1 Kings 10:1-13--The Queen of Sheba

1 Kings 10:1-13
English Standard Version

The Queen of Sheba
10 Now 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. 2 She came to Jerusalem with a very great retinue, with camels bearing spices and very much gold and precious stones. And when she came to Solomon, she told him all that was on her mind. 3 And Solomon answered all her questions; there was nothing hidden from the king that he could not explain to her. 4 And when the queen of Sheba had seen all the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built, 5 the food of his table, the seating of his officials, and the attendance of his servants, their clothing, his cupbearers, and his burnt offerings that he offered at the house of the LORD, there was no more breath in her.

6 And she said to the king, “The report was true that I heard in my own land of your words and of your wisdom, 7 but I did not believe the reports until I came and my own eyes had seen it. And behold, the half was not told me. Your wisdom and prosperity surpass the report that I heard. 8 Happy are your men! Happy are your servants, who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom! 9 Blessed be the LORD your God, who has delighted in you and set you on the throne of Israel! Because the LORD loved Israel forever, he has made you king, that you may execute justice and righteousness.” 10 Then she gave the king 120 talents of gold, and a very great quantity of spices and precious stones. Never again came such an abundance of spices as these that the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.

11 Moreover, the fleet of Hiram, which brought gold from Ophir, brought from Ophir a very great amount of almug wood and precious stones. 12 And the king made of the almug wood supports for the house of the LORD and for the king's house, also lyres and harps for the singers. No such almug wood has come or been seen to this day.

​13 And King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all that she desired, whatever she asked besides what was given her by the bounty of King Solomon. So she turned and went back to her own land with her servants.

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We don't know today exactly where Sheba is, though most think it was somewhere in the region of modern-day Yemen stretching across the southern area of Saudi Arabi and across the Red Sea to parts of Ethiopia.  We can surmise from this passage that it was a monarchy ruled by a queen (which would be unusual for that time).  We can also assume they were very rich because of the large amounts of gold, spices, and precious stones that they brought with caravans of camels (even the fact they had so many camels spoke to their wealth).  It would also seem that they were lovers of wisdom and sought out answers to hard questions.  They had heard of the wisdom that the LORD had given to Solomon, and that is what made the Queen of Sheba come visit King Solomon, for she had hard questions that she needed answers to.

The texts says that she was speechless and her breath was taken away when she saw the wisdom of the Solomon, his great wealth and the buildings that he had been able to make--including his palace (inside and out) and the Temple (from the outside only).  Even the food his servants ate and the clothes they were dressed in and the way they lacked nothing and were better off than many freemen amazed her.  She had heard of Solomon, but thought that much of what she heard must have been exaggerations, but she saw that what she had heard was actually an understatement of what the LORD had provided to Solomon and Israel.  Her only response in seeing all this was to worship the LORD who had greatly blessed Solomon and all of Israel.  After this she gave an extremely generous offering of gold, spices, and precious stones to King Solomon.

Last time we talked about the ships that Solomon built and that Hiram's sailors helped man.  These ships were ships of exploration and diplomacy, and they too came back bearing gifts from Ophir of some of almug wood and precious stones.  Solomon used this wood to make supports for the Temple and for his palace as well as lyres and harps for for those whose job it was to lead the priests and the congregation in worship through music and singing.

Apparently there was an exchange of gifts where Solomon gave the Queen of Sheba anything that she asked for.  Most likely there was some cultural exchange in providing her with books, art, and other such items to take home with her so they could read and study about the Israelites and the LORD they worshiped.  We can only assume that this friendship between Israel and Sheba led to an expansion of the influence of Solomon's kingdom (possibly beyond the political borders) and led many more people to hear the name of the LORD and come and see and hear the gospel for themselves.  While I can't draw a straight line from this event to the Ethiopian eunuch in the book of Acts, my suspicion is that there were God-fearing Ethiopians interested in the Hebrew Scriptures because of this encounter that Solomon had with the Queen of Sheba and that they desired to have copies of the Hebrew Scriptures and learn about the LORD.