The Queen of Sheba- Powerful Women In Biblical Times

 

 

The Queen of Sheba

Makeba, not to be confused with Bathsheba.

She is mentioned in I Kings 1:13 and is mentioned by Christians to be the "Queen of the South". There are other religious texts that consider her to be the queen of the dark country.

At any rate, she is a Queen. And it should be mentioned that she is a queen by birthright and not by marriage.

The country of Sheba is thought to be present day Yemen and Biblically she is considered to be the ruler of an Arabic country.

The Jewish tradition sees her as the queen of Ethiopia and Egypt. 

Her story is told by several viewpoints in Christian texts, Jewish texts, and in the Qu'Ran. The only texts that view her favorably are the Ethiopian texts.

In all the others, she is either barely mentioned or she is seen as a succubus for gaining the eye of King Solomon.

As her story goes, she had her own explorers out in ships initiating trade for her lands. Her top tradesman comes back and tells her that he thinks they should forge trade with Jerusalem. Since he spoke so highly of it, she decided to go on the next trip. 

All of the texts speak of a regal queen with an extensive entourage coming to the shores of the Holy Land of Jerusalem. Once there, she meets King Solomon and they become smitten with one another. She is intelligent and wows him with her riddles and wisdom. They trade spices and such and she leaves and goes home.

He is so taken by her, he sends for her again, but she sends riddles instead. She eventually comes back to Jerusalem and becomes his wife. She misses her own lands, and is now pregnant. King Solomon won't come to Sheba, so she eventually returns home and births their son, Menelik I.

She is queen for 50+ years. Menelik decides to go to Jerusalem to see his father, who is now remarried to the Pharaoh's daughter. He loves his father but doesn't feel he fits in in Jerusalem so he returns home to Sheba, some say with a gift. The Ark of the Covenant. Trade continues between the two countries, but Menelik and Makeba never return to Jerusalem. 

The lineage of descendants from Makeba and Menelik I extend to Haile Selassie who ruled until 1974.

We see here with her story, a woman who has her own mind, her own riches, and she navigated life accordingly based on the power of her own birthright. She was highly intelligent, called her own shots, and didn't play it small. Some say the Songs of Solomon are for her as well.

Despite many religious texts wanting to minimize her presence, her presence persisted regardless for centuries. The trade she initiated brought the gifts that were given to Baby Jesus to Jerusalem. 

She was a presence that brought a powerful king to his knees, and when she was ready, she returned home to her own.

Power

Strength of the Divine Feminine