The Questions of the Queen of Sheba to King Solomon
From the Chronicle of Michael the Syrian 28-30
To King Solomon came Nessa, the queen of a southern realm, who was . . . descended from the line of Noah's daughter, Aster. She came from a place in the south where . . . women descended from the patriarch Noah rule. Solomon's reputation for wisdom attracted her and she tested him with enigmatic questions:
1 [Nessa asked:] "What is your God, and who does He resemble?"
2 Solomon replied: "My God Is, and is above all beings. He has no fixed image. Every being has its opposite. However, my God, since He is not created, has no opposite."
3 [Nessa:] "How does the celestial globe turn, right to left, fully or partly?"
4 [Solomon:] "This turning is done in two ways. The heavenly circumference turns to the right and to the East, then through the South and West, and the North, returning to its point of departure. By the same order, it goes around in a day and a night with all the fixed stars. As for the planets, which some call wandering stars, they move left from West to East, each according to the low or high position of its zone, according to the narrowness or breadth of that zone, achieving a revolution in 30 years as well as 30 days. For Cronos is Saturn, while Sahra is the Moon."
5 [Nessa:] "Before there was Being, where was the creator of all, and after the dissolution of everything, where will He be?"
6 [Solomon:] "Before the creation of all, was the Lord Himself and His being was full of its essence. He enjoyed endless goodness. Since the creation of the world, it is in Him that created beings exist. After the dissolution of the world, He also will continue to exist in Himself and in the souls of saints, and they reside in Him. He adds to their glory and He will be further glorified by them."
7 [Nessa:] "Why is it that an Indian woman who eats pomegranate ceases to conceive?"
8 [Solomon:] "The nature of the pomegranate is cold and wet and the country of India is hot and dry. The Indian woman is cool and moist. Consequently, when elements of the pomegranate and the woman merge, contrary to the nature of the country, then women no longer can become pregnant."
9 [Nessa:] "Why does an Indian man become sterile after drinking wine?"
10 [Solomon:] "The nature of the wine is dry and hot, and it induces sleep. The same may be said for the nature of mankind. Thus when a man drinks often, he become impotent."
11 [Nessa:] "Is wisdom general or specific? Does it come from nature, from study, or as a blessing?"
12 [Solomon:] "Wisdom is general in genre, partial in type, natural as regards animate beings, trees, and plants. The situation with humankind is mixed. It may be attained through study, as one labors to understand something; or it may be a blessing of grace from God. This latter type is not given to all but only to those selected as worthy of it."
13 Question: "What was the plant which was crowned not by nature but surrounded by a halo of rays and nurtured by flames which were woven into garlands for undeserving sons?"
14 Answer: "Surely you have heard that God appeared to Moses as a burning blackberry bush, and that that visitation stimulated questions and answers."
15 Question: "Identify the foreign mother, the sons born in prostitution, and nourished in impiety, revealed as thieves, and kings living in plenty."
16 Answer: "You insult my fathers and myself. Tamar was considered a murderer who nourished my ancestors after they had been stolen from Judah."
17 Question: "Name the thing which is repulsive and nauseating, which is transformed by the clouds and nourishes kings."
18 Answer: "You refer to menstruating women who nourish kings and paupers when babies, through the milk of their breasts."
19 Riddle: "What is the diner who, seeking different tastes, increases the number of cooks, yet receives only the same flavor?"
20 Answer: "If you have an excellent cook, let us add him to the thousands we have; however, as you say, there is but one excellent taste. But should there be one wicked chef, opposed to Our Lord, then the bitter taste will remain until Judgement day."
21 Riddle: "The bridegroom is invisible, and the nuptial is unchangeable. The bedchamber is pure; but the spouse full of rage brings a great shame to the matter."
22 Answer: "Do not insult our people which is forever wedded to God with unspoken words. Nor do we bear the shame of prostituting ourselves to foreign gods. It is fitting that you worship a bird called T'riane, the phoenix. But now, answer a riddle from me."
23 "There is a formidable tower, with lethal weapons, and a three-sided temple, whose rocks are joy, whose foundation is love, whose construction is water, the start of whose deliverance is caresses, whose ceilings are dance, whose columns are enjoyment, whose discovery is strange, whose residents are not persons. Pursuit of it is in vain, its turrets spring from within itself, its windows are isolated, the instruments are contrary to its construction, and its guards are invisible."
24 And the Queen replied: "We heard that you were wise, but did not believe that you were prescient. Now we know that your God is the sole God of the visible and the invisible". The Queen then praised the construction of the Temple and its attendants who were divided into 12 classes to serve before the Lord each month. Each class had 24,000 people in it, with 6,000 judges and 4,000 harpists, and 4,000 porters, an arrangement which Solomon's father David had designated. The dimensions of the Temple were: 60 cubits long by 20 cubits wide and 120 cubits high. It had 10 gold altars and 10 gold towers. Outside, to the right and left were two columns of 37 cubits height which were named Boas and Yak'um, meaning "Strength" and "Righteousness." The Holy of Holies was 20 cubits wide and 20 cubits high, which greatly astonished the Queen. And she departed from him greatly edified.
25 Solomon subsequently repented for his sins. Recalling his father's command, he entered a room and expiated. Solomon died at the age of 52, having ruled for 40 years.
To King Solomon came Nessa, the queen of a southern realm, who was . . . descended from the line of Noah's daughter, Aster. She came from a place in the south where . . . women descended from the patriarch Noah rule. Solomon's reputation for wisdom attracted her and she tested him with enigmatic questions:
1 [Nessa asked:] "What is your God, and who does He resemble?"
2 Solomon replied: "My God Is, and is above all beings. He has no fixed image. Every being has its opposite. However, my God, since He is not created, has no opposite."
3 [Nessa:] "How does the celestial globe turn, right to left, fully or partly?"
4 [Solomon:] "This turning is done in two ways. The heavenly circumference turns to the right and to the East, then through the South and West, and the North, returning to its point of departure. By the same order, it goes around in a day and a night with all the fixed stars. As for the planets, which some call wandering stars, they move left from West to East, each according to the low or high position of its zone, according to the narrowness or breadth of that zone, achieving a revolution in 30 years as well as 30 days. For Cronos is Saturn, while Sahra is the Moon."
5 [Nessa:] "Before there was Being, where was the creator of all, and after the dissolution of everything, where will He be?"
6 [Solomon:] "Before the creation of all, was the Lord Himself and His being was full of its essence. He enjoyed endless goodness. Since the creation of the world, it is in Him that created beings exist. After the dissolution of the world, He also will continue to exist in Himself and in the souls of saints, and they reside in Him. He adds to their glory and He will be further glorified by them."
7 [Nessa:] "Why is it that an Indian woman who eats pomegranate ceases to conceive?"
8 [Solomon:] "The nature of the pomegranate is cold and wet and the country of India is hot and dry. The Indian woman is cool and moist. Consequently, when elements of the pomegranate and the woman merge, contrary to the nature of the country, then women no longer can become pregnant."
9 [Nessa:] "Why does an Indian man become sterile after drinking wine?"
10 [Solomon:] "The nature of the wine is dry and hot, and it induces sleep. The same may be said for the nature of mankind. Thus when a man drinks often, he become impotent."
11 [Nessa:] "Is wisdom general or specific? Does it come from nature, from study, or as a blessing?"
12 [Solomon:] "Wisdom is general in genre, partial in type, natural as regards animate beings, trees, and plants. The situation with humankind is mixed. It may be attained through study, as one labors to understand something; or it may be a blessing of grace from God. This latter type is not given to all but only to those selected as worthy of it."
13 Question: "What was the plant which was crowned not by nature but surrounded by a halo of rays and nurtured by flames which were woven into garlands for undeserving sons?"
14 Answer: "Surely you have heard that God appeared to Moses as a burning blackberry bush, and that that visitation stimulated questions and answers."
15 Question: "Identify the foreign mother, the sons born in prostitution, and nourished in impiety, revealed as thieves, and kings living in plenty."
16 Answer: "You insult my fathers and myself. Tamar was considered a murderer who nourished my ancestors after they had been stolen from Judah."
17 Question: "Name the thing which is repulsive and nauseating, which is transformed by the clouds and nourishes kings."
18 Answer: "You refer to menstruating women who nourish kings and paupers when babies, through the milk of their breasts."
19 Riddle: "What is the diner who, seeking different tastes, increases the number of cooks, yet receives only the same flavor?"
20 Answer: "If you have an excellent cook, let us add him to the thousands we have; however, as you say, there is but one excellent taste. But should there be one wicked chef, opposed to Our Lord, then the bitter taste will remain until Judgement day."
21 Riddle: "The bridegroom is invisible, and the nuptial is unchangeable. The bedchamber is pure; but the spouse full of rage brings a great shame to the matter."
22 Answer: "Do not insult our people which is forever wedded to God with unspoken words. Nor do we bear the shame of prostituting ourselves to foreign gods. It is fitting that you worship a bird called T'riane, the phoenix. But now, answer a riddle from me."
23 "There is a formidable tower, with lethal weapons, and a three-sided temple, whose rocks are joy, whose foundation is love, whose construction is water, the start of whose deliverance is caresses, whose ceilings are dance, whose columns are enjoyment, whose discovery is strange, whose residents are not persons. Pursuit of it is in vain, its turrets spring from within itself, its windows are isolated, the instruments are contrary to its construction, and its guards are invisible."
24 And the Queen replied: "We heard that you were wise, but did not believe that you were prescient. Now we know that your God is the sole God of the visible and the invisible". The Queen then praised the construction of the Temple and its attendants who were divided into 12 classes to serve before the Lord each month. Each class had 24,000 people in it, with 6,000 judges and 4,000 harpists, and 4,000 porters, an arrangement which Solomon's father David had designated. The dimensions of the Temple were: 60 cubits long by 20 cubits wide and 120 cubits high. It had 10 gold altars and 10 gold towers. Outside, to the right and left were two columns of 37 cubits height which were named Boas and Yak'um, meaning "Strength" and "Righteousness." The Holy of Holies was 20 cubits wide and 20 cubits high, which greatly astonished the Queen. And she departed from him greatly edified.
25 Solomon subsequently repented for his sins. Recalling his father's command, he entered a room and expiated. Solomon died at the age of 52, having ruled for 40 years.