounts, though I think alleged, that Solomon soon had an affair with the Queen of Sheba. It’s often portrayed in popular cultures such as in the movie Solomon and Sheba. We should heed the wise words of Aiden W. Tozer about the menace of the religious movie. Stay clear from it! Some believe that Menelik I was an illegitimate child of Solomon and that an affair really did happen. If these allegations can be backed up by reliable historical sources–we should also learn from Solomon’s weakness. It doesn’t take long until the next chapter of 1 Kings 11 tells us of Solomon’s downfall.
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