The Queen of Sheba Visits Solomon

The event

Word of Solomon's wisdom and wealth traveled far enough to reach the queen of Sheba, ruler of a wealthy trading kingdom most scholars locate in the region of modern Yemen or the Horn of Africa, and she came to Jerusalem to test him with hard questions, arriving with a camel caravan loaded with spices, gold, and precious stones. Solomon answered everything she asked, and when she saw his palace, the meals at his table, and the burnt offerings he made at the temple, 'there was no more breath in her.'

Her verdict is one of the more memorable lines in the whole account: 'The half was not told me.' She praised not merely Solomon's wealth but the LORD who had placed him on Israel's throne to execute justice and righteousness — a foreign ruler recognizing Israel's God at work through her wisdom-seeking visit. She left behind an enormous gift of gold and spice, and Solomon, in keeping with royal custom, gave gifts of his own in return.

This visit, usually dated to Solomon's later years in the mid-tenth century BC, fits a broader pattern in his reign: extensive international trade networks, diplomatic marriages, and a reputation for wisdom that drew visitors 'from all the kings of the earth.' Jesus himself would later point back to this episode, noting that 'the queen of the South' would rise up in judgment against His own unbelieving generation, because she traveled from the ends of the earth to hear Solomon's wisdom, and 'something greater than Solomon is here.'

Scripture references

• 1 Kings 10:1-13
• 2 Chronicles 9:1-12
• Matthew 12:42