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Queen of Sheba
The queen who travelled from far away to test Solomon’s wisdom, and left praising his God.
Old and New Testament · c. 950 BC · 1 Kings, 2 Chronicles, Matthew, Luke · Also known as The queen of the south
About Queen of Sheba
"When the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the LORD, she came to prove him with hard questions." She arrived in Jerusalem "with a very great train, with camels that bare spices, and very much gold, and precious stones." Solomon answered every question, and seeing his wisdom and his court, "there was no more spirit in her." She said, "the half was not told me," and praised God: "Blessed be the LORD thy God, which delighted in thee." She gave lavish gifts and Solomon gave her "all her desire." Jesus later held her up as an example: "she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here."
Sheba is usually placed in south-west Arabia (modern Yemen), a land rich from the incense trade; Ethiopian tradition links her to Ethiopia. The Bible never gives her name. Her visit may also have been about trade routes, since Solomon’s ships traded in the same region.
The story
Hard questions
"And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the LORD, she came to prove him with hard questions. And she came to Jerusalem with a very great train, with camels that bare spices, and very much gold, and precious stones: and when she was come to Solomon, she communed with him of all that was in her heart. And Solomon told her all her questions."
1 Kings 10:1-3
The half was not told me
She saw his wisdom, his house, his table, his servants, and his offerings, and "there was no more spirit in her." "And she said to the king, It was a true report that I heard in mine own land of thy acts and of thy wisdom. Howbeit I believed not the words, until I came, and mine eyes had seen it: and, behold, the half was not told me."
1 Kings 10:4-7
Blessed be the LORD thy God
"Blessed be the LORD thy God, which delighted in thee, to set thee on the throne of Israel: because the LORD loved Israel for ever, therefore made he thee king, to do judgment and justice." She gave him a hundred and twenty talents of gold, and "there came no more such abundance of spices as these which the queen of Sheba gave to king Solomon." He gave her "all her desire."
1 Kings 10:8-13
A greater than Solomon
Jesus said, "The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here."
Matthew 12:42
Key moments
- Hears of Solomon’s fame: "Concerning the name of the LORD." (1 Kings 10:1)
- Tests him with hard questions: He answers them all. (1 Kings 10:3)
- "The half was not told me": Breathless at what she sees. (1 Kings 10:7)
- Praises Israel’s God: "Blessed be the LORD thy God." (1 Kings 10:9)
- Remembered by Jesus: "The queen of the south." (Matthew 12:42)
Questions about Queen of Sheba
In meetBible these answers are given in Queen of Sheba’s voice. They are written by hand and checked against Scripture.
Where was Sheba?
Scripture doesn’t pin it down, only that I came "from the uttermost parts of the earth," with camels carrying spices. Most historians place Sheba in south-west Arabia, where the kingdom of Saba grew rich on frankincense and myrrh. Ethiopian tradition says I came from there and remembers me by name. Both lands lie along the Red Sea trade routes.
What hard questions did you ask?
Scripture says I "communed with him of all that was in her heart," and that "there was not any thing hid from the king, which he told her not." It doesn’t record the questions themselves. Later Jewish stories invented riddles for me, but the Bible keeps the focus on what I found: wisdom that came from "the name of the LORD."
Why did Jesus talk about you?
He was speaking to people who had heard Him and still wanted signs: "The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here." I travelled a long way to hear wisdom; they had greater wisdom on their doorstep and ignored it.
Connected people
Read it yourself
Start with 1 Kings 10:1-13.