Of Solomon and Sheba

Question: Is the story of King Solomon and Sheba important to us today?

The story of the Queen of Sheba's visit to King Solomon forms a short narrative in the Old Testament (I Kings 10.1-13). She comes, bringing a great camel train with her, to 'try him out with proverbs' and with hard questions, 'testing him' with all that was in her heart. Solomon answers all her questions, and does not keep anything back. The Queen of Sheba pronounces that his wisdom and prosperity exceed the report she had heard, and that his wives and servants must be happy, and she blesses the Lord his God for making Solomon King. She gives Solomon gold, spices, precious stones, and sandalwood, which Solomon makes into ornaments, harps, and psalteries for the Temple. In return, he gives the Queen 'all that she desired' - and then she turns and goes back to her own land.

The identity of the Queen of Sheba, and of Sheba itself, is unproven. Only a few countries could provide the gifts she brought, or those mentioned in Ezekiel (27.22-24) brought by merchants 'from Sheba and Raamah' trading with Tyre - Somalia, Ethiopia, Oman, or Yemen, previously known as Saba. Archaeological excavations in the area of the ancient kingdom of Saba have uncovered a temple, known as the Mahram Bilqis - Bilqis being the name given to the Queen of Sheba/Saba in Islamic stories. Other stories about her are preserved in the Ethiopian holy book the Kebra Nagast, including an account of her giving birth to Solomon's son Menelik after her return home. It was Menelik who, after visiting his father in Jerusalem, took the Ark of the Covenant back to Aksum.

The significance of the story of Solomon and Sheba is two-fold. Firstly, it tells of the union - certainly intellectually, and possibly sexually - of two individuals, two important leaders, a King renowned for wisdom, and an enigmatic Queen; if nothing else this was one up on Solomon's father, King David, who married Bat-Sheba, a priestess of Allat's shrine, the Ka'aba at Mecca. And secondly it tells of the inter-action between nations - a trade mission, if you like, from northern Arabia (or the Horn of Africa) to Israel. On both these levels the story is relevant, for individuals and nations, reminding us to welcome visitors, especially those from other lands, to learn from one another, to enjoy one another, to be open with one another, and to share our bounty, through fair trade with one another.