Queen of Saba vsits Solomon
Solomon sends the Queen of Saba a threatening letter after receiving reports from his spy bird Hoopoe. She must conform to Islam. An incredibly tall tale since in this Surah 27 Solomon talks to ants and birds.
This Sura also claims: (77) and there is nothing hidden in heaven or on earth, but it is written in a clear book. (78) Verily this Qurán declareth unto the children of Israel most of those points concerning which they disagree: (79) and it is certainly a direction and a mercy unto the true believers. (80) Thy Lord will decide the controversy between them by his definitive sentence: and he is the mighty, the wise. (81) Therefore put thy trust in God; for thou art in the manifest truth.
Disagree in what? Solomon talking to ants and birds?
Sura 27
(15) We heretofore bestowed knowledge on David and Solomon: and they said, Praise be unto God, who hath made us more excellent than many of his faithful servants! (16) And Solomon was David’s heir; and he said, O men, we have been taught the speech of birds, and have had all things bestowed on us; this is manifest excellence. (17) And his armies were gathered together unto Solomon, consisting of genii, and men, and birds; and they were led in distinct bands, (18) until they came unto the valley of ants. And an ant, seeing the hosts approaching, said, O ants, enter ye into your habitations, lest Solomon and his army tread you under foot, and perceive it not. (19) And Solomon smiled, laughing at her words, and said, O Lord, excite me that I may be thankful for thy favour wherewith thou hast favoured me, and my parents; and that I may do that which is right and well-pleasing unto thee: and introduce me, through thy mercy, into Paradise, among thy servants the righteous. (20) And he viewed the birds, and said, What is the reason that I see not the lapwing? Is she absent? (21) Verily I will chastise her with a severe chastisement, or I will put her to death; unless she bring me a just excuse. (22) And she tarried not long before she presented herself unto Solomon, and said, I have viewed a country which thou hast not viewed; and I come unto thee from Sabá, with a certain piece of news. (23) I found a woman to reign over them, who is provided with everything requisite for a prince, and hath a magnificent throne. (24) I found her and her people to worship the sun, besides God: and Satan hath prepared their works for them, and hath turned them aside from the way of truth (wherefore they are not rightly directed, (25) lest they should worship God, who bringeth to light that which is hidden in heaven and earth, and knoweth whatever they conceal, and whatever they discover. (26) God! there is no God but he; the Lord of the magnificent throne. (27) Solomon said, We shall see whether thou hast spoken the truth, or whether thou art a liar. (28) Go with this my letter, and cast it down unto them; then turn aside from them, and wait to know what answer they will return. (29) And when the Queen of Sabá had received the letter, she said, O nobles, verily an honourable letter hath been delivered unto me; (30) it is from Solomon, and this is the tenor thereof: In the name of the most merciful God, (31) Rise not up against me: but come and surrender yourselves unto me.
(32) She said, O nobles, advise me in my business: I will not resolve on anything until ye be witnesses and approve thereof. (33) The nobles answered, We are endued with strength, and are endued with great prowess in war; but the command appertaineth unto thee: see therefore what thou wilt command. (34) She said, Verily kings, when they enter a city by force, waste the same, and abase the most powerful of the inhabitants thereof: and so will these do with us. (35) But I will send gifts unto them; and will wait for what farther information those who shall be sent shall bring back. (36) And when the queen’s ambassador came unto Solomon, that prince said, Will ye present me with riches? Verily that which God hath given me is better than that which he hath given you: but ye do glory in your gifts. (37) Return unto the people of Sabá. We will surely come unto them with forces, which they shall not be able to withstand; and we will drive them out from their city, humbled; and they shall become contemptible. (38) And Solomon said, O nobles, which of you will bring unto me her throne, before they come and surrender themselves unto me? (39) A terrible genius answered, I will bring it unto thee before thou arise from thy place: for I am able to perform it, and may be trusted. (40) And one with whom was the knowledge of the Scriptures said, I will bring it unto thee in the twinkling of an eye. And when Solomon saw the throne placed before him, he said, This is a favour of my Lord, that he may make trial of me, whether I will be grateful, or whether I will be ungrateful; and he who is grateful is grateful to his own advantage, but if any shall be ungrateful, verily my Lord is self-sufficient and munificent. (41) And Solomon said unto his servants, Alter her throne, that she may not know it, to the end we may see whether she be rightly directed, or whether she be one of those who are not rightly directed. (42) And when she was come unto Solomon, it was said unto her, Is thy throne like this? She answered, As though it were the same. And we have had knowledge bestowed on us before this, and have been resigned unto God. (43) But that which she worshipped besides God had turned her aside from the truth; for she was of an unbelieving people. (44) It was said unto her, Enter the palace. And when she saw it, she imagined it to be a great water; and she discovered her legs by lifting up her robe to pass through it. Whereupon Solomon said unto her, Verily this is a palace evenly floored with glass. (45) Then said the queen, O Lord, verily I have dealt unjustly with my own soul; and I resign myself, together with Solomon, unto God the Lord of all creatures.
Observation
The hoopoe was unclean, not to be eaten. Therefore Solomon would not have gone anywhere near it yet employ it or attempt to talk to it.
Leviticus 11
13 “‘You shall detest these among the birds; they shall not be eaten because they are an abomination: the eagle, the vulture, the black vulture, 14 the red kite, any kind of black kite, 15 any kind of raven, 16 the horned owl, the screech owl, the gull, any kind of hawk, 17 the little owl, the cormorant, the great owl, 18 the white owl, the desert owl, the osprey, 19 the stork, any kind of heron, the hoopoe, and the bat.
The biblical account
1 Kings 10
When the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning Yahweh’s name, she came to test him with hard questions. 2 She came to Jerusalem with a very great caravan, with camels that bore spices, very much gold, and precious stones; and when she had come to Solomon, she talked with him about all that was in her heart. 3 Solomon answered all her questions. There wasn’t anything hidden from the king which he didn’t tell her. 4 When the queen of Sheba had seen all the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built, 5 the food of his table, the sitting of his servants, the attendance of his officials, their clothing, his cup bearers, and his ascent by which he went up to Yahweh’s house; there was no more spirit in her. 6 She said to the king, “It was a true report that I heard in my own land of your acts, and of your wisdom. 7 However I didn’t believe the words until I came and my eyes had seen it. Behold, not even half was told me! Your wisdom and prosperity exceed the fame which I heard. 8 Happy are your men, happy are these your servants, who stand continually before you, who hear your wisdom. 9 Blessed is Yahweh your God, who delighted in you, to set you on the throne of Israel. Because Yahweh loved Israel forever, therefore he made you king, to do justice and righteousness.” 10 She gave the king one hundred twenty talents of gold, and a very great quantity of spices, and precious stones. Never again was there such an abundance of spices as these which the queen of Sheba gave to king Solomon.
11 The fleet of Hiram that brought gold from Ophir, also brought in from Ophir great quantities of almug trees and precious stones. 12 The king made of the almug trees pillars for Yahweh’s house, and for the king’s house, harps also and stringed instruments for the singers; no such almug trees came or were seen, to this day. 13 King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all her desire, whatever she asked, in addition to that which Solomon gave her of his royal bounty. So she turned and went to her own land, she and her servants.
Where did the quranic story come from?
Otzar Midrashim, The Aleph Bet of ben Sira, The Alphabet of ben Sira
א First he asked him, "How does the rabbit shave her head?" He said to him, "With a serum of quicklime." He said to him, "What is it like?" He said to him, "The shaver shaves the hair." He said to him, "And what is it called?" He said to him, "A serum of quicklime, which is quicklime and 'zernich' (arsenic), and this material, in the days of your mother, was created by Solomon from his mind, in his wisdom. When your mother, the Queen of Sheba, came to Solomon and brought him a gift to see his wisdom, she appealed to him, and he wanted to sleep with her, and he found her entirely hairy, and he brought her quicklime and arsenic, and crumbled it with a chopper by way of (the soles of) the feet, and crushed the arsenic, and mixed them in water, and it turned into the quicklime serum for shaving, and he applied it to her, and rinsed her, and her hair detached, and at that point he was intimate with her." He said to him, "I would not believe these things unless I saw them with my own eyes." He said to him, "How do you know this?" He said to him, "I am a prophet and the Holy Blessed One reveals all sealed matters to me." He said to him, "If so, then what you have told me is true."
The Riddles of Solomon in Rabbinic Literature by Solomon Schechter
Midrash Hachephez
R. Ishmael related the following: “This is the wisdom of Solomon, (the fame of) which extended from end to end of the world, as it is written, ‘and he was wiser than all men’ (1 Kings, v, 11); and it is said, ‘But where shall wisdom be found, and where is the place of understanding?’ (Job, xxviii, 12). This is the Queen of Sheba, who heard of the wisdom of Solomon and said, ‘I will go and see his wisdom, whether he be wise or not.’ ”
R. Jeremiah said:—“The Queen of Sheba,” addressing Solomon, said to him, ‘I have heard of thee and thy wisdom; if now I inquire of thee concerning any matter, wilt thou answer me?’ He replied, ‘The Lord giveth wisdom: out of His mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.’ She then said to him: (1) ‘Seven there are that issue and nine that enter: two yield the draught, and one drinks.’ Said he to her, ‘Seven are the days of a woman’s defilement, and nine the months of pregnancy; two are the breasts that yield the draught, and one the child that drinks it.’ Whereupon she said to him ‘Thou art wise.’ (2) Then she questioned him further: ‘A woman said to her son, thy father is my father, and thy grandfather my husband; thou art my son, and I am thy sister.’ ‘Assuredly,’ said he, ‘it was the daughter of Lot who spake thus to her son.’ (3) She placed before him a number of males and females, and said, ‘Distinguish now between them.’ Forthwith he made a sign to the eunuchs, who brought him a quantity of nuts and roasted ears of corn. The males, who were not troubled with bashfulness, seized them with bare hands, the females took them putting forth their gloved hands from beneath their garments. Whereupon he exclaimed, ‘Those are the males, these the females.’ (4) She brought to him a number of persons, some circumcised and others uncircumcised, and asked him to distinguish between them. He instantly made a sign to the high priest, who opened the ark of the covenant; whereupon those that were circumcised bowed their bodies to half their height, while their countenances were filled with the radiance of the Shechinah; the uncircumcised fell prone upon their faces. ‘Those,’ said he, ‘are circumcised, these uncircumcised.’ ‘Thou art indeed wise, she exclaimed. (5) She put other questions to him, to all of which he gave replies. ‘Who is he who neither was born nor has died?’ ‘It is the Lord of the Universe, blessed be He.’ (6) ‘What land is that that has but once seen the sun?‘ ‘The land upon which (after the creation) the waters were gathered, and (the bed of the sea on) the day when the sea was divided.’ (7) ‘There is an enclosure with ten doors, when one is open, nine are shut; when nine are open, one is shut.’ ‘That enclosure is the womb: the ten doors are the ten orifices of man—his eyes, ears, nostrils, mouth, the apertures for the discharge of the excreta and the urine, and the navel; when the child is in the embryonic state, the navel is open and the other orifices are closed, but when it issues (from the womb) the navel is closed, and the others are opened.’ (8) ‘(There is something which when) living moves not, yet when its head is cut off it moves?’ ‘It is the ship in the sea’ (the living tree has no motion, the trunk from which the crowning branches have been severed supplies the material for the moving vessel). (9) ‘Which are the three that neither ate, nor drank, nor had breath put into them, yet saved three lives from death?’ ‘The seal, the thread and the staff (of Judah)] are those three, and the lives they saved were Tamar, Pharez, and Zarah.’ (10) ‘Three entered a cave, and five came forth therefrom?’ ‘Lot and his two daughters, and their two children.’ (11) ‘The dead lived, the grave moves, and the dead prays: what is that?’ ‘The dead one was Jonah; the moving grave, the fish; Jonah was also the one that prayed.’ (12) ‘Who were the three that ate and drank on the earth, yet were not born of male and female?’ ‘The three angels who revealed themselves to our father Abraham, peace be unto him.’ (13) ‘Four entered a place of death and came forth alive, and two entered a place of life and came forth dead?’ ‘The four were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah; and the two who entered a place of life and came forth dead were Nadab and Abihu.’ (14) ‘Who was he who was born and died not?’ ‘Elijah and the Messiah.’ (15) ‘What was that which was not born, yet life was given to it?’ ‘The (golden) calf.’ (16) ‘What is that which is produced from the ground, yet man produces it, while its food is of the fruit of the ground?’ ‘A wick.’ (17) ‘A woman was wedded to two, and bare two sons, yet these four had one father?’ ‘Tamar was married by two, Er and Onan; she bore two (sons), Pharez and Tarah; and the father of (all) four was Judah.’ (18) ‘A house full of dead: no dead one came among them, nor did a living one come forth from them?’ ‘It is the story of Samson and the Philistines.’ (19) She next ordered the sawn (trunk of a) cedar tree to be brought, and asked him to point out which (end) the root had been and at which the branches. He bade her cast it into the water, when one end sank and the other floated upon the surface of the water. That part which sank was the root, and that which remained uppermost was the branch end. Then she said to him, ‘Thou exceedest in wisdom and goodness the fame which I heard, blessed be thy God.’ Therefore it is said, ‘And the Lord gave wisdom unto Solomon.’ ”
Midrash on Proverbs:
This Midrash also includes the story of the hoopoe and the Queen of Sheba, highlighting the bird's role in conveying information.
The Midrash on Proverbs, also known as Midrash Mishle, is believed to have been compiled in the 8th or 9th century, with some scholars placing it as late as the mid-11th century. While the exact date of composition is debated, the Midrash on Proverbs represents a significant transition in midrashic literature, marking a shift from broader scriptural commentary to verse-by-verse analysis.
Buber thinks that the midrash was compiled as early as the 8th century, since quotations from it are found (though without references to the source) at the end of the Halakot Gedolot and in the Seder R. Amram 12b.
Midrash Mishlei 1:1
ANOTHER interpretation: "And wisdom, from where can it be found?" - this refers to the Queen of Sheba, who heard of his wisdom, said 'I will go and see if he is wise or not', and from where do we know that she heard his wisdom? It is written (1 Kings 10:1): "And the Queen of Sheba heard the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the LORD, and she came to prove him with hard questions." What are "hard questions"? Rabbi Jeremiah Bar Shalom said: she asked him 'Are you Solomon, about whom I heard, and about your kingdom, and about your wisdom?' He replied 'Yes.' She said to him 'You are a great sage, but if I ask you one thing, will you answer me?' He replied (Proverbs 2:6): "For the LORD giveth wisdom; out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding." She asked him a riddle 'What are the seven that go out, the nine that enter, the two that pour, and the one who drinks?' He answered her 'Certainly, the seven days of menstruation go out, the nine months of pregnancy enter, two breasts pour, and the baby drinks.' She said to him 'You are a great sage, but if I ask you another thing will you answer me?' He replied 'For the LORD giveth wisdom', She asked him 'What is it, a woman said to her son: your father - my father, your elder - my husband, you - my son, and I - your sister?' He answered her 'Certainly, these are Lot's two daughters.' And another example she did: she brought before him children of one height and one garment, and said to him 'Distinguish for me from these males and females.' He hinted to his eunuch, and brought him nuts and shells, and began to scatter them before them; males, who were not ashamed, took them in their garments, and females, who were ashamed, took them in their handkerchiefs. He said to her 'These are males and these are females.' She said to him 'Son, you are a great sage!'. And another example she did: she brought circumcised and uncircumcised, said to him 'Distinguish for me the circumcised from the uncircumcised'; he immediately hinted to the high priest and opened the Ark of the Covenant, the circumcised among them bowed down to half their height, and not only that but their faces were filled with the radiance of the Divine Presence, and the uncircumcised among them fell on their faces, he immediately said to her 'These are uncircumcised and these are circumcised.' She said to him 'Where did you get that from?' He said to her 'From Balaam, for it is written (Numbers 24:4): "He hath said, which heard the words of God, which saw the vision of the Almighty, falling but with opened eyes", if he had not fallen - he would not have seen anything.' And if you don't want to learn from Balaam, come and learn from Job: at the hour when the three friends of Job came to comfort him, he said to them (Job 12:3): 'I have a heart like you; I am not inferior to you,' 'I am not inferior to you.' At that hour it was said to him (1 Kings 10:7): 'I did not believe the words until I came and my eyes saw, and behold, the half was not told to me; you have added wisdom and goodness to the hearing that I have heard; happy are your men, happy are these your servants who stand before you always and hear your wisdom; may the Lord your God be blessed who desired you, to place you on the throne of Israel and so on, and he made you king to do justice and righteousness.'
Targum Sheni to Esther:
This Targum, (Jewish interpretation) also features the hoopoe as a messenger between Solomon and the Queen.
Targum Sheni on Esther 1:2:9
So the matter was good for the king. And the scribes of the king read it out and wrote a letter and tied the letter to the wings of a wild bird. So it arose and flew to the heavens above and flew away. And when it flew among the birds, they flew behind it and they reached the city, Kitor, in the country of Sheba. And it was during the morning when the queen of Sheba came to bow down to the day. But the birds darkened the sun, so she took her hand to her garment and tore it and was dumbfounded. And while she was dumbfounded, the wild bird descended to her. And she saw that it had a letter tied to its wings. She opened it and read it. And this is what was written in it: It is from me, King Solomon. Peace be unto you, peace be unto your officers! As you know, the Holy One, blessed be He, crowned me over the wild animals, over the birds of the sky, over the demons, over the spirits, over the liliths; and all the kings — east, west, south, and north — come and ask of my welfare. Now, if you listen and come and ask of my welfare, I will send you more honor than all those who bow down before me. But if you do not listen and do not come and do not inquire of my welfare, I will send kings, soldiers and horsemen against you. As King Solomon had wild animals as kings, birds of the sky as riders, and spirits, demons, and liliths as soldiers. They will strangle you in your beds inside your homes. The wild animals will kill you in the field; the birds will eat your flesh from you. And when the queen of Sheba heard the matter of this letter she again took her hand to her garment and tore it. She called to her elders, to her officers, and said to them, "Do you not know what King Solomon sent to me?" They answered and said to her, "We do not know King Solomon and we do not consider his kingdom important." But she did not pay attention to them and did not listen to their words, but sent and called to all the ships of the sea and loaded them with gifts, pearls, and precious stones. And she sent him six thousand boys and girls, and they were all [from] the same time, all of the same height, all of the same style, and they were all dressed in a garment of purple. And she wrote a letter and sent it to King Solomon in their hands: From the city of Kitor to the land of Israel is a seven-year journey. Now due to your prayer and due to your request that I should come before you, I will come to you at the end of three years.
Midrash ha-Hefez:
This Midrash is known for its elaborate account of the Queen of Sheba's visit to Solomon, where a hoopoe plays a key role in informing Solomon about the Queen.
Midrash ha-Ḥefez (lit. "Midrash of desire"), or "Commentary of the Book of the Law", is a Hebrew midrash written by the physician and Rabbi, Yihye ibn Suleiman al-Dhamari, otherwise known as Zechariah ben Solomon ha-Rofé, which he began to write in 1430 in Yemen and concluded some years later.
Comments
Post a Comment