Chapter 4.4
Queen of Sheba
The
Queen’s Legend Lives On: The Romance with King Solomon.
Did
they have a son together? Did she accept
the God of Israel?
Did
she and her son take the Ark of the Covenant to
Ethiopia?
Is
Sheba the Sabeans
who were Traders, Raiders and Slavers?
First
Word
There
is not much said in scripture about the Queen of Sheba except her interest in King Solomon. With that said; must speculation and
imagination has been penned about who she was including her romantic interests
and some entrusted secrets. To get an idea of “what they were thinking”, I have to go to books outside the Bible and
it will most probable mess with your BS, your Belief System, but that’s just the way it is.
Sheba - Saba
The
Hebrew spelling of Sheba was Saba and the people were known as Sabeans. The precise location of Sheba or Saba is not evident from
Biblical sources, however some Scholars insist the Queen ruled the tribes in
the mountainous country of Southwest Arabia.
Archaeological discoveries around 1762
have indicated that the Sabeans were in Southwest Africa (Yemen) and
apparently colonized parts of the adjacent Ethiopian coast south of Egypt. Josephus, the Jewish Historian describes the
Queen’s realm to be Egypt and Ethiopia.
They had settled in close proximity to the
Hamitic (Ham)
groups; the Egyptians and Ethiopians which testifies to a
blending of Semitic elements in their culture.
Although Saba
was not a large nation, it did however enjoy a sophisticated culture, because
of its trade in Frankincense and Myrrh.
They were TRADERS, RAIDERS and SLAVERS.
Job 1:14-15 – Sabeans
were Raiders and Slavers
14 A messenger came to Job and said, "The
oxen were plowing and the donkeys were grazing nearby,
15 and THE
SABEANS attacked and carried them off. They put the
servants to the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you! NIV
Joel 3:8 – Sabeans
were in the Slave trade
8 I will sell your sons and daughters to the people of
Judah, and they will
SELL THEM TO
THE SABEANS, a nation far away. The LORD has
spoken. NIV
Merchandise
Scripture holds that Sheba
or Saba was a wealthy country with herds of Camels, Slaves and Exports of Gold, Precious Stones, Frankincense, Myrrh, and Calamus which was a
tall perennial wetland plant with scented leaves that have traditionally
been used medicinally as well as to make fragrances; the dried and powdered
rhizome has been used as a substitute for ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg.[1] The Israelites did not use gold for money, but mainly for
decorations because the metal was soft enough to be shaped by craftsmen into
ornaments; but was too soft for weapons.
The Sabeans were a strong commercial power
and were originally camel nomads. Their
trade routes included Africa and India. At
times they controlled the Port of Aden and utilized merchant ships for their
cargo as well as had overland caravan trade routes. King Solomon had
built a fleet of ships at the port city of Ezion-Geber that made regular trade
voyages on the Red Sea; so trading between the two of them was very brisk.
The Story
Jesus
refereed to her as the “Queen of the South”,[2] so
she was an actual person and not a myth. The Legendary name of the Queen of
Sheba was Balkis. She was a contemporary of King Solomon in the
tenth Century B.C. The Nation of Sheba was polytheistic with
worship of the sun, moon and star gods; the
Despite considerable achievement in
agriculture mostly due to favorable rainfall conditions and an effective
irrigation system, she still depended on the income from the trade routes. The Queen made the trip of some 1,300 miles
to see King
Solomon; probably at first overland by camel caravan, then by ship
the rest of the way and then with great Pomp and ceremony to impress Solomon
she came by Camel caravan into the city of Jerusalem.[3]
Jerusalem today
is the center for Three World Religions, Islam, Judaism and Christianity. The Queen came to Jerusalem to test Solomon
with hard questions and riddles to investigate his fame of unmatched wisdom. My BS thinks that she may have also been motivated by
her underlying interest in seeking special treatment for her merchants to
negotiate unhindered movement in the international trade routes throughout the
land that Solomon controlled. Solomon collected money from the merchants that
used Israel’s trade routes.[4]
Solomon showed her around and she said that what she had heard was only the
half of what she had seen. She posed
many curious questions and mysterious riddles to him which he answered more
quickly than she had imagined and was “quite taken” by the King. She was overwhelmed by the orderly manner of
his kingdom and his FAITH in God. He answered all her questions; nothing was too
hard for him to explain to her; so that there was no more spirit left in her.
The Queen blessed King Solomon and blessed the GOD
OF ISRAEL for
blessing Solomon and Israel with such splendor. Then she brought in her gifts
of gold, spices, incense and some special wood.[5] Never again did such abundance of spices, come
in as that which she gave King Solomon. The
two great rulers exchanged gifts, respect and a mutual admiration for the
2 Chronicles 9:8
– The Queen praised the Lord God of Israel
8 PRAISE BE TO
THE LORD YOUR GOD, who has delighted in you and placed you on his throne as
king to rule for the LORD your God. Because of the love of your GOD FOR ISRAEL and His desire to uphold them forever, He has made
you king over them, to maintain justice and righteousness." NIV
120 Talents of Gold
Talent; the heaviest
unit of weight measurement in the Hebrew system. The common talent was about
3000 shekels or the weight that a man could carry. There were Four Talent Standards of weight;
(1) The Common,
(2) The Common Royal (5% heavier than the common weight),
(3) The Heavy Common (twice the
common),
(4) The Heavy Common Royal (5% heavier than
the heavy common).
The Queen of Sheba gave Solomon 120 talents of Gold.[6] At first Israel used the Babylonian “common talent”
of 66 pounds as their “Talent” standard, but later went to the “heavy common talent”
which was 132 pounds; so the Queen gave King Solomon between 7,920 to
15,840 pounds of Gold depending on the standard used. HOLY COW
In 1970 the price of gold was $37.00 an ounce or
$592.00 a pound
In 2010 the price of gold was $1,410 an ounce or
$22,560 a pound
So at the 2010 Gold standard, the
Queen gave Solomon $178,675,200
to $357,350,400.
The Josephus Account
This is a partial “selected”
account of what Josephus, the Jewish Historian wrote about the Queen of
Sheba. He was not a follower of “The Way” which makes his account even
more believable. I have shortened it, because it is quite lengthy and wordy. You will notice how greatly she was affected
by Solomon and it even reports furniture that she gave him which apparently was
loaded on other boats that accompanied her.[7]
Josephus 8.6.5
5.165 There was then a woman, QUEEN OF EGYPT AND ETHIOPIA, she was
inquisitive into philosophy – When this Queen heard of the virtue and prudence
of Solomon, she had a great mind to see him; and the reports that went every
day abroad induced her to come to him.
5.166 She proposed questions of very great
difficulty, and entreated that he would solve their HIDDEN meanings. Accordingly she came to
5.167 Upon the Kings reception of her, HE BOTH SHOWED HER A GREAT DESIRE TO PLEASE HER, and easily
comprehending in his mind the meaning of the CURIOUS
questions she propounded
to him. He resolved them sooner than
anybody could have expected.
5.169 But she was beyond measure astonished at
the house which was called the
5.170 When she saw that this was done every day,
she was in the greatest
admiration imaginable, insomuch that she was not able to contain the surprise
she was in, but
OPENLY
CONFESSED HOW WONDERFUL SHE WAS AFFECTED.
5.174 Now when the Queen had thus demonstrated in
words how deeply
the king had affected her, her disposition was known by certain
presents, for she gave him twenty talents of gold and an immense quantity of
spices and precious stone.
5.175 Solomon also repaid her with many good
things, and principally by bestowing upon her what she chose of her on
inclination, for THERE WAS
NOTHING THAT SHE DESIRED WHICH HE DENIED HER and he was very generous and liberal in
his own temper, so did he show the greatness of his soul in BESTOWING ON HER WHAT SHE HERSELF DESIRED OF HIM…. She returned
to her own kingdom.
The Legend Begins
This is where the Legend
of a ROMANCE between the
Queen of Sheba and King Solomon begins. Marriages were often “contracted” to cement
alliances with other nations. Legend has
it that she wanted a child by Solomon and so she became one of his wives and
became pregnant before she returned to Ethiopia. [8]
Ethiopian tradition says the son of
Solomon and the Queen was Menelik I, or Ibn al-Hakim which means “Son of the Wise Man”. It was said that the son visited Solomon and
studied about the religion of the Israelites and at some point returned to his home to found
his own dynasty. The tradition that the
royal line of Menelik I is
descended from Solomon and the queen is difficult to prove or disprove.
BAM: In 1955 the revised Ethiopian Constitution states that the Royal line “descends without
interruption from the dynasty of Menelik I, son of the Queen of Ethiopia, the Queen of
Sheba, and King Solomon of Jerusalem”.
Ethiopia –
Fiction or Fact
Other writing not found in the
Bible suggest that SOLOMON, concerned
about an invading army, built a replica of the Ark of the Covenant for protection
and that the real Ark was sent to ETHIOPIA for safe
keeping with his
More; June 26, 2009,
Abune Paulos, the patriarch of the Orthodox Church of Ethiopia attested that the Ark is being kept safe and
secure in a church in Axum, Ethiopia. The Apocrypha says the Ark was carried off into Babylon… did
they get a replica?
Isaiah 18:1 –
The Ark is in Ethiopia (Angel Wings on the Ark)
1 Woe to the land shadowing with wings (over the Ark),
which
is beyond the rivers of ETHIOPIA KJV
1 Esdras 1:54 (Apocrypha) Ark Carried off to Babylon Replica?
54 Babylonians took all the holy vessels of the
Lord, both great and small, and THE ARK OF GOD, and the King’s
treasures and carried them away into BABYLON.
The Take Away
This is where the rubber meets
the road. Solomon asked God to
give him wisdom and He did, plus what he didn’t ask for, which was riches.[9] Solomon started out with a heart after God
and it showed in his actions of building a temple to God and his daily
sacrifices. In turn God blessed Solomon
and the nation of Israel and that got a lot of people’s attention as multitudes
were coming to Jerusalem to worship the true and living God.[10]
In Sheba they worshiped many gods; the sun, moon and stars. The
Queen of Sheba had heard about a Temple where the common man could approach the
One True God and when she came she saw for herself Solomon DAILY
going up to the Temple to offer burnt offerings to his God. NOTE: without the shedding of blood there can
be no forgiveness of Sin.[11]
(Jesus was the final sacrifice)
Solomon told the Queen the Secret of his Kingdom, that it was Jehovah God that had given him the wisdom. It was then that the Queen of Sheba accepted and blessed the God
of Israel as the one and only true
and living God.[12]
This was the zenith of the kingdom of Israel which was characterized by FAITHFUL WITNESSING.
[1] Isaiah 60:6 – Sheba or
Saba had Herds of camels and incense -- Ezekiel 27:22-23 – Sheba had Gold,
precious stones and spices -- Jeremiah 6:20 – Sheba had Calamus perfume
fragrances
[2] Luke 11:31 – Jesus called
her the Queen of the South -- Matthew 12:42 – Balkis was the Queen of the South
[3] 1 Kings 10:1-8 – QUEEN OF
SHEBA arrives
with a caravan
[4] 2 Chronicles 9:13-14 –
Solomon received revenues from merchants and traders
[5] 2 Chronicles 9:1-8 – She
gave Solomon gold, precious stone and spices --
[6] 1 Kings 10:10 – The Queen
Gave Solomon 120 talents of gold -- 2 Chronicles 9:9 – She gave 120 talents of
gold and large quantities of precious stones
[7] 1 Kings 10:11-12 – There
were other ships with wood products
[8] 1 Kings 10:13 – Solomon
gave the Queen
[9] 1 Kings 4:29 – God gave
Solomon great wisdom and understanding
[10] 1 Kings 10:24 –
Multitudes heard what God had put in Solomon’s heart -- 1 Kings 4:34 – Men of
all nations were evangelized by Solomon
[11] Hebrews 9:22 - Without
the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness
[12] 2 Chronicles 9:2 –
Solomon told the Queen about the One True God --
1 Kings 10:9 – The Queen accepted the God of Israel
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