1. 1 Kings 10:1–13 (ESV)
  2. Scripture context

The queen of Sheba in other Bible passages

1 Kings 10:1–13 (ESV)

1 Now when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the LORD, she came to test him with hard questions.

In the Old Testament, we meet queen Sheba in 2 Chronicles 9:1–31. The description there is very similar to that in 1 Kings 10:1–29. In Psalm 72:10–11 (a Psalm of Solomon, just like Psalm 127:1–5) we read: may the kings of Sheba and Seba bring gifts! May all kings fall down before him, all nations serve him! And a little further, in verse 15, we read: Long may he live; may gold of Sheba be given to him! The visit of the queen appears to be well-known and characteristic of Solomon’s reign.

In the New Testament, Jesus mentions the queen of Sheba in Matthew 12:42 and Luke 11:31

The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon is here. In these Bible parts it is about the Jews in Jesus’ days, who do not want to understand that Jesus is the Messiah promised by God, the promised King. Jesus is astonished about that, and he sighs that in the days of Solomon, the queen from the South came to hear Solomon’s wisdom—this woman will one day unmask and judge the unbelievers from Jesus’ days.