Clever Queen Learns the Wisdom of God: The Queen of Sheba in the Hebrew Scriptures and the Qur'an

Abstract

The story of the Queen of Sheba, who comes to the court of King Solomon of Israel, is found in 1 Kings 10:1 - 14 and 2 Chronicles 9:1-12 of the Hebrew Scriptures and sura 27:23-44 of the Qur'an. The Queen remains unnamed throughout the story in both scriptures.' This paper will introduce the character as she appears in 1 Kings and the Qur'an, taking account of her motivations, actions, and the outcomes of those actions, identifying how the characterisation of this woman is both similar and different between the two scriptures. In particular we investigate what it is that she desires and the outcome of her desiring, so as to better appreciate how she is depicted. From the close reading and analysis of the stories, common attitudes and common themes about women will be identified, in particular the associated themes of desire and shame. Finally a comparison will be made with the views of the queen contained in commentaries on both scriptures.