The Queen of Sheba has been mentioned in many accounts as a wise woman, including the Bible and the Quran. According to both an ancient Abyssinian account of the Ethiopian royal lineage and the Bible, Queen Makeda of Sheba (Ethiopia) went to visit King Solomon, although different accounts give different reasons for her visit. Legend says she traveled on her long journey perhaps in order to test to see if the King of the North was as wise as rumored. Alternately it may have been a trading visit or to pay homage to the powerful king. Her people did not follow Solomon’s god, they were “sun worshippers” according to the Bible accounts.
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She was known to be beautiful, pure and a lover and seeker of wisdom. Regardless of the true story of how this queen came to power and what her real name was, some of her poems have survived to this day. This one below struck me, about the value of wisdom. I found it in a lovely book by poet Jane Hirshfield called Women in Praise of the Sacred, a collection of spiritual poems and writings from women spanning the depths of history.
Wisdom is
sweeter than honey,
brings more joy
than wine,
illumines
more than the sun,
is more precious
than jewels.
She causes
the ears to hear
and the heart to comprehend.I love her
Makeda, Queen of Sheba
like a mother,
and she embraces me
as her own child.
I will follow
her footprints
and she will not cast me away.
The Queen of Sheba even has numerous performative works referencing her, in addition to the vast number of accounts of her name and history. I was surprised to find that I had heard this piece before by Handel.
More reading:
- 1 Kings 10: 1-3; II Chronicles 9; Song of Songs 1:5-6 (orig. date 600-500 BCE)
- Quran Sura 27 (orig. date late 600s CE)
- Queen of Sheba, Wikipedia
- Jane Hirshfield’s Facebook Page
