Wednesday, December 13, 2006

Queen of Sheba

Solomon and the Queen of Sheba; bronze door ‘Gates of Paradise‘ of Baptistry; Florence, ItalyThe Queen of Sheba, referred to in the Bible books of 1 Kings and 2 Chronicles, the New Testament, the Qur'an, and Ethiopian history, was the ruler of Sheba, an ancient kingdom which modern archaeology speculates was located in present-day Ethiopia or Yemen.

1 When the queen of Sheba heard of Solomon's fame, she came to Jerusalem to test him with hard questions. Arriving with a very great caravan—with camels carrying spices, large quantities of gold, and precious stones—she came to Solomon and talked with him about all she had on her mind. 2 Solomon answered all her questions; nothing was too hard for him to explain to her. 3 When the queen of Sheba saw the wisdom of Solomon, as well as the palace he had built... -2 Chronicles 9:1-3

Unnamed in the biblical text, she is called Makeda (possibly meaning "not this way/not thus") in the Ethiopian tradition, and in Islamic tradition her name is Bilqis. Alternative names given for her have been Nikaule or Nicaula.

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