1-Kings: Ch. Ten. The Queen of Sheba and Solomon

The First Book of Kings

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The First Book of Kings
Chapter Ten
The Queen of Sheba and Solomon
THE EQUESTRIAN FORCES OF KING SOLOMON

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1-Kings 10

Southern Arabia shows location of Saba

[1-Kings 10:1] AND WHEN THE QUEEN OF SHEBA HEARD OF THE FAME OF SOLOMON CONCERNING THE NAME OF THE LORD, SHE CAME TO PROVE HIM WITH HARD QUESTIONS.
Sheba is the name of at least two different nations.
Sheba from Joktan the son of Eber, the son of Shelah, the son of Arphaxad, the descendant of Shem, son of Noah (Genesis 10:26-29).
The was also Sheba, the son of Raamah, the son of Cush, the son of Ham, son of Noah (Genesis 10:7).
Sheba son of Cush had a presence botyh in India as well as Africa.
The Queen of Sheba ruled over Kingdon stretching from Southern Arabia into Eastern Africa. She may well have ruled over elements from both Sheba of Joktan of Shem as well as over Sheba of Cush.
Sheba of Cush was centered in Sudan but the Kingdom of Sheba probably encompassed parts of areas know known as from Yemen, Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Sudan.

Southern Arabia shows location of Saba as Sheba.
Placement on map of Ophir in Southern Arabia is probably mistaken.
Likewise location of Havilah needs clarification.

Sabaeans
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabaeans
The Sabaeans ...were an ancient people speaking an Old South Arabian language who lived in what is today Yemen, in south west Arabian Peninsula. Some Sabaeans also lived in D'mt, located in northern Ethiopia and Eritrea, due to their hegemony over the Red Sea[1].
The ancient Sabaean Kingdom lasted from the early 2nd millennium to the 1st century BC. In the 1st century BC it was conquered by the Himyarites, but after the disintegration of the first Himyarite empire ...reappeared in the early 2nd century. It was finally conquered by the Himyarites in the late 3rd century. Its capital was Ma'rib.

The Sabaean people were South Arabian people. Each of these had regional kingdoms in ancient Yemen, with the Minaeans in the north along the Red sea, the Sabeans on the south western tip, streaching from the highlands to the sea, the Qatabanians to the east of them and the Hadramites east of them.

The Sabaeans, like the other Arabian and Yemenite kingdoms of the same period, were involved in the extremely lucrative spice trade, especially frankincense and myrrh.[2]

Some archaeologists now believe them to be the same nation as the Biblical kingdom of Sheba.
Due to their hegemony of the Red Sea some Sabaeans lived in northern Ethiopia and Eritrea during the Sabaean-influenced kingdom of D`mt.


[1-Kings 10:2] AND SHE CAME TO JERUSALEM WITH A VERY GREAT TRAIN, WITH CAMELS THAT BARE SPICES, AND VERY MUCH GOLD, AND PRECIOUS STONES: AND WHEN SHE WAS COME TO SOLOMON, SHE COMMUNED WITH HIM OF ALL THAT WAS IN HER HEART.
The Queen travelled on camels and brought with her gold, precious stones, and spices.
According to legend the Queen bore Solomon a son who was the ancestor of the ruling line of Ethiopia.
A Midrash says that as a result of her visit the Kingdom of Sheba converted. In Ancient Times several rulers of Yemen converted to Judaism. Similarly some form of Judaism was practised throughout Ethiopia. With the coming of Christianity certain "Jewish" practices contnued. The origin of the Ethiopian Jews is uncertain. The most commonly accepted explanation is that onto a core of Jews from Yemen or from southern Egypt were added concerts from amongst the local populace.

Wikipedia Article:
Yemenite Jews
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yemenite_Jews

Quotation:
One local Yemenite Jewish tradition dates the earliest settlement of Jews in the Arabian Peninsula to the time of King Solomon. One explanation is that King Solomon sent Jewish merchant marines to Yemen to prospect for gold and silver with which to adorn the Temple in Jerusalem.[1] In 1881, the French vice consulate in Yemen wrote to the leaders of the Alliance in France, that he read a book of the Arab historian Abu-Alfada, that the Jews of Yemen settled in the area in 1451 BCE.[2] Another legend places Jewish craftsmen in the region as requested by Bilqis, the Queen of Saba (Sheba). The Beta Israel or Chabashim (Jews in nearby Ethiopia) have a sister legend of their origins that places the Queen of Sheba as married to King Solomon. Parts of Yemen, Eritrea and Ethiopia at that time were jointly ruled by Sheba, with its capital in Yemen.[3]

There was an Ancient Israelite or Judaean colony at Elephantine (Aswan)
in Southern Egypt near the border with Sudan.

Israelites from the Lost Tribes in Africa???

The Jewish Temple at Elephantine in Southern Egypt
The papyrus path
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1215330921923&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

By STEPHEN GABRIEL ROSENBERG
Extract Only:
Two major questions remain. Where had the Jews come from in the sixth century and where did they go after 400 BCE? The simple answer to the first question is that they would have come after the fall of Jerusalem in 586 BCE and gone down to Egypt with Jeremiah after the murder of the governor Gedaliah. But Porten thinks they must have come much earlier, at the time when King Manasseh defiled the Jerusalem temple, to be able to find the resources to settle and build a temple well before 525 BCE. We know the shrine existed before the invasion by Cambyses, as the papyri claim that he destroyed many Egyptian temples but not the Jewish one.

I think the Jews came from the Northern Kingdom after the fall of Samaria in 722 BCE. They were first deported to Assyria and then to Babylon, where they were used as mercenaries and later deployed to Egypt. This is supported by the fact that the shrine at Elephantine has strong similarities in layout and dimensions to the Tabernacle that may have stood at Shiloh, and which would have been retained in the folk memory of the Northern Israelites more than the image of the Temple of Jerusalem.

And to where did they go? It would have been impossible for them to return to Israel, trekking 700 km. and more to the north through what was now enemy territory. It is more likely they went south and here a romantic idea presents itself. They journeyed south through the Sudan to Ethiopia and formed the nucleus of a Jewish community there, perhaps even starting to convert their neighbors to Judaism.

That would be a nice idea, but an unlikely one. It is more probable that the Jewish military community, which came to an end 2,400 years ago, was either eliminated by the Egyptians or, more likely, abandoned its separate faith and customs and became absorbed by its Egyptian neighbors, which would not have been so strange, as many had already married local girls in earlier times.

In short there was a Jewish or Israelite colony at Elephantine (Aswan) and from here too settlers may have arrived in Ethiopia.

[1-Kings 10:3] AND SOLOMON TOLD HER ALL HER QUESTIONS: THERE WAS NOT ANY THING HID FROM THE KING, WHICH HE TOLD HER NOT.

[1-Kings 10:4] AND WHEN THE QUEEN OF SHEBA HAD SEEN ALL SOLOMON'S WISDOM, AND THE HOUSE THAT HE HAD BUILT,

[1-Kings 10:5] AND THE MEAT OF HIS TABLE, AND THE SITTING OF HIS SERVANTS, AND THE ATTENDANCE OF HIS MINISTERS, AND THEIR APPAREL, AND HIS CUPBEARERS, AND HIS ASCENT BY WHICH HE WENT UP UNTO THE HOUSE OF THE LORD; THERE WAS NO MORE SPIRIT IN HER.

[1-Kings 10:6] AND SHE SAID TO THE KING, IT WAS A TRUE REPORT THAT I HEARD IN MINE OWN LAND OF THY ACTS AND OF THY WISDOM.

[1-Kings 10:7] HOWBEIT I BELIEVED NOT THE WORDS, UNTIL I CAME, AND MINE EYES HAD SEEN IT: AND, BEHOLD, THE HALF WAS NOT TOLD ME: THY WISDOM AND PROSPERITY EXCEEDETH THE FAME WHICH I HEARD.

[1-Kings 10:8] HAPPY ARE THY MEN, HAPPY ARE THESE THY SERVANTS, WHICH STAND CONTINUALLY BEFORE THEE, AND THAT HEAR THY WISDOM.

[1-Kings 10:9] BLESSED BE THE LORD THY GOD, WHICH DELIGHTED IN THEE, TO SET THEE ON THE THRONE OF ISRAEL: BECAUSE THE LORD LOVED ISRAEL FOR EVER, THEREFORE MADE HE THEE KING, TO DO JUDGMENT AND JUSTICE.

[1-Kings 10:10] AND SHE GAVE THE KING AN HUNDRED AND TWENTY TALENTS OF GOLD, AND OF SPICES VERY GREAT STORE, AND PRECIOUS STONES: THERE CAME NO MORE SUCH ABUNDANCE OF SPICES AS THESE WHICH THE QUEEN OF SHEBA GAVE TO KING SOLOMON.

[1-Kings 10:11] AND THE NAVY ALSO OF HIRAM, THAT BROUGHT GOLD FROM OPHIR, BROUGHT IN FROM OPHIR GREAT PLENTY OF ALMUG TREES, AND PRECIOUS STONES.
In chapter nine we discussed the location of Ophir and out of several possibilities indicated that we consider an area in the South of Africa (possibly in Moazambique) as the most likely.

[1-Kings 10:12] AND THE KING MADE OF THE ALMUG TREES PILLARS FOR THE HOUSE OF THE LORD, AND FOR THE KING'S HOUSE, HARPS ALSO AND PSALTERIES FOR SINGERS: THERE CAME NO SUCH ALMUG TREES, NOR WERE SEEN UNTO THIS DAY.

[1-Kings 10:13] AND KING SOLOMON GAVE UNTO THE QUEEN OF SHEBA ALL HER DESIRE, WHATSOEVER SHE ASKED, BESIDE THAT WHICH SOLOMON GAVE HER OF HIS ROYAL BOUNTY. SO SHE TURNED AND WENT TO HER OWN COUNTRY, SHE AND HER SERVANTS.

[1-Kings 10:14] NOW THE WEIGHT OF GOLD THAT CAME TO SOLOMON IN ONE YEAR WAS SIX HUNDRED THREESCORE AND SIX TALENTS OF GOLD,

[1-Kings 10:15] BESIDE THAT HE HAD OF THE MERCHANTMEN, AND OF THE TRAFFICK OF THE SPICE MERCHANTS, AND OF ALL THE KINGS OF ARABIA, AND OF THE GOVERNORS OF THE COUNTRY.

[1-Kings 10:16] AND KING SOLOMON MADE TWO HUNDRED TARGETS OF BEATEN GOLD: SIX HUNDRED SHEKELS OF GOLD WENT TO ONE TARGET.
TARGETS. Hebrew "tsinot" (pl.) which is explained to mean some kind of protective barrier like a big shield.

[1-Kings 10:17] AND HE MADE THREE HUNDRED SHIELDS OF BEATEN GOLD; THREE POUND OF GOLD WENT TO ONE SHIELD: AND THE KING PUT THEM IN THE HOUSE OF THE FOREST OF LEBANON.

[1-Kings 10:18] MOREOVER THE KING MADE A GREAT THRONE OF IVORY, AND OVERLAID IT WITH THE BEST GOLD.
BEST GOLD. Hebrew "zehav (gold) moophaz". The word "moophaz" is of uncertain meaning. It may mean gold of good quality or it may mean gold from a place called "oophaz", cf.   "GOLD FROM UPHAZ" (Jeremiah 10:19). This latter explanation appears the more probable.

[1-Kings 10:19] THE THRONE HAD SIX STEPS, AND THE TOP OF THE THRONE WAS ROUND BEHIND: AND THERE WERE STAYS ON EITHER SIDE ON THE PLACE OF THE SEAT, AND TWO LIONS STOOD BESIDE THE STAYS.

[1-Kings 10:20] AND TWELVE LIONS STOOD THERE ON THE ONE SIDE AND ON THE OTHER UPON THE SIX STEPS: THERE WAS NOT THE LIKE MADE IN ANY KINGDOM.

[1-Kings 10:21] AND ALL KING SOLOMON'S DRINKING VESSELS WERE OF GOLD, AND ALL THE VESSELS OF THE HOUSE OF THE FOREST OF LEBANON WERE OF PURE GOLD; NONE WERE OF SILVER: IT WAS NOTHING ACCOUNTED OF IN THE DAYS OF SOLOMON.

[1-Kings 10:22] FOR THE KING HAD AT SEA A NAVY OF THARSHISH WITH THE NAVY OF HIRAM: ONCE IN THREE YEARS CAME THE NAVY OF THARSHISH, BRINGING GOLD, AND SILVER, IVORY, AND APES, AND PEACOCKS.
They would leave from the Red Sea, go down the east coast of Africa, around the Cape of Good Hope, stop off in Tarshish in southwest Speain, then through the Straits of Gibraltar return via the Mediterranean Sea.
An explanation of this journey along with an account known Phoenician expeditions along the same route is given is our article on Tarshish:
http://www.britam.org/Questions/QuesTarshish.html

See especially the notes on:
The Bible and Tarshish
http://www.britam.org/Questions/QuesTarshish.html#Bible


In the Book of Psalms, it says The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall bring presents (Psalm 72;10): The Aramaic Targum translates this expression to say, The Kings of Tarsis and of the Isles in the Oceanic Sea shall bring offerings and by Oceanic Sea (i.e. Yam Okyanus) the Atlantic Ocean is intended.

[1-Kings 10:23] SO KING SOLOMON EXCEEDED ALL THE KINGS OF THE EARTH FOR RICHES AND FOR WISDOM.

[1-Kings 10:24] AND ALL THE EARTH SOUGHT TO SOLOMON, TO HEAR HIS WISDOM, WHICH GOD HAD PUT IN HIS HEART.

[1-Kings 10:25] AND THEY BROUGHT EVERY MAN HIS PRESENT, VESSELS OF SILVER, AND VESSELS OF GOLD, AND GARMENTS, AND ARMOUR, AND SPICES, HORSES, AND MULES, A RATE YEAR BY YEAR.

[1-Kings 10:26] AND SOLOMON GATHERED TOGETHER CHARIOTS AND HORSEMEN: AND HE HAD A THOUSAND AND FOUR HUNDRED CHARIOTS, AND TWELVE THOUSAND HORSEMEN, WHOM HE BESTOWED IN THE CITIES FOR CHARIOTS, AND WITH THE KING AT JERUSALEM.
Solomon had 1400 chariots and 12,000 cavalry.
The Israelites did have an equestrian tradition that possibly came to expression once again when the Northern Tribes were exiled and became identified with the Scythians.

[1-Kings 10:27] AND THE KING MADE SILVER TO BE IN JERUSALEM AS STONES, AND CEDARS MADE HE TO BE AS THE SYCOMORE TREES THAT ARE IN THE VALE, FOR ABUNDANCE.

Que i.e. "Kue"

[1-Kings 10:28] AND SOLOMON HAD HORSES BROUGHT OUT OF EGYPT, AND LINEN YARN: THE KING'S MERCHANTS RECEIVED THE LINEN YARN AT A PRICE.
EGYPT in Hebrew is Mitsraim. This was the name for Egypt BUT it was also the name of other areas in the north.
LINEN YARN in Hebrew is KIVEH or QUE.
The verse may be reade to say:
   AND SOLOMON HAD HORSES BROUGHT OUT OF MITSRAYIM AND FROM QUE: THE KING'S MERCHANTS RECEIVED THEM [the horses mentioned in 10:23] FROM QUE AT A PRICE.

Adapted from "Lost Israelite Origins":

THE EQUESTRIAN FORCES OF KING SOLOMON

             Israelite association with cavalry and chariotry had perhaps
been initiated by King Solomon.
             King Solomon of Israel had kept "Forty thousand stalls of
horses for his chariots and twelve thousand horsemen" (1-Kings 4:26).
A verse in 1-Kings 10:28 may be translated :
             "The source of Solomon's horses was from Mitsrayim[1] [i.e.
Musasir] and from Que, the merchants of the king would take them from Que
at a price"*16.

             "Mitsrayim" was a term that may have been applicable to an
area north of Israel as well as to Egypt. The Assyrians also referred to
BOTH Egypt in the south and an area to the north of them as "Mutsri" which
term is generally taken to be translatable as Egypt and as equivalent to
the Hebrew word for Egypt, "Mitsrayim". "MUTSRI" is the name given to the
area of MUSASIR in Mannae. This area was the source of Assyrian cavalry
horses and the place where these horses were taken to be trained. Similarly
"QUE" refers to the geographical area of Cilicia in southeast Turkey, known
as "Ku" or "Que".

             Even though Musasir was in Mannae it was a sacred centre for
the Kings of Urartu and maybe considered their place of origin.. The
Assyrians employed Urartians to train their cavalry horses and gave them
high ranks though lower than those given to Israelites from Samaria. The
cavalry horses were obtained from and trained in Mannae. In the light of
the implied Israelite connection with this area in the time of King Solomon
it is interesting to note that in the neo-Assyrian era which was mainly the
time after the Israelites had been exiled, stable buildings in eastern
Urartu conformed to a "uniform arrangement when compared to those that had
existed in the former land of Israel, i.e. they were of the same type as
the former Israelite ones and probably derived from the same source.

[1-Kings 10:29] AND A CHARIOT CAME UP AND WENT OUT OF EGYPT FOR SIX HUNDRED SHEKELS OF SILVER, AND AN HORSE FOR AN HUNDRED AND FIFTY: AND SO FOR ALL THE KINGS OF THE HITTITES, AND FOR THE KINGS OF SYRIA, DID THEY BRING THEM OUT BY THEIR MEANS.
By understanding "EGYPT" [i.e. Mitsrayim"] here as referring to a northern entity we derive more of a geographical ordering from these verses. "Mitsrayim" is mentioned along with KINGS OF THE HITTITES and THE KINGS OF SYRIA i.e. in a northern area.

For additional information concerning Israelites in the Kue area north of Syria see our article: Dan and the Serpent Way.
Dan in Northern Israel, Greece, and Elsewhere
http://britam.org/dan3.html

After the Death of Solomon:
The Divided Kingdom

Source of Map:
www.ebibleteacher.com/imagehtml/otmaps.html

1-Kings ch.9 1-Kings ch.11