Queen of Yemen

I learned about the Queen of Sheba during my childhood.  She was a great ruler from the south.  She had heard of King Solomon's fame, and came to visit, bringing with her lavish gifts.  She chatted with Solomon and was totally blown away by his wisdom.  And, satisfied with what she had learned, she returned whence she had come.

So I was interested when this month's issue of National Geographic Traveler arrived with a sixteen page, lavishly illustrated article about the homeland of the Queen of Sheba. 

Ethiopia.

Ethiopia?  When I was a child, the location of "Sheba" was as mysterious to me as was the mysterious "Land of Nod," that place "east of Eden" to which Cain was exiled.  All I knew was that Sheba was someplace far away from Jerusalem, and someplace very rich.  But -- although the location of Sheba and the identity of its queen were hardly of major concern to me during my college years -- somewhere I had picked up the idea that Sheba was in Yemen.  Not across the Red Sea in Ethiopia.

As is so often the case, I was probably correct. 

The Bible itself assumes we are smart enough to know where Sheba is, and gives no further geographical information.  It simply states that the Queen of Sheba  entered "into Jerusalem with a great train, and riches, and camels that carried spices, and an immense quantity of gold, and precious stones." (1 Kings 10:2)  You can see why the story appealed to my childish imagination.  Riches beyond the dreams of even my avarice.

In any event, I now turn to the ultimate authority, Wikipedia:

Virtually all modern scholars agree that Sheba was the South Arabian kingdom of Saba, centered around the oasis of Marib, in present-day Yemen. Sheba was quite well known in the classical world, and its country was called Arabia Felix.

  (Sheba is, in fact, called "Saba" in my version of the Bible.) 

There were Sabaeans also living in Aksum, in northern Ethiopia, the Wikipedia article notes, but the writer claims that there are at least five places in the Bible where this area in Ethiopia is differentiated from Sheba.  Aksum was where the author of the National Geographic Traveler spent much of her time.  I'm willing to stick to my belief that if you want to see where the Queen of Sheba held court, you should go to Yemen.

But National Geographic Traveler does persuade me that if you want to visit a spectacular area, both scenically and historically, Ethiopia is a better bet.  And in today's world, a safer bet.  (The article concedes that no one really knows for sure the location of Sheba, but for the sake of the story takes Ethiopia's claim at face value.)

Wherever she lived, the Queen of Sheba was quite a lady.  She was impressed not by Solomon's palace or riches, nor by the extent of his harem ("And King Solomon loved many a strange woman..."  1 Kings 11:1), but, unlike many women, by his wisdom ("Thy wisdom and thy works exceed the fame which I heard."  1 Kings 10:7)  She heaped upon him piles of gold and precious stones, and spread before him camel-loads of spices.

Had the Queen of Sheba not lived and ventured north to meet King Solomon, our own age would never have developed such cultural riches as the 1963 movie, Queen of Sheba Meets the Atom Man.