I’ve got a May deadline for a novel about the queen of Sheba. I don’t have an approved title yet from the publisher or I would share it.
The last time I used a biblical setting, it was in Jesus’s day and the four Gospels were my main research resources. I had plenty of manners and customs books and foods of the Bible books, etc., but the Gospels were where I lived for the duration. Four good-sized books.
But for this novel, the Bible says very little. Just thirteen verses concern the queen herself (in 1st King with an almost exact repeat in 2nd Chronicles). Plus Jesus used the queen of Sheba as an example to the pharisees, as reported in Matthew and Luke. But that still isn’t a lot of words to go by.
The first decision I needed to make was about the extra-biblical material that exists. Would I use the extra-biblical texts or stick to the biblical text? Partially related to that decision was choosing the location of the nation of Sheba. Was it modern day Ethiopia or modern day Yemen? I chose to stick with the biblical text (no affair between Solomon and the queen), and I went with the preponderance of evidence and placed Sheba on the southern end of the Arabian peninsula.
The second decision I had to make was about 1 King 10:9.
“Blessed be the Lord your God who delighted in you to set you on the throne of Israel; because the Lord loved Israel forever, therefore He made you king, to do justice and righteousness.” (1 Kings 10:9, NASB95)
Were the words of the queen in that verse a statement of faith in the God of Israel or were they a polite throne room expression that might have been said to any king about any god? Bible commentaries differ. But I was convinced by one book I read to lean toward the statement of faith.
Those decisions made, I was on my way.
The picture below has served as my inspiration for Queen Bilqis of Sheba. Of course, her clothing is too modern, but it is this woman’s eyes and smile that I love.
It won’t surprise you that I have found myself looking for answers for this story not just in 1 Kings, but also in Genesis, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Ruth, Psalms, and Proverbs (to name a few). Oh, the things I am learning.
I hope I can achieve the vision I had when I started this book, and I hope readers will love it when it releases.
~robin
Robin Lee Hatcher
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I am already excited for this book! Your research is intriguing me.
Thanks. I think it should release is late October or November. I’ll be sure to post about it.
Robin,
This new book sounds wonderful. Looking forward to reading it. And I agree with you in that is seems that the Queen had a measure of faith in the Lord. Blessings!!
Thanks, Rebecca.
I also believe that the Queen of Sheba made a statement of faith. My Sunday School class studied the book of Acts a few months ago and while reading about Philip preaching to the Ethiopian eunuch I read in a commentary that stated this:
“Ethiopia – much larger than modern-day Ethiopia – was the land where the Queen of Sheba came from and having seen the glory of Solomon’s kingdom professed faith in the God of Israel. It’s possible that pieces of the Jewish faith were passed on through the centuries to men like this servant of the queen.”
I thought that was fascinating and although it may not be able to be proven, it made sense to me especially since Jesus gave her as testament to the religious leaders.
Yes, some extra-biblical texts say that the queen was from Ethiopia, that she had an affair with Solomon, and that they had a son who then ruled Ethiopia. But most scholars think it is more likely that Sheba was located in the Arabian peninsula. And that is where I chose to set my book. Either way, I do believe the queen took back her new faith to Sheba.
It sounds very interesting. In my daily Bible reading I have just been reading about David giving all the details of building the temple to Solomon. Have you ever used Josephus as a source?
Will be looking for more about this book.
Yes, I have read Josephus (Antiquities of the Jews) in relation to the queen of Sheba. But while Josephus states there that she was queen of Egypt and Ethiopia, here is a footnote: “That this queen of Sheba was a queen of Sabaea in South Arabia, and not of Egypt and Ethiopia, as Josephus here asserts, is, I suppose, now generally agreed; and since Sabaea is well known to be a country near the sea in the south of Arabia Felix, which lay south from Judea also; and since our Savior calls this queen “the queen of the south,” and says, “she came from the utmost parts of the earth” (Matt. 12:42; Luke 11:31); which descriptions agree better to this Arabia than to Egypt and Ethiopia, there is little occasion for doubting in this matter.”
Josephus, F., & Whiston, W. (1987). The works of Josephus: complete and unabridged. Hendrickson.
Thank you Robin. My husband had a book by Josephus in his church office and would occasionally mention him.
I love digging into the lives of biblical women, Robin, and this book sounds marvelous! I tend to lean toward the Queen making a statement of faith as well. One of my favorite biblical women is Rahab, a Canaanite in Jericho who believes in the stories she had heard about Israel’s God enough to defy her king and lend aid to the invaders. That takes faith! A faith that was passed down through her lineage, to her son Boaz, her great-great grandson David, and eventually Christ himself. One didn’t need to be an Israelite to have faith. One needed only to hear the stories of their amazing God and believe.