1 Kings 10:4

Hebrew Bible

3 Solomon answered all her questions; there was no question too complex for the king. 4 When the queen of Sheba saw for herself Solomon’s extensive wisdom, the palace he had built, 5 the food in his banquet hall, his servants and attendants, their robes, his cupbearers, and his burnt offerings which he presented in the Lord’s temple, she was amazed. 6 She said to the king, “The report I heard in my own country about your wise sayings and insight was true! 7 I did not believe these things until I came and saw them with my own eyes. Indeed, I didn’t hear even half the story! Your wisdom and wealth surpass what was reported to me.

Testament of Solomon 116

Pseudepigrapha

115 So after hearing this, I ordered the demon to be watched for five days. Once the five days had passed, I summoned the old man again. But when he arrived, he was in deep distress and his face was filled with sorrow. I asked him, 'Tell me, old man, where is your son, and why do you look so troubled?' He replied, 'I am now childless; I have been sitting by my son’s grave for two days, as he has passed away.' 116 The queen of the South witnessed all this and was amazed, glorifying the God of Israel. She observed the construction of the Temple and contributed a siklos of gold and one hundred myriads of silver, along with fine bronze. She then entered the Temple, admiring the incense altar, the bronze fixtures, and the sparkling gemstones on the lampstand made of stone, emerald, hyacinth, and sapphire. She saw the gold and silver vessels, and left feeling awed by the splendor she had witnessed.

 Notes and References

"... The Sabean (or Sheba) queen’s blessing occurs outside of the Torah in Nevi'im ... The historicity of this international encounter, like those mentioned above, is hotly disputed. Minimalists like Würthwein and Davies challenge it, while maximalists like de Vaux, Gray, and Provan do not. I believe that at the core of this narrative stands an original poetic blessing which, like the Balaam and Jethro blessings, underwent only slight changes at the hands of scribes later focused on (a) magnifying Solomon’s glory and (b) highlighting Solomon’s wisdom. At any rate, this “parade example of international adulation” occurs (again) in a southern locale (Jerusalem), and while not explicitly stated, the temple may well be where it is pronounced (the Testament of Solomon depicts the Sabean actually entering the Holy of Holies), since the text does say that the Sabean queen “sees” the “holocaust offering” sacrificed by Solomon at the House of Yahweh. Additionally, since Solomon’s dedicatory prayer for the temple explicitly pleads for Yahweh to listen to the prayer of the “foreigner,” I am inclined to see this blessing as organic, not secondary, to the text ..."

Moore, Michael S. What Is This Babbler Trying to Say? Essays on Biblical Interpretation (pp. 189-190) Wipf And Stock, 2016

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