Biblical figure
Queen of Sheba
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![](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b5/Regina_di_Saba_%28cropped%29.jpg/220px-Regina_di_Saba_%28cropped%29.jpg) Queen of Sheba
(1907) by Edward Slocombe
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Religion
| Religion of Solomon
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Nationality
| Sheba
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Other names
| Makeda
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The
Queen of Sheba
,
[a]
also called
Bilqis
[b]
(Yemeni and Islamic tradition) and
Makeda
[c]
(Ethiopian tradition), is a figure first mentioned in the
Hebrew Bible
. In the original story, she brings a
caravan
of valuable gifts for the
Israelite King
Solomon
. This account has undergone extensive
Jewish
,
Islamic
,
Yemenite
[1]
[2]
and
Ethiopian
elaborations, and it has become the subject of one of the most widespread and fertile cycles of
legends
in
Asia
and
Africa
.
[3]
Modern historians and archaeologists identify
Sheba
as the ancient
South Arabian
kingdom of
Saba'
that existed in modern-day Yemen, although no trace of the queen herself has been found.
[4]
[5]
The queen's existence is disputed among some historians.
[6]
Narratives
[
edit
]
Biblical
[
edit
]
The Queen of Sheba (
Hebrew
:
???????? ??????
,
romanized
:
Malka? ?????
,
[7]
in the
Hebrew Bible
;
Koin? Greek
:
βασ?λισσα Σαβ?
,
romanized:
basilissa Saba
, in the
Septuagint
;
[8]
Syriac
:
???? ???
;
[9]
[
dead link
]
[
romanization needed
]
Ge'ez
:
???? ??
,
romanized:
N?g??ta Saba
[10]
), whose name is not stated, came to
Jerusalem
"with a very great retinue, with camels bearing spices, and very much gold, and precious stones" (
1 Kings 10
:2). "Never again came such an abundance of spices" (10:10;
2 Chronicles 9
:1?9) as those she gave to Solomon. She came "to prove him with hard questions", which Solomon answered to her satisfaction. They exchanged gifts, after which she returned to her land.
[11]
[12]
The use of the term
?iddot
or 'riddles' (
1 Kings 10
:1), an
Aramaic
loanword
whose shape points to a sound shift no earlier than the sixth century BC, indicates a late origin for the text.
[11]
Since there is no mention of the
Fall of Babylon
in 539 BC,
Martin Noth
has held that the
Book of Kings
received a definitive redaction around 550 BC.
[13]
Sheba was quite well known in the classical world, and its country was called
Arabia Felix
.
[12]
Around the mid-1st millennium BC, there were
Sabaeans
also in
Ethiopia
and
Eritrea
, in the area that later became the realm of
Aksum
.
[14]
There are five places in the Bible where the writer distinguishes
Sheba
(
????
), i.e. the Yemenite Sabaeans, from
Seba
(
???
), i.e. the African Sabaeans. In
Ps.
72:10 they are mentioned together: "the kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts".
[15]
This spelling differentiation, however, may be purely factitious; the indigenous inscriptions make no such difference, and both Yemenite and African Sabaeans are there spelled in exactly the same way.
[14]
Although there are still no inscriptions found from
South Arabia
that furnish evidence for the Queen of Sheba herself, South Arabian inscriptions do mention a South Arabian queen (
mlkt
,
Ancient South Arabian
:
????????
).
[1]
[16]
And in the north of Arabia,
Assyrian
inscriptions repeatedly mention Arab queens.
[17]
Furthermore, Sabaean tribes knew the title of
mqtwyt
("high official",
Sabaean
:
????????????
).
Makada
or
Makueda
, the personal name of the queen in Ethiopian legend, might be interpreted as a popular rendering of the title of
mqtwyt
.
[18]
This title may be derived from
Ancient Egyptian
m'kit
(
??????????
) "protectress,
housewife
".
[19]
The queen's visit could have been a
trade mission
.
[12]
[14]
Early South Arabian trade with
Mesopotamia
involving wood and spices transported by
camels
is attested in the early 9th century BC and may have begun as early as the 10th.
[11]
A recent theory suggests that the
Ophel inscription
in Jerusalem was written in the
Sabaic language
and that the text provides evidence for trade connections between ancient South Arabia and the
Kingdom of Judah
during the 10th century BC
[20]
The ancient Sabaic
Aww?m Temple
, known in folklore as
Ma?ram
("the Sanctuary of")
Bilq?s
, was recently excavated by archaeologists, but no trace of the Queen of Sheba has been discovered so far in the many inscriptions found there.
[12]
Another Sabean temple, the Barran Temple (
Arabic
:
???? ????
), is also known as the
'Arash Bilqis
("Throne of Bilqis"), which like the nearby Awwam Temple was also dedicated to the god
Almaqah
, but the connection between the
Barran Temple
and Sheba has not been established archaeologically either.
[21]
Bible stories of the Queen of Sheba and the ships of
Ophir
served as a basis for legends about the Israelites traveling in the Queen of Sheba's entourage when she returned to her country to bring up her child by Solomon.
[22]
Christian
[
edit
]
Christian scriptures
mention a "queen of the South" (
Greek
:
βασ?λισσα ν?του
,
Latin
:
Regina austri
), who "came from the uttermost parts of the earth", i.e. from the extremities of the then known world, to hear the wisdom of Solomon (
Mt.
12:42;
Lk.
11:31).
[23]
The mystical interpretation of the
Song of Songs
, which was felt as supplying a literal basis for the speculations of the allegorists, makes its first appearance in
Origen
, who wrote a voluminous commentary on the Song of Songs.
[24]
In his commentary, Origen identified the bride of the Song of Songs with the "queen of the South" of the Gospels (i.e., the Queen of Sheba, who is assumed to have been Ethiopian).
[25]
Others have proposed either the marriage of Solomon with the
Pharaoh's daughter
, or his marriage with an Israelite woman, the
Shulamite
. The former was the favorite opinion of the mystical interpreters to the end of the 18th century; the latter has obtained since its introduction by
Good
(1803).
[24]
The bride of the Canticles is assumed to have been black due to a passage in
Song of Songs
1:5, which the
Revised Standard Version
(1952) translates as "I am very dark, but comely", as does
Jerome
(
Latin
:
Nigra sum, sed formosa
), while the
New Revised Standard Version
(1989) has "I am black and beautiful", as the
Septuagint
(
Ancient Greek
:
μ?λαινα ε?μ? κα? καλ?
).
[26]
One legend has it that the Queen of Sheba brought Solomon the same gifts that the
Magi
later gave to
Jesus
.
[27]
During the
Middle Ages
, Christians sometimes identified the queen of Sheba with the
sibyl
Sabba
.
[28]
Coptic
[
edit
]
The story of Solomon and the queen was popular among
Copts
, as shown by fragments of a Coptic legend preserved in a Berlin papyrus. The queen, having been subdued by deceit, gives Solomon a
pillar
on which all earthly science is inscribed. Solomon sends one of his
demons
to fetch the pillar from Ethiopia, whence it instantly arrives. In a Coptic poem, queen Yesaba of
Cush
asks riddles of Solomon.
[29]
Ethiopian
[
edit
]
Solomon receiving the Queen of Sheba (detail), Chapel of the Four Living Creatures (disputed between the
Copts
and
Ethiopians
) in the
Church of the Holy Sepulchre
Part of the head of the Queen of Sheba from the
Abbey of Saint Denis
- XIIth century
The most extensive version of the legend appears in the
Kebra Nagast
(Glory of the Kings), the Ethiopian national saga,
[30]
translated from Arabic in 1322.
[31]
[32]
[33]
Here
Menelik I
is the child of Solomon and
Makeda
(the Ethiopic name for the queen of Sheba; she is the child of the man who destroys the legendary snake-king
Arwe
[34]
) from whom the Ethiopian dynasty claims descent to the present day. While the Abyssinian story offers much greater detail, it omits any mention of the Queen's hairy legs or any other element that might reflect on her unfavourably.
[35]
[36]
Based on the Gospels of
Matthew
(
Matthew 12
:42) and
Luke
(
Luke 11
:31), the "queen of the South" is claimed to be the queen of Ethiopia. In those times, King Solomon sought merchants from all over the world, in order to buy materials for the building of the
Temple
. Among them was Tamrin, great merchant of Queen Makeda of Ethiopia. Having returned to Ethiopia, Tamrin told the queen of the wonderful things he had seen in Jerusalem, and of Solomon's wisdom and generosity, whereupon she decided to visit Solomon. She was warmly welcomed, given a palace for dwelling, and received great gifts every day. Solomon and Makeda spoke with great wisdom, and instructed by him, she converted to Judaism. Before she left, there was a great feast in the king's palace. Makeda stayed in the palace overnight, after Solomon had sworn that he would not do her any harm, while she swore in return that she would not steal from him. As the meals had been spicy, Makeda awoke thirsty at night and went to drink some water, when Solomon appeared, reminding her of her oath. She answered: "Ignore your oath, just let me drink water."
That same night, Solomon had a dream about the sun rising over Israel, but being mistreated and despised by the Jews, the sun moved to shine over Ethiopia and Rome. Solomon gave Makeda a ring as a token of faith, and then she left. On her way home, she gave birth to a son, whom she named Baina-le?kem (i.e. bin al-?ak?m, "Son of the Wise Man", later called Menilek). After the boy had grown up in Ethiopia, he went to Jerusalem carrying the ring and was received with great honors. The king and the people tried in vain to persuade him to stay. Solomon gathered his nobles and announced that he would send his first-born son to Ethiopia together with their first-borns. He added that he was expecting a third son, who would marry the king of Rome's daughter and reign over Rome so that the entire world would be ruled by David's descendants. Then Baina-le?kem was anointed king by Zadok the high priest, and he took the name David. The first-born nobles who followed him are named, and even today some Ethiopian families claim their ancestry from them. Prior to leaving, the priests' sons had stolen the
Ark of the Covenant
, after their leader Azaryas had offered a sacrifice as commanded by one God's angel. With much wailing, the procession left Jerusalem on a wind cart led and carried by the archangel Michael. Having arrived at the
Red Sea
, Azaryas revealed to the people that the Ark is with them. David prayed to the Ark and the people rejoiced, singing, dancing, blowing horns and flutes, and beating drums. The Ark showed its miraculous powers during the crossing of the stormy Sea, and all arrived unscathed. When Solomon learned that the Ark had been stolen, he sent a horseman after the thieves and even gave chase himself, but neither could catch them. Solomon returned to Jerusalem and gave orders to the priests to remain silent about the theft and to place a copy of the Ark in the Temple, so that the foreign nations could not say that Israel had lost its fame.
[37]
[38]
According to some sources, Queen Makeda was part of the dynasty founded by
Za Besi Angabo
in 1370 BC. The family's intended choice to rule Aksum was Makeda's brother, Prince Nourad, but his early death led to her succession to the throne. She apparently ruled the Ethiopian kingdom for more than 50 years.
[39]
The
1922 regnal list of Ethiopia
claims that Makeda reigned from 1013 to 982 BC, with dates following the
Ethiopian calendar
.
[40]
In the Ethiopian
Book of Aksum
, Makeda is described as establishing a new capital city at
Azeba
.
[41]
Edward Ullendorff
holds that
Makeda
is a corruption of
Candace
, the name or title of several Ethiopian queens from
Meroe
or
Seba
. Candace was the name of that queen of the Ethiopians whose chamberlain was converted to Christianity under the preaching of
Philip the Evangelist
(
Acts 8
:27) in 30 AD. In the 14th-century (?)
Ethiopic
version of the
Alexander romance
,
Alexander the Great
of
Macedonia
(Ethiopic
Meqedon
) is said to have met a queen
Kandake
of
Nubia
.
[42]
The tradition that the biblical Queen of Sheba was an ingenuous ruler of Ethiopia who visited King Solomon in Jerusalem is repeated in a 1st-century account by
Josephus
. He identified Solomon's visitor as a queen of Egypt and Ethiopia
Historians believe that the
Solomonic dynasty
actually began in 1270 with the emperor
Yekuno Amlak
, who, with the support of the
Ethiopian Church
, overthrew the
Zagwe dynasty
, which had ruled Ethiopia since sometime during the 10th century. The link to King Solomon provided a strong foundation for Ethiopian national unity. "Ethiopians see their country as God's chosen country, the final resting place that he chose for the Ark ? and Sheba and her son were the means by which it came there".
[43]
Despite the fact that the dynasty officially ended in 1769 with Emperor
Iyoas
, Ethiopian rulers continued to trace their connection to it, right up to the last 20th-century emperor,
Haile Selassie
.
[44]
According to one tradition, the Ethiopian Jews (
Beta Israel
, "Falashas") also trace their ancestry to Menelik I, son of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba.
[45]
An opinion that appears more historical is that the Falashas descend from those Jews who settled in Egypt after the
first exile
, and who, upon the fall of the Persian domination (539?333 BC), on the borders of the Nile, penetrated into the Sudan, whence they went into the western parts of Abyssinia.
[46]
Several emperors have stressed the importance of the
Kebra Negast
. One of the first instances of this can be traced in a letter from Prince Kasa (King John IV) to Queen Victoria in 1872.
[47]
Kasa states, "There is a book called
Kebra Nagast
which contains the law of the whole of Ethiopia, and the names of the shums (governors), churches and provinces are in this book. I pray you will find out who has got this book and send it to me, for in my country my people will not obey my orders without it."
[43]
Despite the historic importance given to the
Kebra Negast
, there is still doubt to whether or not the Queen sat on the throne.
Judaism
[
edit
]
According to
Josephus
(
Ant.
8:165?173), the queen of Sheba was the queen of Egypt and Ethiopia, and brought to Israel the first specimens of the
balsam
, which grew in the
Holy Land
in the historian's time.
[12]
[48]
Josephus (
Antiquities
2.5?10) represents
Cambyses
as conquering the capital of Aethiopia, and changing its name from Seba to
Meroe
.
[49]
Josephus affirms that the Queen of Sheba or Saba came from this region, and that it bore the name of Saba before it was known by that of Meroe. There seems also some affinity between the word Saba and the name or title of the kings of the Aethiopians,
Sabaco
.
[50]
[
obsolete source
]
The Talmud (
Bava Batra
15b) insists that it was not a woman but a kingdom of Sheba (based on varying interpretations of Hebrew
mlkt
) that came to Jerusalem. Baba Bathra 15b: "Whoever says
malkath Sheba
(I Kings X, 1) means a woman is mistaken; ... it means the kingdom (???????) of Sheba".
[51]
This is explained to mean that she was a woman who was not in her position because of being married to the king, but through her own merit.
[52]
The most elaborate account of the queen's visit to Solomon is given in the
Targum Sheni
to
Esther
(see:
Colloquy of the Queen of Sheba
). A
hoopoe
informed Solomon that the kingdom of Sheba was the only kingdom on earth not subject to him and that its queen was a sun worshiper. He thereupon sent it to Kitor in the land of Sheba with a letter attached to its wing commanding its queen to come to him as a subject. She thereupon sent him all the ships of the sea loaded with precious gifts and 6,000 youths of equal size, all born at the same hour and clothed in purple garments. They carried a letter declaring that she could arrive in Jerusalem within three years although the journey normally took seven years. When the queen arrived and came to Solomon's palace, thinking that the glass floor was a pool of water, she lifted the hem of her dress, uncovering her legs. Solomon informed her of her mistake and reprimanded her for her hairy legs. She asked him three (
Targum Sheni
to Esther 1:3) or, according to the
Midrash
(
Prov.
ii. 6;
Yal?.
ii., § 1085,
Midrash ha-Hefez
), more riddles to test his wisdom.
[3]
[11]
[12]
[48]
A Yemenite manuscript entitled "Midrash ha-Hefez" (published by
S. Schechter
in
Folk-Lore
, 1890, pp. 353 et seq.) gives nineteen riddles, most of which are found scattered through the Talmud and the Midrash, which the author of the "Midrash ha-Hefez" attributes to the Queen of Sheba.
[53]
Most of these riddles are simply Bible questions, some not of a very edifying character. The two that are genuine riddles are: "Without movement while living, it moves when its head is cut off", and "Produced from the ground, man produces it, while its food is the fruit of the ground". The answer to the former is, "a tree, which, when its top is removed, can be made into a moving ship"; the answer to the latter is, "a wick".
[54]
The rabbis who denounce Solomon interpret
1 Kings 10
:13 as meaning that Solomon had criminal intercourse with the Queen of Sheba, the offspring of which was
Nebuchadnezzar
, who destroyed the Temple (comp.
Rashi
ad loc.). According to others, the sin ascribed to Solomon in
1 Kings 11
:7 et seq. is only figurative: it is not meant that Solomon fell into
idolatry
, but that he was guilty of failing to restrain his wives from idolatrous practises (
Shab.
56b).
[53]
The
Alphabet of Sirach
avers that
Nebuchadnezzar
was the fruit of the union between Solomon and the Queen of Sheba.
[3]
In the
Kabbalah
, the Queen of Sheba was considered one of the queens of the demons and is sometimes identified with
Lilith
, first in the
Targum of Job
(1:15), and later in the
Zohar
and the subsequent literature. A Jewish and Arab myth maintains that the Queen was actually a
jinn
, half-human and half-demon.
[55]
[56]
In
Ashkenazi
folklore
, the figure merged with the popular image of
Helen of Troy
or the Frau Venus of German mythology. Ashkenazi incantations commonly depict the Queen of Sheba as a seductive dancer. Until recent generations, she was popularly pictured as a snatcher of children and a demonic
witch
.
[56]
Islamic
[
edit
]
Belqeys (the queen of Sheba) reclining in a garden, facing the hoopoe, Solomon's messenger.
Persian miniature
(c. 1595), tinted drawing on paper
The
Temple of Awwam
or "Mahram Bilqis" ("Sanctuary of the Queen of Sheba") is a Sabaean temple dedicated to the principal deity of Saba, Almaqah (frequently called "Lord of ?Aww?m"), near
Ma'rib
in what is now
Yemen
.
Bilqis Queen of Sheba Enthroned. From the Book of Solomon (Suleymannama) by
Firdausi of Bursa
made for
Bayezid II
(1481-1512).
Chester Beatty Library
Illustration in a
Hafez
frontispiece depicting Queen Sheba, Walters manuscript W.631, around 1539
I found [there] a woman ruling them, and she has been given of all things, and she has a great throne. I found that she and her people bow to the sun instead of God. Satan has made their deeds seem right to them and has turned them away from the right path, so they cannot find their way.
In the above verse (
ayah
), after scouting nearby lands, a bird known as the
hud-hud
(
hoopoe
) returns to
King Solomon
relating that the land of Sheba is ruled by a Queen. In a letter, Solomon invites the Queen of Sheba, who like her followers had
worshipped the sun
, to submit to
God
. She expresses that the letter is noble and asks her chief advisers what action should be taken. They respond by mentioning that her kingdom is known for its might and inclination towards war, however that the command rests solely with her. In an act suggesting the diplomatic qualities of her leadership,
[58]
she responds not with brute force, but by sending her ambassadors to present a gift to King Solomon. He refuses the gift, declaring that God gives far superior gifts and that the ambassadors are the ones only delighted by the gift. King Solomon instructs the ambassadors to return to the Queen with a stern message that if he travels to her, he will bring a contingent that she cannot defeat. The Queen then makes plans to visit him at his palace. Before she arrives, King Solomon asks several of his chiefs who will bring him the Queen of Sheba's throne before they come to him in complete submission.
[59]
An
Ifrit
first offers to move her throne before King Solomon would rise from his seat.
[60]
However, a man with knowledge of the Scripture instead has her throne moved to King Solomon's palace in the blink of an eye, at which King Solomon exclaims his gratitude towards God as King Solomon assumes this is God's test to see if King Solomon is grateful or ungrateful.
[61]
King Solomon disguises her throne to test her awareness of her own throne, asking her if it seems familiar. She answers that during her journey to him, her court had informed her of King Solomon's prophethood, and since then she and her subjects had made the intention to submit to God. King Solomon then explains that God is the only god that she should worship, not to be included alongside other false gods that she used to worship. Later the Queen of Sheba is requested to enter a palatial hall. Upon first view she mistakes the hall for a lake and raises her skirt to not wet her clothes. King Solomon informs her that is not water rather it is smooth slabs of glass. Recognizing that it was a marvel of construction which she had not seen the likes of before, she declares that in the past she had harmed her own soul but now submits, with King Solomon, to God (27:22?44).
[62]
She was told, "Enter the palace." But when she saw it, she thought it was a body of water and uncovered her shins [to wade through]. He said, "Indeed, it is a palace [whose floor is] made smooth with glass." She said, "My Lord, indeed I have wronged myself, and I submit with Solomon to God, Lord of the worlds."
The story of the Queen of Sheba in the
Quran
shares some similarities with the Bible and other Jewish sources.
[12]
Some Muslim commentators such as
Al-Tabari
,
Al-Zamakhshari
and
Al-Baydawi
supplement the story. Here they claim that the Queen's name is
Bilq?s
(
Arabic
:
?????????
), probably derived from
Greek
:
παλλακ??
,
romanized
:
pallakis
or the Hebraised
pilegesh
("
concubine
"). The Quran does not name the Queen, referring to her as "a woman ruling them" (
Arabic
:
????????? ????????????
),
[64]
the nation of Sheba.
[65]
According to some, he then married the Queen, while other traditions say that he gave her in marriage to a King of
Hamdan
.
[3]
According to the scholar
Al-Hamdani
, the Queen of Sheba was the daughter of
Ilsharah Yahdib
, the
Sabaean
king of South Arabia.
[18]
In another tale, she is said to be the daughter of a
jinni
(or peri)
[66]
and a human.
[67]
According to E. Ullendorff, the Quran and its commentators have preserved the earliest literary reflection of her complete legend, which among scholars complements the narrative that is derived from a Jewish tradition,
[3]
this assuming to be the
Targum Sheni
. However, according to the Encyclopaedia Judaica Targum Sheni is dated to around 700
[68]
similarly the general consensus is to date Targum Sheni to late 7th- or early 8th century,
[69]
which post-dates the advent of Islam by almost 200 years. Furthermore, M. J. Berdichevsky
[70]
explains that this Targum is the earliest narrative articulation of Queen of Sheba in Jewish tradition.
Yoruba
[
edit
]
The
Yoruba
Ijebu clan
of
Ijebu-Ode
,
Nigeria
, claim that she was a wealthy, childless
noblewoman
of theirs known as
Oloye
Bilikisu Sungbo
. They also assert that a medieval system of walls and ditches, known as the
Eredo
and built sometime around the 10th century CE, was dedicated to her.
After excavations in 1999 the archaeologist Patrick Darling, known as “the architect”, was quoted as saying, "I don't want to overplay the Sheba theory, but it cannot be discounted ... The local people believe it and that's what is important ... The most cogent argument against it at the moment is the dating."
[71]
In art
[
edit
]
Medieval
[
edit
]
The treatment of Solomon in literature, art, and music also involves the sub-themes of the Queen of Sheba and the
Shulammite
of the
Song of Songs
. King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba was not a common subject until the 12th century. In Christian iconography Solomon represented Jesus, and Sheba represented the gentile Church; hence Sheba's meeting with Solomon bearing rich gifts foreshadowed the
adoration of the Magi
. On the other hand, Sheba enthroned represented the
coronation of the virgin
.
[11]
Sculptures of the Queen of Sheba are found on great
Gothic
cathedrals such as
Chartres
,
Rheims
,
Amiens
, and
Wells
.
[11]
The 12th century cathedrals at
Strasbourg
,
Chartres
,
Rochester
and
Canterbury
include artistic renditions in stained glass windows and doorjamb decorations.
[72]
Likewise of
Romanesque art
, the enamel depiction of a
black woman
at
Klosterneuburg Monastery
.
[73]
The Queen of Sheba, standing in water before Solomon, is depicted on a window in
King's College Chapel, Cambridge
.
[3]
Renaissance
[
edit
]
Florence Baptistry
door,
Lorenzo Ghiberti
(1378?1455), bronze relief.
The reception of the queen was a popular subject during the
Italian Renaissance
. It appears in the bronze doors to the
Florence Baptistery
by
Lorenzo Ghiberti
, in frescoes by
Benozzo Gozzoli
(
Campo Santo
,
Pisa
) and in the
Raphael Loggie
(
Vatican
). Examples of
Venetian art
are by
Tintoretto
(
Prado
) and
Veronese
(
Pinacotheca
,
Turin
). In the 17th century,
Claude Lorrain
painted
The Embarkation of the Queen of Sheba
(
National Gallery
,
London
).
[11]
Piero della Francesca
's
frescoes
in
Arezzo
(c. 1466) on the
Legend of the True Cross
contain two panels on the visit of the Queen of Sheba to Solomon. The legend links the beams of Solomon's palace (adored by Queen of Sheba) to the wood of the crucifixion. The Renaissance continuation of the analogy between the Queen's visit to Solomon and the adoration of the Magi is evident in the
Triptych of the Adoration of the Magi
(c. 1510) by
Hieronymus Bosch
.
[74]
Boccaccio's
On Famous Women
Literature
[
edit
]
Boccaccio's
On Famous Women
(
Latin
:
De Mulieribus Claris
) follows Josephus in calling the Queen of Sheba
Nicaula
. Boccaccio writes she is the Queen of
Ethiopia
and
Egypt
, and that some people say she is also the queen of
Arabia
. He writes that she had a palace on "a very large island" called
Meroe
, located in the
Nile river
. From there Nicaula travelled to
Jerusalem
to see
King Solomon
.
[75]
O. Henry
's short story
The Gift of the Magi
contains the following description to convey the preciousness of the protagonist Della Dillingham Young's hair: "Had the queen of Sheba lived in the flat across the airshaft, Della would have let her hair hang out the window some day to dry just to depreciate Her Majesty's jewels and gifts."
Christine de Pizan
's
The Book of the City of Ladies
continues the convention of calling the Queen of Sheba "Nicaula". The author praises the Queen for secular and religious wisdom and lists her besides Christian and Hebrew prophetesses as first on a list of dignified female pagans.
[
citation needed
]
Christopher Marlowe
's
Doctor Faustus
refers to the Queen of Sheba as
Saba
, when
Mephistopheles
is trying to persuade
Faustus
of the wisdom of the women with whom he supposedly shall be presented every morning.
[76]
Gerard de Nerval
's autobiographical novel,
Voyage to the Orient
(1851), details his travels through the Middle East with much artistic license. He recapitulates at length a tale told in a Turkish cafe of
King Soliman
's love of Balkis, the Queen of Saba, but she, in turn, is destined to love Adoniram (
Hiram Abif
), Soliman's chief craftsman of the
Temple
, owing to both her and Adoniram's divine genealogy. Soliman grows jealous of Adoniram, and when he learns of three craftsmen who wish to sabotage his work and later kill him, Soliman willfully ignores warnings of these plots. Adoniram is murdered and Balkis flees Soliman's kingdom.
[77]
Leopold Sedar Senghor
's "Elegie pour la Reine de Saba", published in his
Elegies majeures
in 1976, uses the Queen of Sheba in a love poem and for a political message. In the 1970s, he used the Queen of Sheba fable to widen his view of
Negritude
and
Eurafrique
by including "Arab-Berber Africa".
[78]
Rudyard Kipling
's book
Just So Stories
includes the tale of
The Butterfly that Stamped
. Therein, Kipling identifies Balkis, "Queen that was of Sheba and Sable and the Rivers of the Gold of the South" as best, and perhaps only, beloved of the 1000 wives of Suleiman-bin-Daoud, King Solomon. She is explicitly ascribed great wisdom ("Balkis, almost as wise as the Most Wise Suleiman-bin-Daoud"); nevertheless, Kipling perhaps implies in her a greater wisdom than her husband, in that she is able to gently manipulate him, the afrits and djinns he commands, the other quarrelsome 999 wives of Suleimin-bin-Daoud, the butterfly of the title and the butterfly's wife, thus bringing harmony and happiness for all.
The Queen of Sheba appears as a character in
The Ring of Solomon
, the fourth book in
Jonathan Stroud
's
Bartimaeus Sequence
. She is portrayed as a vain woman who, fearing Solomon's great power, sends the captain of her royal guard to assassinate him, setting the events of the book in motion.
In modern popular culture, she is often invoked as a sarcastic retort to a person with an inflated sense of entitlement, as in "Who do you think you are, the Queen of Sheba?"
[79]
Film
[
edit
]
Betty Blythe
as the queen in
The Queen of Sheba
(1921).
Music
[
edit
]
- Solomon
(composed in 1748; first performed in 1749), oratorio by
George Frideric Handel
; the "Arrival of the Queen of Sheba" from this work is often performed as a concert piece
- La reine de Saba
(1862), opera by
Charles Gounod
- Die Konigin von Saba
(1875), opera by
Karl Goldmark
- La Reine de Scheba
(1926), opera by
Reynaldo Hahn
- Belkis, Regina di Saba
(1931), ballet by
Ottorino Respighi
- Solomon and Balkis
(1942), opera by
Randall Thompson
- The Queen of Sheba
(1953), cantata for women's voices by
Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco
- "Black Beauty" (1970), song by
Focus
- “Leila, the Queen of Sheba” (1981), song by
Dolly Dots
- “Throne of Gold” (1984), song by
Steel Pulse
- "Sheba" (1989), song by
Bad Brains
- “The Original Queen of Sheba” (1991), song by
Great White
- Machine Gun (1993), by
Slowdive
[80]
- "
Aicha
" (1996), by
Khaled
- "Makeda" (1998), French R&B by Chadian duo
Les Nubians
- "Balqis" (2000), song by
Siti Nurhaliza
- "Thing Called Love" (1987), song by
John Hiatt
Television
[
edit
]
Notes
[
edit
]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
"Echoes of a Legendary Queen"
.
Harvard Divinity Bulletin
. Retrieved
2022-06-29
.
- ^
"Queen of Sheba - Treasures from Ancient Yemen"
.
the Guardian
. 2002-05-25
. Retrieved
2022-06-29
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
E. Ullendorff
(1991), "BIL??S",
The Encyclopaedia of Islam
, vol. 2 (2nd ed.),
Brill
, pp. 1219?1220
- ^
"Collection | British Museum"
.
www.britishmuseum.org
. Retrieved
2024-06-11
.
- ^
Israel Finkelstein,
David and Solomon: In Search of the Bible's Sacred Kings and the Roots' of the Western Tradition
p.167
- ^
National Geographic, issue mysteries of history, September 2018, p.45.
- ^
Francis Brown
, ed. (1906), "??????",
Hebrew and English Lexicon
, Oxford University Press, p. 985a
- ^
Alan England Brooke; Norman McLean; Henry John Thackeray, eds. (1930),
The Old Testament in Greek
(PDF)
, vol. II.2, Cambridge University Press, p. 243
- ^
J. Payne Smith
, ed. (1903), "?????",
A compendious Syriac dictionary
, vol. 1, Oxford University Press, p. 278a
- ^
Dillmann, August
(1865), "????",
Lexicon linguae Aethiopicae
, Weigel, p. 687a
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
Samuel Abramsky; S. David Sperling; Aaron Rothkoff; Haim Z?ew Hirschberg; Bathja Bayer (2007), "SOLOMON",
Encyclopaedia Judaica
, vol. 18 (2nd ed.), Gale, pp. 755?763
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
Yosef Tobi (2007), "QUEEN OF SHEBA",
Encyclopaedia Judaica
, vol. 16 (2nd ed.), Gale, p. 765
- ^
John Gray (2007), "Kings, Book of",
Encyclopaedia Judaica
, vol. 12 (2nd ed.), Gale, pp. 170?175
- ^
a
b
c
A. F. L. Beeston
(1995), "SABA?",
The Encyclopaedia of Islam
, vol. 8 (2nd ed.), Brill, pp. 663?665
- ^
John McClintock
;
James Strong
, eds. (1894), "Seba",
Cyclopaedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature
, vol. 9, Harper & Brothers, pp. 495?496
- ^
Maraqten, Mohammed (2008).
"Women's inscriptions recently discovered by the AFSM at the Aw?m temple/Ma?ram Bilq?s in Marib, Yemen"
.
Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies
.
38
: 231?249.
ISSN
0308-8421
.
JSTOR
41223951
.
- ^
John Gray (2007), "SABEA",
Encyclopaedia Judaica
, vol. 17 (2nd ed.), Gale, p. 631
- ^
a
b
A. Jamme (2003), "SABA (SHEBA)",
New Catholic Encyclopedia
, vol. 12 (2nd ed.), Gale, pp. 450?451
- ^
E. A. Wallis Budge
(1920), "m'kit",
Egyptian Hieroglyphic Dictionary
, vol. 1, John Murray, p. 288b
- ^
Vainstub, Daniel (2023).
"Incense from Sheba for the Jerusalem Temple"
.
Jerusalem Journal of Archaeology
.
4
: 42?68.
doi
:
10.52486/01.00004.2
.
ISSN
2788-8819
.
S2CID
257845221
.
- ^
"Barran Temple"
.
Madain Project
. Retrieved
9 May
2019
.
- ^
Haim Z?ew Hirschberg; Hayyim J. Cohen (2007), "ARABIA",
Encyclopaedia Judaica
, vol. 3 (2nd ed.), Gale, p. 295
- ^
John McClintock
;
James Strong
, eds. (1891), "Sheba",
Cyclopaedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature
, vol. 9, Harper & Brothers, pp. 626?628
- ^
a
b
John McClintock
;
James Strong
, eds. (1891), "Canticles",
Cyclopaedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature
, vol. 2, Harper & Brothers, pp. 92?98
- ^
Origen
(1829), D. Caillau; D. Guillon (eds.),
Origenis commentaria
, Collectio selecta ss. Ecclesiae Patrum, vol. 10, Mequiqnon-Havard, p. 332
- ^
Raphael Loewe; et al. (2007), "BIBLE",
Encyclopaedia Judaica
, vol. 3 (2nd ed.), Gale, p. 615
- ^
John McClintock
;
James Strong
, eds. (1891), "Solomon",
Cyclopaedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature
, vol. 9, Harper & Brothers, pp. 861?872
- ^
Arnaldo Momigliano; Emilio Suarez de la Torre (2005), "SIBYLLINE ORACLES",
Encyclopedia of Religion
, vol. 12 (2nd ed.), Gale, pp. 8382?8386
- ^
Leipoldt, Johannes
(1909), "Geschichte der koptischen Litteratur", in
Carl Brockelmann
;
Franz Nikolaus Finck
;
Johannes Leipoldt
;
Enno Littmann
(eds.),
Geschichte der christlichen Litteraturen des Orients
(2nd ed.), Amelang, pp. 165?166
- ^
Hubbard, David Allen (1956).
The Literary Sources of the "Kebra Nagast"
. St Andrews. p. 358.
- ^
Belcher, Wendy Laura (2010-01-01). "From Sheba They Come: Medieval Ethiopian Myth, US Newspapers, and a Modern American Narrative".
Callaloo
.
33
(1): 239?257.
doi
:
10.1353/cal.0.0607
.
JSTOR
40732813
.
S2CID
161432588
.
- ^
Munro-Hay, Stuart (2006-10-31).
The Quest for the Ark of the Covenant: The True History of the Tablets of Moses
(New ed.). I.B.Tauris.
ISBN
9781845112486
.
- ^
Munro-Hay, Stuart (2004). "Abu al-Faraj and Abu al-?Izz".
Annales d'Ethiopie
.
20
(1): 23?28.
doi
:
10.3406/ethio.2004.1067
.
- ^
Manzo, Andrea (2014).
"Snakes and Sacrifices: Tentative Insights into the Pre-Christian Ethiopian Religion"
.
Aethiopica
.
17
: 7?24.
doi
:
10.15460/aethiopica.17.1.737
.
ISSN
2194-4024
.
- ^
E. Ullendorff
(1991), "BIL??S",
The Encyclopaedia of Islam
, vol. 2 (2nd ed.),
Brill
, pp. 1219?1220
- ^
- ^
Littmann, Enno
(1909), "Geschichte der athiopischen Litteratur", in
Carl Brockelmann
;
Franz Nikolaus Finck
;
Johannes Leipoldt
;
Enno Littmann
(eds.),
Geschichte der christlichen Litteraturen des Orients
(2nd ed.), Amelang, pp. 246?249
- ^
E. A. Wallis Budge
(1922),
The Queen of Sheba & Her Only Son Menyelek
, The Medici Society
- ^
- ^
Rey, C. F. (1927).
In the Country of the Blue Nile
. London: Camelot Press. p. 266.
- ^
Clarke, John Henrik (2002).
"
"The Cultural Unity of Negro Africa...": A Reappraisal Cheikh Anta Diop Opens Another Door to African History"
.
Presence Africaine
(165/166): 53?64.
doi
:
10.3917/presa.165.0053
.
JSTOR
43617128
.
- ^
Vincent DiMarco (1973),
"Travels in Medieval
Femenye
: Alexander the Great and the Amazon Queen"
, in Theodor Berchem; Volker Kapp; Franz Link (eds.),
Literaturwissenschaftliches Jahrbuch
, Duncker & Humblot, pp. 47?66, 56?57,
ISBN
9783428487424
- ^
a
b
"Ancient History in depth: The Queen Of Sheba"
.
BBC
. Retrieved
2018-10-05
.
- ^
- ^
K. Hruby; T. W. Fesuh (2003), "FALASHAS",
New Catholic Encyclopedia
, vol. 5 (2nd ed.), Gale, pp. 609?610
- ^
Faitlovitch, Jacques
(1920),
"The Falashas"
(PDF)
,
American Jewish Year Book
,
22
: 80?100, archived from
the original
(PDF)
on 2016-03-04
, retrieved
2014-11-18
- ^
"BBC - History - Ancient History in depth: The Queen Of Sheba"
.
BBC
. Retrieved
2018-10-05
.
- ^
a
b
Blau, Ludwig
(1905),
"SHEBA, QUEEN OF"
,
Jewish Encyclopedia
, vol. 11, Funk and Wagnall, pp. 235?236
- ^
William Bodham Donne
(1854), "AETHIOPIA", in
William Smith
(ed.),
Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography
, vol. 1, Little, Brown & Co., p. 60b
- ^
William Bodham Donne
(1857), "SABA", in
William Smith
(ed.),
Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography
, vol. 2, Murray, p. 863a?863b
- ^
Jastrow, Marcus
(1903), "????????",
A Dictionary of the Targumim, the Talmud Babli and Yerushalmi, and the Midrashic Literature
, vol. 2, Luzac, p. 791b
- ^
Maharsha Baba Bathra 15b
- ^
a
b
Max Seligsohn
; Mary W. Montgomery (1906), "SOLOMON", in
Isidore Singer
; et al. (eds.),
Jewish Encyclopedia
, vol. 11, p. 436a?448a
- ^
Joseph Jacobs
(1906), "RIDDLE", in
Isidore Singer
; et al. (eds.),
Jewish Encyclopedia
, vol. 10, p. 408b?409a
- ^
Gershom Scholem (2007), "DEMONS, DEMONOLOGY",
Encyclopaedia Judaica
, vol. 5 (2nd ed.), Gale, pp. 572?578
- ^
a
b
Susannah Heschel (2007), "LILITH",
Encyclopaedia Judaica
, vol. 13 (2nd ed.), Gale, pp. 17?20
- ^
Safi Kaskas
Q27:24
, islamawakened.com
- ^
Amina, Wadud (1999).
Qur'an and woman: rereading the sacred text from a woman's perspective
(2 ed.). New York:
Oxford University Press
.
ISBN
978-0-1980-2943-4
.
OCLC
252662926
.
- ^
"Al-Qur'an al-Kareem - ?????? ??????"
.
Al-Qur'an al-Kareem - ?????? ??????
. Retrieved
2020-10-17
.
- ^
"Al-Qur'an al-Kareem - ?????? ??????"
.
Al-Qur'an al-Kareem - ?????? ??????
. Retrieved
2020-01-01
.
- ^
"Al-Qur'an al-Kareem - ?????? ??????"
.
Al-Qur'an al-Kareem - ?????? ??????
. Retrieved
2020-10-17
.
- ^
"Al-Qur'an al-Kareem - ?????? ??????"
.
Al-Qur'an al-Kareem - ?????? ??????
. Retrieved
2018-09-01
.
- ^
Surat an-Naml 27:44
- ^
Surat an-Naml 27:23
- ^
Surat an-Naml 27:22
- ^
Joseph Freiherr von Hammer-Purgstall Rosenol. Erstes und zweytes Flaschchen: Sagen und Kunden des Morgenlandes aus arabischen, persischen und turkischen Quellen gesammelt BoD ? Books on Demand 9783861994862 p. 103 (German)
- ^
Hammer-Purgstall, Joseph Freiherr von (2016-03-05) [1813].
Rosenol. Erstes und zweytes Flaschchen: Sagen und Kunden des Morgenlandes aus arabischen, persischen und turkischen Quellen gesammelt
(in German). BoD ? Books on Demand. p. 103.
ISBN
9783861994862
.
- ^
"Targum Sheni", Encyclopaedia Judaica, 1997
.
It seems that the most acceptable view is that which places its composition at the end of the seventh or the beginning of the eighth century, a view that is strengthened by its relationship to the Pirkei de-R. Eliezer
- ^
Alinda Damsma. "DIE TARGUME ZU ESTHER".
Das Buch Esther. August 2013 Internationale Judisch-Christliche Bibelwoche
: 6.
Targum Scheni :Jetzt konnen wir unsere Aufmerksamkeit kurz der zweiten Haupttradition der Esther Targume zuwenden, die als Targum Scheni bekannt ist. Dieses Werk stammt vom Ende des 7. oder Anfang des 8. Jahrhunderts. /// Translation: This work (Targum Sheni) dates to the end of the 7th or beginning of the 8th century
- ^
Berdichevsky, Micah J.
Mimekor Yisrael: Selected Classical Jewish Folktales
. pp. 24?27.
The present text, a translation of a story that occurs in Targum Sheni of the Book Esther, dates from the seventh to early eighth century and is the earliest narrative articulation of the Queen of Sheba in Jewish tradition
- ^
"Archaeologists find clues to Queen of Sheba in Nigeria, Find May Rival Egypts's Pyramids"
.
www.hartford-hwp.com
.
- ^
Byrd, Vickie, editor; Queen of Sheba: Legend and Reality, (
Santa Ana, California
: The Bowers Museum of Cultural Art, 2004), p. 17.
- ^
Nicholas of Verdun
: Klosterneuburg Altarpiece, 1181; column #4/17, row #3/3. NB the accompanying subject and hexameter verse: "Regina Saba." "Vulnere dignare regina fidem Salemonis."
The Warburg Institute Iconographic Database
Archived
2016-03-03 at the
Wayback Machine
; retrieved 24 December 2013.
- ^
"Web Gallery of Art, searchable fine arts image database"
.
www.wga.hu
. Retrieved
2018-12-01
.
- ^
Giovanni Boccaccio
,
Famous Women
translated by Virginia Brown 2001, p. 90; Cambridge and London, Harvard University Press;
ISBN
0-674-01130-9
;
- ^
Marlowe, Christopher; Doctor Faustus and other plays: Oxford World Classics, p. 155.
- ^
Gerard de Nerval.
Journey to the Orient
, III.3.1?12. Trans. Conrad Elphinston. Antipodes Press. 2013.
- ^
Spleth, Janice (2002).
"The Arabic Constituents of Africanite: Senghor and the Queen of Sheba"
.
Research in African Literatures
.
33
(4): 60?75.
JSTOR
3820499
.
- ^
Stewart, Stanley (3 December 2018).
"In search of the real Queen of Sheba"
.
National Geographic
. Archived from
the original
on February 19, 2021
. Retrieved
27 August
2022
.
- ^
Slowdive ? Machine Gun
, retrieved
2021-10-04
Bibliography
[
edit
]
- Tha?lab?,
Qi?a?
?(1356 A.H.), 262?4
- Kis???,
Qi?a?
(1356 A.H.), 285?92
- G. Weil,
The Bible, the Koran, and the Talmud ...
(1846)
- G. Rosch,
Die Konigin von Saba als Konigin Bilqis
(Jahrb. f. Prot. Theol., 1880) 524?72
- M. Grunbaum,
Neue Beitrage zur semitischen Sagenkunde
(1893) 211?21
- E. Littmann,
The legend of the Queen of Sheba in the tradition of Axum
(1904)
- L. Ginzberg,
Legends of the Jews
, 3 (1911), 411; 4 (1913), 143?9; (1928), 288?91
- H. Speyer,
Die biblischen Erzahlungen im Qoran
(1931, repr. 1961), 390?9
- E. Budge,
The Queen of Sheba and her only son Menyelek
(1932)
- J. Ryckmans,
L'Institution monarchique en Arabie meridionale avant l'Islam
(1951)
- E. Ullendorff,
Candace (Acts VIII, 27) and the Queen of Sheba
(New Testament Studies, 1955, 53?6)
- E. Ullendorff,
Hebraic-Jewish elements in Abyssinian (monophysite) Christianity
(JSS, 1956, 216?56)
- D. Hubbard,
The literary sources of the Kebra Nagast
(St. Andrews University Ph. D. thesis, 1956, 278?308)
- La Persecution des chretiens himyarites au sixieme siecle
(1956)
- Bulletin of American Schools of Oriental Research 143 (1956) 6?10; 145 (1957) 25?30; 151 (1958) 9?16
- A. Jamme,
La Paleographique sud-arabe de J. Pirenne
(1957)
- R. Bowen, F. Albright (eds.),
Archaeological Discoveries in South Arabia
(1958)
- Encyclopedic Dictionary of the Bible
(1963) 2067?70
- T. Tamrat,
Church and State in Ethiopia
(1972) 1270?1527
- W. Daum (ed.),
Die Konigin von Saba: Kunst, Legende und Archaologie zwischen Morgenland und Abendland
(1988)
- J. Lassner,
Demonizing the Queen of Sheba: Boundaries of Gender and Culture in Postbiblical Judaism and Medieval Islam
(1993)
- M. Brooks (ed.),
Kebra Nagast (The Glory of Kings)
(1998)
- J. Breton,
Arabia Felix from the Time of the Queen of Sheba: Eighth Century B.C. to First Century A.D.
(1999)
- D. Crummey,
Land and Society in the Christian Kingdom of Ethiopia: From the Thirteenth to the Twentieth Century
(2000)
- A. Gunther (ed.),
Caravan Kingdoms: Yemen and the Ancient Incense Trade
(2005)
External links
[
edit
]
People and things in the
Quran
|
---|
|
---|
| |
---|
Mentioned
| Ulul-?Azm
('Those of the
Perseverance
and Strong Will')
| |
---|
Debatable ones
| |
---|
|
---|
Implied
| |
---|
|
| People of Prophets
|
---|
Good ones
|
- Adam's immediate relatives
- Believer of Ya-Sin
- Family of Noah
- Luqman's son
- People of Abraham
- People of Jesus
- People of Solomon
- Zayd
(Muhammad's adopted son)
People of
Joseph
| |
---|
People of
Aaron and Moses
| |
---|
|
---|
Evil ones
| |
---|
Implied or
not specified
| |
---|
|
| Groups
|
---|
Mentioned
| Tribes,
ethnicities
or families
| |
---|
|
---|
Implicitly
mentioned
| |
---|
Religious
groups
| |
---|
|
|
|
Locations
|
---|
Mentioned
|
|
---|
Implied
| |
---|
|
Events, incidents, occasions or times
|
---|
| Battles or
military expeditions
| |
---|
Days
|
- Al-
Jumu?ah
(The Friday)
- As-
Sabt
(The Sabbath or Saturday)
- Days of battles
- Days of Hajj
- Doomsday
|
---|
Months of the
Islamic calendar
|
- 12 months: Four holy months
|
---|
Pilgrimages
|
- Al-
?ajj
(literally 'The Pilgrimage', the Greater Pilgrimage)
- Al-?
Umrah
(The Lesser Pilgrimage)
|
---|
Times for prayer
or remembrance
| Times for
Du???
('
Invocation
'),
?al?h
and
Dhikr
('Remembrance', including
Ta?m?d
('Praising'),
Takb?r
and
Tasb??
):
- Al-?Ashiyy
(The Afternoon or the Night)
- Al-Ghuduww
('The Mornings')
- Al-Bukrah
('The Morning')
- A?-?ab??
('The Morning')
- Al-Layl
('The Night')
- A?-
?uhr
('The Noon')
- Dul?k ash-Shams
('Decline of the Sun')
- Al-
Mas??
('The Evening')
- Qabl al-
Ghur?b
('Before the Setting (of the Sun)')
- Al-A??l
('The Afternoon')
- Al-
?A?r
('The Afternoon')
- Qabl ?ul?? ash-Shams
('Before the rising of the Sun')
|
---|
Implied
| |
---|
|
|
Other
|
---|
Holy books
| |
---|
Objects
of people
or beings
| Mentioned idols
(cult images)
| Of Israelites
| |
---|
Of Noah's people
| |
---|
Of Quraysh
| |
---|
|
---|
|
---|
Celestial
bodies
| Ma??b??
(literally 'lamps'):
- Al-Qamar
(The Moon)
- Kaw?kib
(Planets)
- Nuj?m
(Stars)
|
---|
Plant matter
|
Ba?al
(Onion)
F?m
(Garlic or wheat)
Sha??
(Shoot)
S?q
(Plant stem)
Zar?
(Seed)
Fruits
| |
---|
Bushes, trees
or plants
| |
---|
|
---|
Liquids
|
- M??
(Water or fluid)
- Nahr
(River)
- Yamm
(River or sea)
- Shar?b
(Drink)
|
---|
|
Note:
Names are sorted alphabetically. Standard form: Islamic name / Biblical name (title or relationship)
|
Islamic honored women
|
---|
Generations of
Adam
| |
---|
Generations of
Ibr?h?m
and his sons
| |
---|
Generation of
M?sa
| |
---|
Reign of Kings
| |
---|
House of
Imran
| |
---|
Time of
Muhammad
| |
---|
|
---|
Family and
reputed relations
| |
---|
Occurrences
| |
---|
Reputed works
|
- Protocanonical
- Deuterocanonical
- Apocryphal
- Grimoires
|
---|
Related articles
| |
---|
|
---|
Bible
chapters
| |
---|
Places
| |
---|
People
| |
---|
Phrases
| |
---|
Analysis
| |
---|
In art
| |
---|
Manuscripts
| |
---|
Sources
| |
---|
|
|
---|
International
| |
---|
National
| |
---|
People
| |
---|