The QUEEN of SHEBA MENYELEK (I)

ox of acacia wood two and a half cubits long, one and a half cubits broad and one and a half cubits
deep, i.e. a portable shrine measuring 3 ft. 9 in. by 2 ft. 3 in. by 2 ft. 3 in. or 4 ft. 2 in. by 2 ft. 6 in. by 2
ft. 6 in. In this shrine he placed the Two Tables of the Covenant, a gold pot containing one omer of
manna, and the wonderful rod of AARON, which put forth buds when it was withered. This rod had been
broken in two places and was in three pieces, and each piece became a separate and complete rod (see p.
13 and Exod. xvi. 33, 34; Hebrews ix. 2; Numbers xvii. 10). We may note that in 2 Chron. v. 10, it is said
that there was nothing in the Ark except p. lxxiv the Two Tables which MOSES put therein in HOREB.
MOSES covered the Ark with gold, inside and outside, and made all the vessels, hangings, &c., according
to the patterns given to him by God. But there was something else in the Ark made by MOSES. By God's
orders he made a case, presumably of gold, in the shape of the "belly of a ship" (p. 15), and in this the
Two Tables were to rest. As the VIRGIN MARY is called the "new ship who carried the wealth of the
world", this "belly of a ship" was a type of her. The case for the Two Tables symbolized her womb, the
case carried the Word cut on stone, and MARY carried the Living Word incarnate. And the Ark made by
MOSES was the abode of God, Who dwelt with the Two Tables.
With Chap 19 ISAAC, the translator of the KEBRA NAGAST, begins a long extract from an apocryphal
work which "DOMITIUS, Archbishop of CONSTANTINOPLE", says he found among the manuscripts in the
library of Saint SOPHIA. I have failed to identify either DOMITIUS or the work he quotes. According to
this work the Emperor of ETHIOPIA and the Emperor of RÔMÊ (i.e. BYZANTIUM) are the sons of SHEM,
and they divide the world between them (Chap. 20). From the same work we have a description of MÂK
DÂ the "Queen of the South" (Matt. xii. 42), who was shrewd, intelligent in mind, beautiful in face and
form, and exceedingly rich. She carried on a large business on land by means of caravans, and on sea by
means of ships, and she traded with the merchants of INDIA and NUBIA and ASWÂN (SYENE). As the
Queen came from the south her home was probably in Southern ARABIA, and she is far more likely to
have been of ARAB than ETHIOPIAN origin. The head of her trading caravans was TÂMRÎN, a clever man
of affairs who directed the operations of 520 camels and 73 ships (Chap. 22). At this time SOLOMON
wanted gold, ebony and sapphires for the building of the Temple of God in JERUSALEM, and he opened
negotiations p. lxxv with TÂMRÎN for the supply of the same. TÂMRÎN loaded his camels and took his goods
to SOLOMON, who proved to be a generous customer, and his wisdom and handsome appearance and
riches greatly impressed the merchant from the South. TÂMRÎN saw with amazement that SOLOMON was
employing 700 carpenters and 800 masons on the building of the Temple (Chaps. 22, 23). When TÂMRÎN
returned to his mistress he told the Queen all that he had seen at JERUSALEM, and day by day he
described to her SOLOMON'S power and wisdom and the magnificence of the state in which he lived.
Little by little, desire to see this wonderful man and to imbibe his wisdom grew in the Queen's mind, and
at length she (Chap. 24) decided to go to JERUSALEM. Thereupon 797 camels and mules and asses
innumerable were loaded, and she left her kingdom, and made her way direct to JERUSALEM.
When the Queen met SOLOMON she gave him rich presents, (Chap. 25), and he established her in a
lodging, and supplied her with food and servants and rich apparel. The Queen was fascinated as much by
his wisdom as by his physical perfections, and she marvelled at the extent and variety of his knowledge.
When she saw him instructing the mason, the carpenter, the blacksmith, and directing all the workmen,
and at the same time acting as judge and ruler of his people and household, her astonishment was
unbounded.
During her stay in JERUSALEM MÂKDÂ conversed daily (Chaps. 26, 27) with SOLOMON, and she
learned from him about the God of the Hebrews, the Creator of the heavens and the earth. She herself
worshipped the sun, moon and stars, and trees, and idols of gold and silver, but under the influence of
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