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From: 1 Kings 10:1-10

The Queen of Sheba Visits Solomon

[1] 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 which he could not explain to her. [4] And when
the queen of Sheba had seen all the wisdom off 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 which he
offered at the house of the LORD, there was no more spirit in her.

[6] And she said to the king, “The report was true which I heard in my own land
of your affairs 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 wis-
dom and prosperity surpass the report which I heard. [8] Happy are your wives!”
Happy are these 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 for ever, he has made
you king, that you may execute justice and righteousness.” [10] Then she gave
the king a hundred and twenty talents of gold, and a very great quantity of spices,
and precious stones; never again came such an abundance of spices as these
which the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.

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Commentary:

10:1-13. This queen, made famous by her entry in the Bible, came from Ethiopia,
if that is where traditional Sheba was (cf. Gen 10:7), or from the south-west of
the Arabian peninsula, which is where archaeologists tell us the kingdom of She-
ba was, or even (and which is more likely) from some settlement to the north of
Arabia and closer to Israel (cf. Gen 25:3; Job 1:15).

This visit stayed in Israel’s memory as a symbol of what would happen some
time in the future when the messianic king would appear (cf. Ps 72:10, 15) and
when Jerusalem, revived by God, would recover its place among the nations (cf.
Is 45:14; 60:6-7). With a broader perspective St Matthew sees all that as being
fulfilled in the coming of the wise men to place their gifts at the feet of the child
Jesus (cf. Mt 2:11). And Jesus himself will exalt that queen and, recalling the
long journey she made to hear the wisdom of Solomon, will condemn those
Jews of his own generation who failed to listen to his teaching even though he
was greater than Solomon (cf. Mt 12:42; Lk 11:31), because he was the very
wisdom of God (cf. 1 Cor 1:24).

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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.