QUEEN OF SHEBA · UNITED KINGDOM

The queen of Sheba. She came to Solomon with hard questions.

REIGNEDi

Not given Scripture gives no length of reign; her visit fell in Solomon's reign.

CAPITAL

Sheba

HOUSE

Not stated

SCRIPTURE SAYS

“She heard “of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the LORD”, and came to test him “with hard…”

PROPHETS

None named

THE NATIONS: 4 RULERS HIRAM → CANDACE

ON THE WORLD STAGE

The powers of the day

ISRAEL

Solomon

OUTSIDE THE BIBLE

OUTSIDE THE BIBLE · ARABIC VERSION DATED BY ITS COLOPHONS TO AD 1314–1344

The Kebra Nagast (Ethiopia)

OUTSIDE THE BIBLE · MEDIEVAL; THE FIRST SOURCE IS NOT ESTABLISHED HERE

Arab tradition

OUTSIDE THE BIBLE · REPORTED 1915

South Arabian inscriptions

OUTSIDE THE BIBLE · TIGLATH-PILESER III (745–727 BC)

Queens of Arabia in Assyrian records

SUCCESSION

Before and after

THE REALM

Sheba and the places of the account

The nations. Only places Scripture names are shown, each where the Atlas puts it.

WHAT SCRIPTURE SAYS

What Scripture says of her

  • She heard “of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the LORD”, and came to test him “with hard questions”. 1 Kings 10:1
  • “She communed with him of all that was in her heart. And Solomon told her all her questions.” 1 Kings 10:2–3
  • “It was a true report that I heard in mine own land of thy acts and of thy wisdom. Howbeit I believed not the words, until I came, and mine eyes had seen it: and, behold, the half was not told me.” 1 Kings 10:6–7
  • “Blessed be the LORD thy God, which delighted in thee, to set thee on the throne of Israel.” 1 Kings 10:9
  • “So she turned and went to her own country, she and her servants.” 1 Kings 10:13
  • Jesus: “The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it … and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.” Matthew 12:42

DEALINGS

Dealings with God's people

  • She came because of Solomon's fame “concerning the name of the LORD”. 1 Kings 10:1
  • She blessed “the LORD thy God, which delighted in thee”. 1 Kings 10:9
  • She saw “the house that he had built”, and his ascent to the house of the LORD. 1 Kings 10:4–5
  • Gifts on both sides: her gold, spices and stones; his gifts “of his royal bounty”. 1 Kings 10:10 1 Kings 10:13
  • From the text1 Kings 10 places her visit amid Solomon's trade by sea and his gold; Kings records no treaty with her. 1 Kings 10:11 1 Kings 10:14
  • “Happy are thy men, happy are these thy servants, which stand continually before thee.” 1 Kings 10:8
  • “There came no more such abundance of spices as these which the queen of Sheba gave to king Solomon.” 1 Kings 10:10

EVENTS

Wars, works and turning points

UNDATED IN SCRIPTURE

TWO ACCOUNTS

Where the accounts differ

Why she came

1 KINGS

2 CHRONICLES

Her blessing

1 KINGS

2 CHRONICLES

Solomon's gifts

1 KINGS

2 CHRONICLES

DATES DIFFER

When was it?

PLACED BY SOLOMON'S REIGN (THIELE, AS REVISED BY MCFALL AND YOUNG)

No years given[1]

Her visit is undated. It falls within Solomon's reign, 971–932 BC in Young's table; 1 Kings tells it after the temple and the palace were finished.

Ethiopia

The Kebra Nagast (Arabic version AD 1314–1344)

The Ethiopian tradition makes her Makeda, queen of Ethiopia.[32]

IN SCRIPTURE

Every passage

CHAPTERS · 4

1 Kings 10 2 Chronicles 9 Matthew 12 Luke 11

PASSAGES · 4

1 Kings 10:1–13 2 Chronicles 9:1–12 Matthew 12:42 Luke 11:31

WHAT SCRIPTURE DOES NOT SAY

  • Scripture never gives her name, her husband or family, or the length of her reign.
  • 1 Kings 10 does not say where Sheba lay.
  • Scripture says nothing of a son by Solomon; that is the Kebra Nagast's tradition.
  • Scripture does not say what she did after she went home.

IDENTIFICATIONS THIS PAGE RELIES ON

  • From the textScripture never gives her name. “Makeda” and “Balkis” come from much later traditions; this page does not use them as her name. 1 Kings 10:1
  • From the textJesus calls her “the queen of the south” who “came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon”. Matthew 12:42 Luke 11:31
  • From the textShe is called a queen and comes and goes with her own servants; Scripture names no king beside her. 1 Kings 10:1 1 Kings 10:13

SOURCES

Where this page comes from

  • Rodger C. Young, Chronological tables: Table 1, Chronology of the Kings of Israel; Table 2, Chronology of the Kings of Judah (Thiele's system as revised by McFall and Young; dates cited as facts only) (undated web tables, read 2026-10-07), Tables 1 and 2.
  • D. D. Luckenbill, Ancient Records of Assyria and Babylonia, vol. 1 (Shalmaneser III to Tiglath-pileser III) (1926), §553 (Shalmaneser III, 858–824 BC), §§568, 571, 575, 578 (Black Obelisk, years 11, 14, 18 and 21), pp. 199–206.
  • D. D. Luckenbill, Ancient Records of Assyria and Babylonia, vol. 1 (Shalmaneser III to Tiglath-pileser III) (1926), §611, p. 223 (Monolith Inscription from Kurkh, the battle of Karkar).
  • D. D. Luckenbill, Ancient Records of Assyria and Babylonia, vol. 1 (Shalmaneser III to Tiglath-pileser III) (1926), §§658–659 and 663, pp. 240–241 (annals from Calah, years 14 and 18).
  • D. D. Luckenbill, Ancient Records of Assyria and Babylonia, vol. 1 (Shalmaneser III to Tiglath-pileser III) (1926), §§679–681, pp. 245–246 (the statue inscription from Assur).
  • D. D. Luckenbill, Ancient Records of Assyria and Babylonia, vol. 1 (Shalmaneser III to Tiglath-pileser III) (1926), §735, p. 261 (the Saba’a stele) and §740, pp. 262–263 (the Nimrud slab) of Adad-nirari III.
  • D. D. Luckenbill, Ancient Records of Assyria and Babylonia, vol. 1 (Shalmaneser III to Tiglath-pileser III) (1926), §761, p. 269 (on the order of the annal fragments); §769, p. 273; §772, p. 276 (Tiglath-pileser III's tribute lists).
  • D. D. Luckenbill, Ancient Records of Assyria and Babylonia, vol. 1 (Shalmaneser III to Tiglath-pileser III) (1926), §§776–779, pp. 278–280 (Tiglath-pileser III's annals: the war on Aram; Samsi, queen of Arabia).
  • D. D. Luckenbill, Ancient Records of Assyria and Babylonia, vol. 2 (Sargon to the end) (1927), §1198, p. 436 (the eponym list with notes, 733 and 732 BC).
  • R. W. Rogers, Cuneiform Parallels to the Old Testament (1912), p. 296, note 1 (the reading “Bir-idri”); p. 299 with note 1 (the statue inscription); pp. 305–306 (Adad-nirari III and Mari’).
  • A. Biran and J. Naveh, “An Aramaic Stele Fragment from Tel Dan” (1993) and “The Tel Dan Inscription: A New Fragment” (1995), Israel Exploration Journal 43 and 45 (facts only; copyrighted) (1993, 1995), IEJ 43 (1993) 81–98; IEJ 45 (1995) 1–18 (the articles were not read; facts taken from published summaries).
  • S. R. Driver, Notes on the Hebrew Text of the Books of Samuel (Appendix: the Inscription of Mesha) (1890), pp. lxxxv–lxxxvi (introduction), lxxxvii–lxxxviii (translation), lxxxviii–xcii and xciv (Driver's notes).
  • A. H. Sayce, “Moabite Stone”, International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia, vol. 3 (1915), pp. 2071–2072 (discovery of the stone; “forty” and the date of the revolt on p. 2072).
  • W. Ewing, “Mesha”, International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia, vol. 3 (1915), pp. 2037–2038, section (3).
  • T. Nicol, “Benhadad”, International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia, vol. 1 (1915), pp. 435–437.
  • T. Nicol, “Hazael”, International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia, vol. 2 (1915), pp. 1345–1346.
  • T. Nicol, “Rezin”, International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia, vol. 4 (1915), p. 2588.
  • David Francis Roberts, “Queen of Sheba”, International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia, vol. 4 (1915), s.v. (sections 1 and 4).
  • Thomas Hunter Weir, “Sheba” (1), International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia, vol. 4 (1915), p. 2752, sections 1 and 3.
  • (unsigned article), “Candace”, International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia, vol. 1 (1915), p. 552.
  • Edward Mack, “Chronology of the Old Testament”, International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia, vol. 1 (1915), pp. 639–640 (Menahem's tribute in 738 BC).
  • C. F. Keil, tr. J. Martin, Biblical Commentary on the Books of the Kings (Keil and Delitzsch) (1872), pp. 221 (1 Kgs 15:18), 259–260 (1 Kgs 19:15), 261 and 266–267 (1 Kgs 20), 307 (2 Kgs 3:27), 334–336 (2 Kgs 8:10–15), 402–403 (2 Kgs 16:6); read in the archive.org scan text.
  • C. F. Keil and F. Delitzsch, tr. James Martin, Biblical Commentary on the Books of Samuel (Clark's Foreign Theological Library; translation first published 1866, this printing 1876) (1866), pp. 318–321 (Hiram).
  • John Gill, An Exposition of the Old Testament (1748–1763), note on 2 Kgs 3:27 (read on Bible Hub).
  • H. D. M. Spence and J. S. Exell (eds.), The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1897), note on 2 Kgs 3:27 (read on Bible Hub).
  • J. R. Lumby, The Second Book of the Kings (Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges) (1887), note on 2 Kgs 3:27 (read on Bible Hub).
  • C. J. Ellicott (ed.), A Bible Commentary for English Readers (c. 1878–1884), note on 2 Kgs 3:27 (read on Bible Hub).
  • H. D. M. Spence and J. S. Exell (eds.), The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1897), note on 2 Kgs 8:15 (read on Bible Hub).
  • C. J. Ellicott (ed.), A Bible Commentary for English Readers (c. 1878–1884), note on 2 Kgs 8:15 (read on Bible Hub).
  • C. J. Ellicott (ed.), A Bible Commentary for English Readers (c. 1878–1884), note on 2 Kgs 16:6 (read on Bible Hub).
  • John Gill, An Exposition of the Old Testament (1748–1763), note on 2 Kgs 16:6 (read on Bible Hub).
  • E. A. Wallis Budge (tr.), The Queen of Sheba and Her Only Son Menyelek (the Kebra Nagast) (1922), Introduction, pp. xxx (the colophons date the Arabic version AD 1314–1344) and xxxiv (the names Makeda and Balkis; Saba “far more probable”).
  • Pliny the Elder, tr. John Bostock and H. T. Riley, The Natural History (1855), book 6, chapter 35 (Bostock and Riley's numbering; 6.29 in older editions).
  • Strabo, tr. H. C. Hamilton and W. Falconer, The Geography of Strabo (1854–1857), book 17, chapter 1, section 54.
  • Eusebius, tr. A. C. McGiffert, Church History (Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 2, vol. 1) (1890), book 2, chapter 1, section 13.
  • Irenaeus, tr. A. Roberts and W. H. Rambaut, Against Heresies (Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1) (1885), book 3, chapter 12, section 8.
  • Geneva Bible translators, Geneva Bible marginal notes (1599), note on 2 Chr 8:2 (read on Bible Hub).
  • H. D. M. Spence and J. S. Exell (eds.), The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1897), note on 2 Chr 8:2 (read on Bible Hub).
  • W. E. Barnes, The Books of Chronicles (Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges) (1899), note on 2 Chr 8:2 (read on Bible Hub).
  • C. J. Ellicott (ed.), A Bible Commentary for English Readers (c. 1878–1884), note on 2 Chr 8:2 (read on Bible Hub).

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