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A Greater Union
The sketchy portraits that we have of Sheba hint at her emotional openness, as well as her intellectual curiosity. Even the brief account of her in I Kings, that "she communed with him of all that was in her heart...there was not anything hid from the king which he told her not" (29), suggests that her encounters with Solomon were not only intellectual discussions, but also open and heartfelt dialogues. The Kebra Negast is considerably more effusive:
When she expressed her admiration and joy to Solomon directly, he answered with humility, and likewise expressed his admiration for her. The Kebra Negast reports her saying to him:
"...And moreover, Solomon marvelled concerning the Queen, for she was vigorous in strength, and beautiful of form, and undefiled in virginity; and she had reigned for six years in her own country, and notwithstanding her gracious attraction and her splendid form, had preserved her body pure." (31)
Were Solomon and Sheba lovers? Did Sheba lose her virginity to the King? The Bible does not say so directly. However, the Hebrew verb Beth Vav, which means "to come", is used to describe Sheba's approach to Solomon. This particular word also means "coitus." Frequently the Bible refers to entering a house for the purpose of sexual relations. The statement that "King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all her desire, whatsoever she asked" (32) (as well as Josephus' explanation, "for there was nothing that she desired which he denied her" (33) might also imply that he not only fulfilled her intellectual and material passions; he also fulfilled her sexual passion.
Ethiopian and Arabian accounts explicitly refer to sexual relations between Solomon and Sheba. The Kebra Negast describes that "he pondered in his heart, 'A woman of such splendid beauty hath come to me from the ends of the earth! What do I know? Will God give me seed in her?'"(34) He desired her, and she likewise may have desired him, but because she sought to retain her virginity in order to reign as queen, she refused him. After six months together, when Sheba contemplated leaving, he begged her to stay and asked her to marry him. But she declined, most likely because she was committed to her own people unwilling to be a wife to a polygamous man, in a society where women had few rights.
The ingenious Solomon was not to be deterred by her refusal. He tricked her into offering herself to him sexually. An Arabic account tells us:
And Solomon said unto her, "I will only take thee to myself in lawful marriage - I am the King, and thou shalt be the Queen...Strike a covenant with me that I am only to take thee to wife of thine own free will - this shall be the condition between us: when thou shalt come to me by night as I am lying on the cushions of my bed, thou shalt become my wife." And behold she struck this covenant with him, determining within herself that she would preserve her virginity from him." (35)
He then arranged a great feast for her, beautifying his tent with purple hangings, carpets, marbles and precious stones, and burning aromatic powers and incense. "Follow me now and seat thyself in my splendour in the tent,'" he told her, "and I will complete thy instruction, for thou has loved wisdom, and she shall dwell with thee until thine end and for ever." (36) When she agreed, he rejoiced. He prepared meats which would make her thirsty, fish cooked with pepper, and drinks containing vinegar. Then they dined and conversed until late in the night, when he suggested that she sleep there near him, rather than return to her apartment.
The Kebra Negast describes an agreement which Solomon then made with Sheba (in contrast to the Arabic text in which he promises not approach her sexually unless she approaches him first). Here, he swears that he will not "take her by force" as long as she does not "take by force" anything of his:
... And she said unto him, 'Swear to me that thou wilt not take me by force thy, and I on my part will swear not to take by force thy possessions'; and he swore to her and made her swear." (37)
In both accounts, Sheba slept in Solomon's tent, and awakened in the middle of the night thirsty and craving water, but only able find a water in a jar by Solomon's bed. Solomon had, of course, asked his servants to hide all other sources of water. Believing him to be asleep, she reached across his bed for water, but he opened his eyes, seized her hand and said:
In the Arabic text, Solomon reminded her of the agreement they had made if she came to him by night. She then "remembered the covenant that existed between him and her. And she gave herself into his embrace willingly."(39)
 Stone houses, built along the caravan routes of the Queen,
The Queen may have been Solomon's lover, but she did not become his wife or remain with him much longer. After she had visited him for six months, she chose to return to her own country. Before she left, she gave Solomon 120 talents of gold (10 million dollars), precious stones and spices in great abundance, and highly prized sandalwood for his temple. In the Biblical story, "Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all her desire, whatsoever she asked...besides that which Solomon gave her of his royal bounty." (40) Likewise, Josephus states, "Solomon also repaid her with many good things...bestowing upon her what she chose of her own inclination, for there was nothing that she desired which he denied her; and as he was very generous and liberal in his own temper, so did he show the greatness of his soul in bestowing on her what she herself desired of him." (41)
Unlike the Bible and Josephus, the Kebra Negast provides details of Solomon's gifts - beautiful apparel, 6000 camels, wagons laden with luxurious goods, and vessels for travel over desert, air, and sea. Because she was now pregnant with his child, he also gave her a ring, for he hoped that she would bear him a son, who might in time visit Jerusalem and prove his identity to Solomon.
The Aftermath: Solomon's Later Years
The visit of the Queen of Sheba was the highlight of Solomon's life. After she left, he continued to write and speak words of wisdom, but he and Israel dimmed and deteriorated. Some speculate that this deterioration was triggered by Solomon's preoccupation with building a glorious palace and temple. But others say it was his obcession with Sheba. Never again would Solomon encounter or love a woman he could call his equal.
After she left, Solomon took 700 wives and 300 concubines. Many were foreign women who eventually "turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the Lord his God." (42) Although God had commanded that he and the Israelites reject idolatry and "the gods of other nations," Solomon built pagan temples for his many wives. In the region south of the Mount of Olives, referred to as the Hal of Shames, he constructed shrines to Ashtoreth, goddess of the Sidonians; Chemosh, goddess of Moab; and Milcom and Molech, goddesses of the Ammonites. He also honored Astarte, who was worshipped by many cultures, including the Sabaeans.
Although Solomon was known for his internationalism and openmindedness to foreign cultures and their beliefs, this same religious tolerance contributed to his downfall. Not only did he anger God; he also failed to unify his people, who needed their monotheistic practices in order to maintain religious identity and national pride. Judaism was, after all, the religion of the "One God."
The completion of his luxurious Temple became more important to Solomon than the practice of his religion. Then his luxurious Palace - built for personal rather than collective use - took precedence over the Temple. Finally, his writing and preaching of wisdom became increasingly vague.
Solomon no longer lived by the humane principles for which he had become respected and honored. Some historians even view him as a tyrant who became devoted to his own glory, and whose greed and extravagance led him to build his kingdom on injustice, oppression and misery. (43)
Solomon drew tax lines across the old tribal borders, alienating tribal elders. For his costly architectural projects, he taxed mercilessly, forcing those who could not pay into slavery, and seizing their lands. Many starved and died. Raising a levy of 30,000 men for forced labor from Hebrews and non-Hebrews of his northern kingdoms, rather than his own people of Judah, Solomon divided his country. His people, including his own sons, became increasingly resentful, and began to revolt.
Until ViewZone's Expedition to Yemen (2001), it was believed that the Ark was in Ethiopia. During the expedition we translated numerous references to the "box of El (the One God)."
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And King Solomon answered and said unto her, "Wisdom and understanding spring from thee thyself. As for me, I only possess them in the measure in which the God of Israel hath given them to me because I asked and entreated them from Him. And thou, although thou dost not know the God of Israel, thou hast this wisdom which thou hast made to grow in thine heart." 
After his death, the northern kingdoms of Israel stopped tolerating the forced labor and high taxes which had fed Judah, and refused to accept Solomon's son Rehoboam as king. Civil war resulted; ten northern tribes set up their own kingdom of Israel under Jeroboam, leaving only the kingdoms of Judah and Benjamin to Rehoboam. Such internal strife only made the Israelites weak and vulnerable to invasion. Eventually, the Assyrians, Babylonians and Egyptians conquered them, and carried them off into exile. But before his kingdom was pilaged, Solomon is said to have moved the sacred Ark of the Covenant to a safe and protected place.Who was Solomon || Solomon and Sheba || Sheba and Her Son || Viewzone's Translations
