That was probably all the biblical writers knew about the location of Sheba, and for them it was the edge of the world. Scholars have tried to connect the gifts the Queen of Sheba brought with the possible location of Sheba. She brought spices, gold, and precious stones, all products of extreme wealth.
Spices, in particular frankincense and myrrh , came from the area of modern-day Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Somalia, on the African coast of the Red Sea. Ancient gold mines have been found in the same area. However, the area of modern-day Yemen on the Arabian coast of the Red Sea was also a source of spices and lay on a major trade route.
This area of Arabia was known as the kingdom of Saba in the first millennium BCE, and various Sabaean kings are mentioned in Assyrian inscriptions from the period. The debate about the location of Sheba remains unresolved, although there have been some recent efforts to claim that the kingdom of Saba straddled the Red Sea, with power in both Arabia and Africa. Ancient inscriptions and texts provide the names of many Sabaean rulers going back to the eighth century BCE. However, there are no queens on the list, only kings.
A Queen of Sheba, therefore, is historically unlikely. However, many later Jewish, Christian, and Muslim traditions tell about a marriage between Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. Why would traditions develop about a marriage, even when the biblical texts clearly state that the Queen of Sheba returned to her own land after her meeting with Solomon 1Kgs ; 2Chr ? The key is in the previous verse, in which Solomon is said to have given her everything she desired 1Kgs ; 2Chr Because she had admired his wisdom and praised the happiness of his subjects, early biblical interpreters thought that she must have wanted to marry him and that Solomon had granted her wish.
Christine Mitchell, "Queen of Sheba", n. Royal mothers in polygamous ancient Near Eastern dynasties had to do much more than produce an heir: they created political alliances, offered wisdom, and secured the status and well-being of their children. Discover the Bible's original love triangle between Jacob, Leah, and Rachel.
The Kebra Nagast offers a more positive portrayal of the queen than in Jewish, Christian, and Muslim texts. No mention is made of her demonic nature or hairy legs. The epic also claims that Menelik returned to Ethiopia with the Ark of the Covenant , which Ethiopian tradition claims is stored in the Church of St. Mary of Zion in Aksum. The realm of Sheba remains lost to history.
The two leading locations are the kingdom of Saba in modern Yemen and the ancient kingdom of Aksum in Ethiopia. After more than a century of excavations by a host of archaeologists to find physical evidence of the existence of the queen, none yet has been found.
One of the complicating factors is that the chronology attributed to Solomon, which most place around the 10th century B. Here are nine ancient kingdoms you've probably never heard of. Most Jewish sources and the Quran mention sites that clearly associate Sheba with Saba. The Sabaeans also sent ambassadors and gifts to the Assyrian court on diplomatic and commercial missions.
The kingdom grew rich off successful water management and trade in frankincense and myrrh, but it emerged as an international power only in the eighth century B. Although the Book of Kings was written in the sixth century B. The Ethiopian theory has strong support in the form of first-century A.
Historical links have been established between Ethiopia and Saba—the two kingdoms are just across the Red Sea from each other. In ancient times, southern Arabian traders, including those from Saba, made the short trip across the Red Sea to set up small settlements in the Ethiopian highlands. Intriguing though this association is, it does not resolve the chronology problem. Aksum was a flourishing Ethiopian kingdom from B. New scholarship about the queen and her origins are still emerging.
Wendy Laura Belcher, professor of African literature at Princeton University, proposed that the queen might be from another culture entirely: the pre-Aksumite Ethiopian culture of Punt. Mentioned in Egyptian sources as early as the 15th century B. Follow a quest through Ethiopia's sacred sites in search of the real Queen of Sheba.
Historians are divided as to the exact location of Punt but generally place it southeast of Egypt and north of the Horn of Africa. Finds of Egyptian goods in northern Ethiopia confirm the long-standing trade relationship between them, which would have provided Punt with considerable wealth—enough to attract the attention of a king like Solomon.
National Geographic National Geographic. Published 7 Jun , BST. Solomon and Sheba center frame. Ethiopian icon, 18th century. Riches and riddles In the Bible, the Queen of Sheba is depicted as smart, independent, challenging, and respectful. Toward the end of his life, 19th-century French painter James Tissot painted numerous works on biblical themes, including the meeting of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. Sabaean altar, which features two sets of ibex heads on either side. He has also heard that she has a strange feature, a left foot that is cloven like that of a goat and a hairy leg.
Eager to see if the story is true, he has the floor of his court polished until it is like glass. When the Queen of Sheba walks across the floor, Solomon sees the reflection of her cloven foot. Right in front of his eyes, it transforms and becomes normal.
The Queen of Sheba tests Solomon's wisdom, asking him many questions and giving him riddles to solve. He answers to her satisfaction and then he teaches her about his god Yahweh and she becomes a follower. This is how some Ethiopians believe Christianity came to their county. The Queen agrees to stay with King Solomon as a guest.
An unmarried woman, she warns the King not to touch her.
0コメント