The Queen of Sheba

Blessed be the Lord your God who is pleased with you to the point of placing you on the throne of Israel because the Lord loves Israel forever and has established you as king to exercise law and justice (1Ki10,9). With these words the meeting of the Queen of Sheba with King Solomon concludes. They express the faith of a foreigner who has experienced the presence of God among her people.

The Queen of Sheba or of the South: who was she? It reigned in Saba or Scheba: southern port of Arabia near Ethiopia; probably modern Yemen, famous for its riches: gold, precious stones, precious woods, incense and perfumes.
The queen, having heard of Solomon's magnificence, his wisdom and the splendor of the Temple dedicated to the worship of the one God, wanted to confront himself with such greatness. She left "with a very numerous procession, with camels laden with aromas, large quantities of gold and precious stones" (10,3).
The procession was solemnly welcomed in Jerusalem which, in that time city of peace, cordially welcomed strangers who came to admire the greatness of the King.
The queen “introduced herself to Solomon and told him about everything she had in his heart. Solomon clarified everything she said to her, there was not a word so hidden from the king that he could not explain her" (3b). Probably they were riddles and questions aimed at ascertaining the wisdom of her much celebrated of her. The glory and wisdom of Solomon struck the queen - pagan - who "was breathless" and showed the king all her amazement: "it was therefore true what I had heard in my country about you and your wisdom! I did not believe what was said ... you surpass the fame that I have heard of it. Blessed are your men and blessed are these your servants who are always in your presence and listen to your wisdom. "She then broke out in a hymn of praise and blessing to the Lord-God of Solomon, who had given him so much wisdom and power. A God unknown to her, who had given all these gifts to the king, was evidently greater than all the divinities of the East. Jehovah's love for Israel made Solomon king to exercise law and justice, giving him that "wise and intelligent heart" which he had asked for (1 Kings 3:12).
Solomon welcomed the queen for a few days and, as we read in the Ethiopian sacred text "Kebra Nagast" the book of the "Glory of the King", from that meeting Menelik was born, the first of the Ethiopian emperors who would have brought the Ark of the Covenant with God's favor ( psalm 68 "Ethiopia will stretch out its hands to God").

According to some modern scholars , the story of the Queen of Sheba is a popular legend, which arose around the mission of an Arab trade delegation to King Solomon or, perhaps, more likely it was written to celebrate the virtues of Solomon. but it is, however, important to underline how God's greatness manifests itself to non-believers more than to his people. In any case, the story was well known to Jesus who recalls it to condemn the lack of faith of the Pharisees and scribes: "On the day of judgment, the queen of the South will rise up against this generation and condemn it because she came from the extreme borders of earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon. And here is one greater than Solomon" (Mt 12:42).


Anna Maria Del Prete
NP February 2021