The queen of Sheba, having heard of Solomon’s fame, arrived in Jerusalem with a very numerous retinue,
and with camels bearing spices, a large amount of gold, and precious stones. This short account in the Bible has produced many stories in Jewish, Christian, Coptic and Muslim literature. Sheba was probably today’s country of Yemen. (The southern Arabian peninsula was the center of the spice trade.) However, the Sabaen people lived on both sides of the Red Sea and this helped to fuel many legends. The gospels refer to the “Queen of the South” which led some of the stories to focus on Ethiopia as her possible homeland. In fact, there is a legend that Solomon fathered a son with the Queen and this was the origin of the royal family of Ethiopia. Haile Selassie claimed Solomon as an ancestor. What all this says to us is the importance of story. When things are obscure or the evidence in paltry human beings love to embellish the material! Let’s listen and tell stories which help us to grow in the faith.
