THE QUEEN OF SHEBA ADMIRES THE WISDOM OF SOLOMON The previous chapters showed the stability of Solomon’s kingdom, and his care of construction work, starting with the house of the Lord and its annexes; his own house and its annexes; Pharaoh’s daughter’s house; then the storage cities, and finally establishment for the sake of his own pleasure. Yet, we hear nothing of his care for building establishments for the welfare of his people, like hospitals, orphanages, or schools, nor of his care for the proper upbringing of his own son ‘Rehoboam’ the crown prince. The present chapter showed the greatness of Solomon; as testified by the queen of Sheba, who said that what she saw by her own eyes surpassed what she heard about him: -- His great riches: The queen of Sheba, as well as the kings of the nations around him, presented to him plenty of gold, spices, and precious stones. -- His great generosity: As much as he got, he also gave. -- His great appearance: Shields of gold, cups of gold, and a uniquely great throne. -- His great power: A multitude of horse-driven chariots (26). -- His great commercial abilities: Commercial deals with Egypt (28, 29) -- The great riches of his people (27). https://coptic-treasures.com/ Putting all these things together, we may say that Solomon surpassed all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom; Yet he was just a shadow of Christ who said about himself: “Indeed a greater than Solomon is here” (Matthew 12: 42; Luke 11: 31). 1- The visit of the queen of Sheba 1 - 13 2- The riches of Solomon 14 – 29 1- THE VISIT OF THE QUEEN OF SHEBA: (1 – 13) The queen of Sheba came to visit Solomon to see and touch what she heard about him. She gave him a multitude of precious gifts. And when she tested him with questions which he answered profusely, she revealed her admiration of his wisdom, and achievements, and blessed the Lord his God who set such a king on his people. “When the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the Lord, she came to test him with hard questions” (1) Some wonder whether the queen of Sheba was Ethiopian, Arab, or Indian; as each of these countries has a certain tradition by which they bind her with their history; taking into consideration that reigning queens were common in all those regions. The Lord Christ called her “Queen of the south”, on account of that Sheba was south of Canaan. It is now a common knowledge that Sheba is in Africa. And the Ethiopians believe that the queen of Sheba came from their country, and that ‘Candace’ (Acts 8: 27) was her successor. According to others she was from Yemen for the following reasons: https://coptic-treasures.com/ -- The Arabian Sheba has been famous for spices in the old world, and rich in the mines of gold, silver, and precious stones. -- The Arabian Sheba has been an important kingdom, whereas the Ethiopian Sheba has been no more than a city. -- As ‘Ophir’ has been in Arabia, that would be an extra reason to consider Sheba in the same region; For through Solomon’s trade with Ophir, his news were widely distributed, and eventually came to the knowledge of the queen of Sheba. Yet, according to some scholars, Sheba has been an independent kingdom, whose inhabitants were a mixture of Ethiopians and Arabs. “Concerning the name of the Lord”. (1). With Solomon’s many gifts, like uttering proverbs, songs; his military and political talents, and his artistic taste in construction, Yet his prominent fame has been “concerning the glory of the name of the Lord”; In other words, he was well known as the godly man of the Lord. What was the motive of the queen of Sheba to come in such “a very great retinue”, crossing such a great distance to see Solomon?! … Having his name bound to the name of God, She came to test him with hard questions, to know what his God whom he worship, may mean to her. God responded to Solomon’s prayer, that foreign peoples would come from far countries to God’s house, for the sake of His name (1 Kings 8: 41-43). As it was the custom of kings in the old world to visit one another to see and test their possibilities and ordinances in running their countries, the queen of Sheba, hearing much about Solomon, which she thought beyond imagination, came by herself to Jerusalem to test him by hard questions. And having got convincing answers to her questions, she perceived his exalted wisdom, and blessed God who set Solomon king, and granted him such righteousness.(9). https://coptic-treasures.com/ Has the queen of Sheba come to believe in Solomon’s God. All we know is that the Lord Christ talked about her and the people of Ninevah, as two living examples of receiving, and responding to the Living God in the old covenant (Luke 11: 29-32). “She came to Jerusalem with a very great retinue, with camels that bore spices, with much gold and precious stones, and when she came to Solomon, she spoke with him about all that was in her heart” (2) Coming with a very great retinue of camels confirms that Sheba was not in India, as some assumed; for it would not be possible for such a huge caravan to come all the way from India. And camels were the main way of transport in Arabia. The queen of Sheba did not send a delegation to explore the person of Solomon, but came by herself, bearing much gold, precious stones, and spices, to enjoy listening to wisdom from Solomon’s mouth. … And here is the Wisdom of God, He who is greater than Solomon, intends to grant us Himself freely to bear in us; … And yet, we often flee away from Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. On Solomon’s side, he did not rebuke her for forsaking her country’s affairs, and enduring the troubles of such a long journey, but welcomed her gave her the opportunity to tell him all what was in her heart; and responded to all her questions, whether natural, behavioral, political, or religious.. “So Solomon answered all her questions; there was nothing so difficult for the king that he could not explain it to her” (3) https://coptic-treasures.com/ According to the Historian Josephus, she did not pose philosophical questions, nor entered into religious or ethical debates, but presented to Solomon riddles which peoples of the East used to have, and still have to this day; the way it happened with Samson (Judges 14: 12-14); and as mentioned in the ‘Telmud’, of the stories and riddles told by the queen of Sheba to Solomon. It so came that to whatever riddle told by the queen of Sheba, Solomon, by his wisdom responded, and quickly solved; And finally, she presented to him a bunch of artificial beautiful flowers, so cleverly made that it is almost impossible to know that they are not natural flowers; and together with them she presented to the king a bunch of completely identical natural flowers. Those present in the kings audience were first confused, for it was impossible to distinguish the natural from the artificial flowers, particularly when they saw the king for the first time pause a little while. They were silent for fear lest their king would fail; to have a great surprise, when the king requested a swarm of bees, and released them toward the two bunches of flowers, to see them go directly to the natural ones to suck their nectar, disregarding the artificial ones. Then the queen of Sheba and the audience applauded Solomon’s wisdom and quick mind. “And when the queen of Sheba had seen all the wisdom of Solomon and the house he had built, …” (4) According to the Jews, the term ‘wisdom’ (chaakmat), implies a wide range of mental gifts and reason; both theoretical and practical knowledge, which was demonstrated in Solomon’s ordinance of the affairs of his kingdom and his royal palace, beside his enjoyment of a flood of wealth as a result of a multitude of international commercial relationships with different countries; his wisdom in building the temple, and managing the system of ministry in it; his artistic and literate gifts, his care for the collective worship, and offering sacrifices to God in the name of the whole people. https://coptic-treasures.com/ “The food on his table, the seating of his servants, the service of his waiters and their apparel, his cupbearers and his entryway by which he went up to the house of the Lord, there was no more spirit in her. Then she said to the king: ‘It was a true report which I heard in my own land about your words and your wisdom. However I did not believe the words until I came and saw it with my own eyes, indeed the half was not told me. Your wisdom and prosperity exceed the fame of which I heard’” (5-7) “The entryway by which he went up to the house of the Lord” , probably refers to that there was a private way by which the king used to go from his palace to the western hill across a little valley going down then up to the eastern hill, where the western side of the temple region was. “There was no more spirit in her”. She was so impressed that she almost fainted. Having assumed that there was much exaggeration in what she heard, she now realizes that the report presented half the truth. What impressed her most was not what she heard, out of the king’s lips, as much as what she saw by her own eyes of his works. She commended him for his wisdom, and for what his practical life showed of goodness and godliness; of how his knowledge mixed with his practical behavior, and how his concepts were interpreted by his way of life. The queen of Sheba glorified the God of Israel, not that she has forsaken the gods she worshipped, but she added the true God to the other gods she revered. Although some Jewish scholars believe that she entered into the Jewish faith, and worshipped the living God, influenced by Solomon; yet other scholars dismiss this idea, on account of that we have no proof that she offered any sacrifices or gifts to the temple; All her gifts were to the king; as a sign of friendship, on the personal level, as well as on that between the two countries. https://coptic-treasures.com/ According to ‘Strabo’, the people of Sheba were so rich that they used gold and silver, in an exaggerate way in their furniture, and as decoration on the walls, doors, and ceilings of their houses. “Happy are your men, and happy are these your servants who stand continually before you and hear your wisdom” (8) The queen blessed the servants who stand continually before the king and hear his wisdom, for by serving him they partake of his blessed and happy life. … So are they who live together with the God of Solomon in His house, and who minister to His kingdom, for they enjoy the fellowship of life with Him, to live blessed, namely, to partake of His heavenly life. “Blessed be the Lord your God who delighted in you, setting you on the throne of Israel. Because the Lord has loved Israel forever, therefore, He made you king, to do justice and righteousness” (9) The queen of Sheba did not come to make commercial nor political relationships, but came to test what she heard of Solomon’s wisdom. As the kings of Sheba were priests (Psalm 72: 10); that queen who was probably a priestess, returned to her country testifying to the true God. After blessing Solomon and those standing before him, and his servants who serve him, she blessed the Lord who granted Solomon the kingdom, beside wisdom, riches and glory. Then she gave the king 120 talents of gold, spices in great abundance, and precious stones. There never again came such abundance of spices, as the queen of Sheba gave to king Solomon” (10) https://coptic-treasures.com/ King David previously prophesied that Solomon will have the gold of Sheba (Psalm 22: 15). Those gifts of gold, spices, and precious stones were a shadow of the gifts to be given by the Magi to the newborn of Bethlehem (Matthew 2: 11). The queen presented the gifts as a price for the wisdom she heard from Solomon, not knowing that what she did was a shadow of what will happen later on when the true Son of David will be born.. The queen of Sheba as a symbol of the church of the new covenant: 1- She heard and believed. Faith is therefore comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God (Romans 10: 17); She believed and confessed (7; 6; Luke 18: 13). 2- She heard, then sought to encounter with Solomon, the symbol of Christ. She did not reject the invitation to the wedding (Matthew 22: 5); nor postponed the encounter, the way ‘Felix’ did (Acts 24: 25). 3- She entered into a debate with the king, who hid nothing from her (3, 2). 4- She encountered the king with a spirit of humility (4, 5). 5- Getting to know him, she admired him, the way the church did, when admiring the Lord Christ, she cried-out, saying: “You are fairer than the sons of men” (Psalm 45: 2); And as St. Augustine says: He is beautiful in heavens, being the Word with God; He was beautiful on earth while clothed in human nature; He was beautiful in His mother’s womb, and beautiful on His parents’ arms. He was beautiful in His miracles, as He was beautiful when scourged. He was beautiful in being given life, as He was beautiful in not refusing to die. He was beautiful in giving Himself up, as He was beautiful in taking it on again. He was beautiful on the cross, beautiful in the grave, and beautiful in returning to heaven. https://coptic-treasures.com/ And according to St. Jerome: [His divinity, with its splendor and greatness, was hidden under the veil of the body; and radiated upon His bodily features, to captivate all those who were fortunate enough to look at it]. 6- Solomon realized all her heart’s desire (13; John 6: 37). 7- She tested and commended him (8, 9; Psalm 107: 2). 8- She presented gold to the king (10) 9- The Lord Christ testified to her, and commended her (Matthew 12: 42) “Also the ships of Hiram which brought gold from Ophir brought great quantities of Almug wood and precious stones from Ophir” (11) According to some, the ‘Almug wood’ is the ‘sandal wood’, famed for its nice fragrance; and according to others, it is ‘Deodar’ (desdara-cedras), used in the important holy works. This kind of wood is very heavy and solid, with nice red color, called ‘valguka’ in the Sankrit language, and ‘Almug’ in the Phoenician “And the king made steps of the almug wood for the house of the Lord and for the king’s house, also harps and stringed instruments for singers. There never again came such almug wood, nor has the like been seen to this day” (12) The Jewish harp ‘kinnowr’ is triangle in shape with 10 strings, analogous to the ancient Assyrian harp. The stringed instrument ‘nebel’ on which the musician plays with his fingers, was probably the ‘lyre’, guitar-like, like the one inscribed on the Hebrew coin, with a hollow body, like a pitcher at its lower part. “And king Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all she desired, whatever she asked, besides what Solomon has https://coptic-treasures.com/ given her according to the royal bounty. So she turned and went to her own country, she and her servants” (13) It so seems that Solomon lacked nothing: he had wisdom from heaven, peace on his land, abundant riches, and international fame. He gave her all what she asked for, freely, as a sign of an intimate friendship between their two countries. And according to some, as a part of what she desired, was to have a son from him, which she did have, as a son called ‘Menilek’, raised in the Israeli royal palace, succeeded his mother on the throne of Sheba, and drew his men to the Jewish faith. “The weight of the gold that came to Solomon yearly, was six hundred and sixty-six talents of gold; besides that from the traveling merchants, from the income of traders; from all the kings of Arabia, and from the governors of the country” (14-15) Beside that huge quantity of gold, Solomon had other sources: -- Beside an annual income, and gifts without limit (10; 10-22), he had golden shields, all his cups were in gold, and his ivory throne was overlaid with gold. After the death of Solomon, ‘Shishak’, king of Egypt confiscated all that gold (14: 25, 26; 2 Chronicles 9: 12, 12; 2-11); And in the year 1939, his mummy, was discovered in Tanis, Egypt, in a sarcophagus with a golden cover, most probably the same gold he took after the death of king Solomon. -- The multitude of gifts, presented to him by the traders of the countries he submitted, in a form of taxes they had to pay. -- The benefits of his commercial partnership with Hiram, king of Tyre. https://coptic-treasures.com/ -- Kings of the surrounding countries used to visit him for the sake of his wisdom, seeking his political and economic counsel, and gave him gifts. -- His marriage to the daughter of the Pharaoh of Egypt, and his care to purchase chariots and horses, created an exchange of commercial deals between the two countries; the Egyptians provided him with everything he needed for great discount for the sake of his Egyptian wife. “The kings of Arabia” , probably tribes of a mixture of Jews and Arabs who dwelt in the western desert (Jeremiah 25: 24) “And king Solomon made two hundred large shield of hammered gold; six hundred shekels of gold went into each shield” (16 The shield, which was usually made of wood, covered with leather, to protect man’s breast, was made by Solomon of gold; The custom of hanging the shields on the outer walls for decoration has been common in Tyre (Ezekiel 11; 2: 10), as well as in Rome, Athens, etc. “He also made 300 shields of hammered gold, three minas of gold went into each shield; and the king put them in the house of the forest of Lebanon. Moreover, the king made a great throne of ivory, and covered it with pure gold” (17, 18) The throne was probably made of wood, covered wit a layer of ivory; with the two hands and the back of ivory; the way we see in the Egyptian and the Assyrian temples. https://coptic-treasures.com/ The throne had six steps; and the top of the throne was round at the back; there were armrests on either sides of the place of the seat, and two lions stood beside the armrests” (19) As he set himself a stronghold for everyone oppressed, to defend as though with a shield; So Solomon cared for the throne of judgment. He found pleasure in realizing justice among his people. “He covered it with pure gold”. Solomon did not collect gold to store it, but used it for the house of the Lord, for his own house, and for his personal use (Ecclesiastes 5: 19); either to overlay the wood and ivory, or to adorn them with engraved items of gold. He made 200 large shields, and 300 shields; but he did not make swords nor spears. The Roman emperors used to have their processions preceded by men carrying sticks and axes, as a reference to their authority of punishing the wicked; Solomon, on the other hand, cared for making large shields and shields as defense and offense tools of war, proclaiming his role as a defender of every godly oppressed, and found pleasure in being a stronghold of the righteous. “Twelve lions stood there, one on each side of the six steps; nothing like that had been made for any other kingdom” (20) The lions standing on the steps refer to the commitment of all the twelve tribes of Israel to be filled with courage and strength in the truth; representing a procession of lions who flatter nobody, and fear no one. According to some they were bulls and not lions; which, either way, it would be a shadow of heathen worship; the way the thrones of Assyrian and Egyptian kings were adorned by animals. https://coptic-treasures.com/ According to the Jewish historian Josephus, Solomon’s throne had a golden bull or ox, with its head directed toward its shoulder; the lion referred to Judah, and the bull or ox refers to Ephraim (Hosea 4: 16; 19: 11; Jeremiah 31: 18 etc.). “All king Solomon’s drinking vessels were of gold; and all the vessels of the house of the forest of Lebanon were of pure gold; not one was of silver, for this was accounted as nothing in the days of Solomon” (21) As Solomon and all his men used to drink of cups of gold, and not of silver, So the Lord Christ grants His riches to His people to enjoy the heavenly drink (the gold). For the king had merchant ships at sea with the fleet of Hiram. Once every three years the merchant ships came bringing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and monkeys” (22). + The merchant ships of Tarshish, namely the spiritual ships, that carry the gold and silver of Solomon, are our bodies that carry a treasure in an earthen vessel, according to the words of the apostle (2 Corinthians 4: 7) (St. Ambrose) “So king Solomon surpassed all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom. And all the earth sought the presence of Solomon to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart” (23-24) Solomon translated the wisdom he got as a divine gift into work, shown in his amazing ability in the political ordinance of the state affairs, as well as in setting a https://coptic-treasures.com/ local system of internal ordinance in such an extensive kingdom; beside his exalted military and construction achievements. “Each man brought his present: articles of gold and silver, garments, armor, spices, horses, and mules, at a set rate, year by year” (25) By “present” here, he means (tax). The Egyptian and Assyrian temples, portray carriers of taxes, coming to kings in submission, presenting precious products, as representatives of their countries. The custom of presenting gifts, even in regular visits, between individuals or families, are still essential in certain eastern societies. “And Solomon gathered chariots and horsemen, he had one thousand four hundred chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen, whom he stationed in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem” (26) Here the author speaks about the stables of Solomon’s horses (10: 26, 28). The Oriental Institute, University of Chicago revealed the remains of the city Megiddo, one of the cities where ruins of those stables were found. Two things in which, Solomon, and his father David disregarded the law of the Lord, and broke the commandment saying: “Neither shall he (the king of Israel) multiply wives for himself, lest his heart turn away, nor shall he greatly multiply silver and gold for himself; nor shall he multiply horses for himself” (Deuteronomy 16: 16, 17). + In the Holy Scripture, it is written: “A horse is a vain hope for safety” (Psalm 33: 17); “The horse and its rider, He has thrown into the sea” (Exodus 15: 1); God’s commandment to the king of Israel that “not to https://coptic-treasures.com/ multiply horses for himself” (Deuteronomy 16: 17); and, “Everyone neighed after his neighbor’s wife” (Jeremiah 5: 8). (St. Jerome) “The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones, and he made cedars abundant as the sycamores which are in the lowlands” (27) Until a recent time the huge sycamore trees were so abundant in the streets of Upper Egypt; on which anyone could climb and help himself from its fruits which were free and priceless. “And Solomon had horses imported from Egypt and keveh; the king’s merchants brought them from Keveh at the current price” (28) It is claimed that the Egyptians were the first people to use horses in war. And the peoples who used horses in war were mightier than those without that experience. According to the Jewish and Christian Ethiopians, psalm 45 is a prophecy about the journey of the queen of Sheba to Jerusalem; accompanied by the daughter of Hiram, king of Tyre; And that the last part of the psalm proclaims the son conceived by the queen of Sheba from Solomon. After living with his mother for several years, she sent him to his father Solomon to raise him; which he did, and anointed him a king over Ethiopia in the temple of Jerusalem, calling him by the name of his grandfather David. The young king returned to his country ‘Seba’ or ‘Azab’, together with a group of twelve Jewish Rabbis, scholars in the law of Moses, one from each tribe, whom he appointed judges in his kingdom; and of whom were three who were perpetually in the presence of the king. https://coptic-treasures.com/ The queen died after reigning for forty years, in the year 986 B. C. and was succeeded by Menilek; as testified by scholars, whether friends or enemies of Ethiopia; albeit they differed concerning the queen’s name. “Now a chariot that was imported from Egypt cost six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse one hundred and fifty; and thus, through their agents, they exported them to all the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Syria” (29). ------------------ AN INSPIRATION FROM 1 KINGS 10 LET ME ENCOUNTER YOU TOGETHER WITH THE QUEEN OF SHEBA + The queen of Sheba came in a great procession to Jerusalem; Her camels carried exalted spices, abundant gold, and precious stones; Let me approach You together with her; Let me, with the procession of love, cross over with her toward the higher Jerusalem; Let me, together with the Marys, present to You unique spices; And carry to You my gold and precious stones; From what is Yours, let me present to You, O Grantor of all gifts. + The queen of Sheba was impressed by the person of Solomon; She was captivated by his wisdom and by everything concerning him; And to You, Greater than Solomon, I present all what I have, to listen to Your voice; I would forsake every earthly throne and sit at Your footstool; https://coptic-treasures.com/ To seek unity and fellowship with You; + I will give You of what is Yours with no limits; And You will give me my heart’s desire; Granting me Yourself, I would have everything.
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